Polycondensation of Polymer Brushes via DNA Hybridization

Abstract

Triblock copolymer brushes were functionalized with nucleic acid sequences, which allowed the polymers to connect head-to-tail and form supramolecular nanostructures. Two approaches were designed and implemented, using either a palindromic DNA attached to both ends of the polymer or two different DNA sequences attached regiospecifically. Given appropriate conditions, the DNA-brush conjugates self-assembled to form either nanoworms with length up to several microns or cross-linked networks. This process is analogous to the step-growth polymerization of small molecule monomers.