Biomolecule-polymer conjugates are constructs that take advantage of the functional or otherwise beneficial traits inherent to biomolecules and combine them with synthetic polymers possessing specially tailored properties. The rapid development of novel biomolecule-polymer conjugates based on proteins, peptides, or nucleic acids has ushered in a variety of unique materials, which exhibit functional attributes including thermo-responsiveness, exceptional stability, and specialized specificity. Key to the synthesis of new biomolecule-polymer hybrids is the use of controlled polymerization techniques coupled with either grafting-from, grafting-to, or grafting-through methodology, each of which exhibit distinct advantages and/or disadvantages. In this review, we present recent progress in the development of biomolecule-polymer conjugates with a focus on works that have detailed the use of grafting-from methods employing ATRP, RAFT, or ROMP.

Synthetic bioconjugation at cysteine (Cys) residues in peptides and proteins has emerged as a powerful tool in chemistry. Soft nucleophilicity of the sulfur in Cys renders an exquisite chemoselectivity with which various functional groups can be placed onto this residue under benign conditions. While a variety of reactions have been successful at producing Cys-based bioconjugates, the majority of these feature sulfur−carbon bonds. We report Cys-borylation, wherein a benchtop stable Pt(II)-based organometallic reagent can be used to transfer a boron-rich cluster onto a sulfur moiety in unprotected peptides forging a boron−sulfur bond. Cys-borylation proceeds at room temperature and tolerates a variety of functional groups present in complex polypeptides. Further, the bioconjugation strategy can be applied to a model protein modification of Cys-containing DARPin (designed ankyrin repeat protein). The resultant bioconjugates show no additional toxicity compared to their Cys alkyl-based congeners. Finally, we demonstrate how the developed Cys-borylation can enhance the proteolytic stability of the resultant peptide bioconjugates while maintaining the binding affinity to a protein target.

Bioconjugation techniques for biomolecule–polymer conjugation are numerous; however, slow kinetics and steric challenges generally necessitate excess reagents or long reaction times. Organometallic transformations are known to circumvent these issues; yet, harsh reaction conditions, incompatibility in aqueous media, and substrate promiscuity often limit their use in a biological context. The work reported herein demonstrates a facile and benign organometallic Au­(III) S-arylation approach that enables the synthesis of poly­(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether (mPEG)-protein conjugates with high efficiency. Isolable and bench-stable 2, 5, and 10 kDa mPEG-Au­(III) reagents were synthesized via oxidative addition into terminal aryl iodide substituents installed on mPEG substrates with a (Me-DalPhos)­Au­(I)Cl precursor. Reaction of the isolable mPEG-Au­(III) oxidative addition complexes with a cysteine thiol on a biomolecule resulted in facile and selective cysteine arylation chemistry, forging covalent S-aryl linkages and affording the mPEG-biomolecule conjugates. Notably, low polymer reagent loadings were used to achieve near quantitative conversion at room temperature in 1 min due to the rapid kinetics and high chemoselectivity of this Au-based bioconjugation approach. Therefore, this work represents an important addition to the protein–polymer conjugation chemical toolbox.

Herein we report the discovery of a AuI–DNA hybrid catalyst that is compatible with biological media and whose reactivity can be regulated by small complementary nucleic acid sequences. The development of this catalytic system was enabled by the discovery of a novel AuI‐mediated base pair. We found that AuI binds DNA containing C‐T mismatches. In the AuI–DNA catalyst's latent state, the AuI ion is sequestered by the mismatch such that it is coordinatively saturated, rendering it catalytically inactive. Upon addition of an RNA or DNA strand that is complementary to the latent catalyst's oligonucleotide backbone, catalytic activity is induced, leading to a sevenfold increase in the formation of a fluorescent product, forged through a AuI‐catalyzed hydroamination reaction. Further development of this catalytic system will expand not only the chemical space available to synthetic biological systems but also allow for temporal and spatial control of transition‐metal catalysis through gene transcription.

SUMMARY Even subtle modifications in growth conditions elicit acclimation responses affecting the molecular and elemental makeup of organisms, both in the laboratory and in natural habitats. We systematically explored the effect of temperature, pH, nutrient availability, culture density, and access to CO2 and O2 in laboratory‐grown algal cultures on growth rate, the ionome, and the ability to accumulate Fe. We found algal cells accumulate Fe in alkaline conditions, even more so when excess Fe is present, coinciding with a reduced growth rate. Using a combination of Fe‐specific dyes, X‐ray fluorescence microscopy, and NanoSIMS, we show that the alkaline‐accumulated Fe was intracellularly sequestered into acidocalcisomes, which are localized towards the periphery of the cells. At high photon flux densities, Zn and Ca specifically over‐accumulate, while Zn alone accumulates at low temperatures. The impact of aeration was probed by reducing shaking speeds and changing vessel fill levels; the former increased the Cu quota of cultures, the latter resulted in a reduction in P, Ca, and Mn at low fill levels. Trace element quotas were also affected in the stationary phase, where specifically Fe, Cu, and Zn accumulate. Cu accumulation here depends inversely on the Fe concentration of the medium. Individual laboratory strains accumulate Ca, P, and Cu to different levels. All together, we identified a set of specific changes to growth rate, elemental composition, and the capacity to store Fe in response to subtle differences in culturing conditions of Chlamydomonas, affecting experimental reproducibility. Accordingly, we recommend that these variables be recorded and reported as associated metadata.