LAUSR

Inspired by nature's two-stage strategy to efficiently synthesize numerous proteins using limited amino acids, a two-stage polymer preparation method has been successfully developed via the combination of ultra-fast RAFT polymerization (stage 1) and post polymerization modification (PPM) through the tricomponent Biginelli reaction (stage 2). Only using 3 monomers, 6 polymer precursors with different main-chain sequences have been quickly prepared in stage 1. In stage 2, by combinatorial synthesis, these 6 polymer precursors underwent the Biginelli reaction in a high-throughput (HTP) manner to rapidly generate 60 derivatives with precisely-controlled structures and various molecular diversities, suggesting the straightforward promotion of polymer synthesis efficiency by learning nature's strategy. Furthermore, HTP-analyses have been attempted to quickly screen some distinctively functional polymers, such as the possible polymeric radical scavengers, metal chelating agents, CT imaging agents, etc., realizing the benefit of HTP in polymer chemistry to efficiently synthesize and analyze a large number of samples. We believe that current research opens a new way to effectively prepare and characterize new libraries of polymers with abundant diversity and functions, and might promote a broader study of multicomponent reactions, combinatorial synthesis and HTP technologies in polymer science.