14
particular, adding γ-butyrolactone at different concentrations and for different time
periods resulted in the synthesis of different P(3HB/4HB) featuring different 4HB
molar fractions. Furthermore, the wild-type Cupriavidus sp. USMAA1020 strain is
able to synthesize P(3HB-co-4HB) copolymers and was exploited to tailor copolymer composition. Syafiq et al. (2017) obtained a sharp increase in 4HB molar fraction by introducing additional copies of PHA synthase gene responsible for
copolymer and by varying the amount of 4HB precursor substrates in the culture medium.
1.3.3 Production of Amino Acids in Engineered
Microorganisms
Amino acids are the constitutive building blocks sustaining the performances of
chemically active, self-assembling, and dynamic materials available in nature.
Synthesizing polymers introducing amino acid moieties is a promising headway
towards the development of smart materials.
α-Amino Acid-Based Materials
The remarkable diverse chemistry and dynamic responsiveness of natural polypeptides (i.e., poly(amino acids)) towards a variety of physical, chemical, and biochemical cues, which are due to the amino acid R-groups, are highly desirable to
extend the portfolio of innovative and functionally diversified polymeric materials
applied to biology- and medicine-related nanotechnologies. The functionality of
synthetic polymers, including responsiveness to stimuli, chirality, organocatalytic
activity, and antimicrobial and antifouling features, has been proven to benefit by
the usage of amino acid moieties. Amino acid-based polymers have been synthesized by various controlled living polymerization techniques including solid-phase
peptide synthesis (SPPS), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), nitroxidemediated polymerization (NMP), reversible addition fragmentation chain-transfer
polymerization (RAFT), the ring-opening polymerization of amino acid
N-carboxyanhydrides, living anionic polymerization, living cationic polymerization, acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization, and metal-catalyzed
metathesis or insertion polymerization. The development of synthetic polypeptides (Table 1.1) and amino acid-based non-peptide polymers (Table 1.2) undergoing structural rearrangements and/or phase transitions in response to variations in
environmental conditions, such as temperature, lightening, oxidation–reduction,
pH, metal ions, and presence of biologically relevant molecules (Bauri et al. 2018),
is opening up an exciting platform for the design and synthesis of innovative solutions for biomaterials employed in controlled drug delivery (Saxena and
Jayakannan 2016), biological sensors (Saxena and Jayakannan 2017), and matriA. A. Azim et al.
particular, adding γ-butyrolactone at different concentrations and for different time
periods resulted in the synthesis of different P(3HB/4HB) featuring different 4HB
molar fractions. Furthermore, the wild-type Cupriavidus sp. USMAA1020 strain is
able to synthesize P(3HB-co-4HB) copolymers and was exploited to tailor copolymer composition. Syafiq et al. (2017) obtained a sharp increase in 4HB molar fraction by introducing additional copies of PHA synthase gene responsible for
copolymer and by varying the amount of 4HB precursor substrates in the culture medium.
1.3.3 Production of Amino Acids in Engineered
Microorganisms
Amino acids are the constitutive building blocks sustaining the performances of
chemically active, self-assembling, and dynamic materials available in nature.
Synthesizing polymers introducing amino acid moieties is a promising headway
towards the development of smart materials.
α-Amino Acid-Based Materials
The remarkable diverse chemistry and dynamic responsiveness of natural polypeptides (i.e., poly(amino acids)) towards a variety of physical, chemical, and biochemical cues, which are due to the amino acid R-groups, are highly desirable to
extend the portfolio of innovative and functionally diversified polymeric materials
applied to biology- and medicine-related nanotechnologies. The functionality of
synthetic polymers, including responsiveness to stimuli, chirality, organocatalytic
activity, and antimicrobial and antifouling features, has been proven to benefit by
the usage of amino acid moieties. Amino acid-based polymers have been synthesized by various controlled living polymerization techniques including solid-phase
peptide synthesis (SPPS), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), nitroxidemediated polymerization (NMP), reversible addition fragmentation chain-transfer
polymerization (RAFT), the ring-opening polymerization of amino acid
N-carboxyanhydrides, living anionic polymerization, living cationic polymerization, acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization, and metal-catalyzed
metathesis or insertion polymerization. The development of synthetic polypeptides (Table 1.1) and amino acid-based non-peptide polymers (Table 1.2) undergoing structural rearrangements and/or phase transitions in response to variations in
environmental conditions, such as temperature, lightening, oxidation–reduction,
pH, metal ions, and presence of biologically relevant molecules (Bauri et al. 2018),
is opening up an exciting platform for the design and synthesis of innovative solutions for biomaterials employed in controlled drug delivery (Saxena and
Jayakannan 2016), biological sensors (Saxena and Jayakannan 2017), and matriA. A. Azim et al.