Adv Polym Sci (2013) 261: 199–210
DOI: 10.1007/12_2013_261
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Published online: 27 November 2013
The Wonder of Life in Its Chemical Aspect
David A. Tirrell
Abstract Hermann Staudinger was deeply interested in both macromolecular
chemistry and biology. This chapter reviews briefly the shared origins of studies
of natural and synthetic polymers, the subsequent divergence of the two fields, and
their more recent convergence, made possible by the development of recombinant
DNA methodology. The use of recombinant DNA technology to prepare welldefined macromolecular materials is discussed, along with the use of non-canonical
amino acids as probes of protein synthesis in complex cellular systems.
Keywords Molecular biology Á Non-canonical amino acids Á Nucleic acids Á
Proteins Á Recombinant DNA
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
2 Control of Supramolecular Architecture and Macromolecular Materials Properties . . . . . 201
2.1 Chain-Folded Lamellar Crystals from Periodic Polypeptides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
2.2 Smectic Liquid Crystals from Monodisperse Rod-Like Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
2.3 Programming the Viscoelastic Behavior of Macromolecular Solutions and Gels . . 205
2.4 Artificial Extracellular Matrix Proteins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
3 Non-canonical Amino Acids as Probes of Biological Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
3.1 The BONCAT Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 207
3.2 Cell-Selective BONCAT . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 208
4 Convergence of Macromolecular Chemistry and Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
D.A. Tirrell (*)
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
e-mail: tirrell@caltech.edu
DOI: 10.1007/12_2013_261
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Published online: 27 November 2013
The Wonder of Life in Its Chemical Aspect
David A. Tirrell
Abstract Hermann Staudinger was deeply interested in both macromolecular
chemistry and biology. This chapter reviews briefly the shared origins of studies
of natural and synthetic polymers, the subsequent divergence of the two fields, and
their more recent convergence, made possible by the development of recombinant
DNA methodology. The use of recombinant DNA technology to prepare welldefined macromolecular materials is discussed, along with the use of non-canonical
amino acids as probes of protein synthesis in complex cellular systems.
Keywords Molecular biology Á Non-canonical amino acids Á Nucleic acids Á
Proteins Á Recombinant DNA
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
2 Control of Supramolecular Architecture and Macromolecular Materials Properties . . . . . 201
2.1 Chain-Folded Lamellar Crystals from Periodic Polypeptides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
2.2 Smectic Liquid Crystals from Monodisperse Rod-Like Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
2.3 Programming the Viscoelastic Behavior of Macromolecular Solutions and Gels . . 205
2.4 Artificial Extracellular Matrix Proteins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
3 Non-canonical Amino Acids as Probes of Biological Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
3.1 The BONCAT Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 207
3.2 Cell-Selective BONCAT . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 208
4 Convergence of Macromolecular Chemistry and Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
D.A. Tirrell (*)
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
e-mail: tirrell@caltech.edu