role in polymer sciences [3–11]. Today, polymeric materials prepared according to
Staudinger’s molecular design principle, are indispensible in daily life. At the
beginning of the twenty-first century, we are living in the “Plastics Age.” As highly
cost-, eco-, resource-and energy-efficient materials polymers are pacemakers for
the progress in modern sustainable technologies, bringing great benefits to society.
Polymers secure health, mobility, communication, shelter, clothing, protection,
resources, and reliable supplies of food and energy. Above all, the versatile
polymeric materials with tailored property profiles render high-technology products
affordable for those living in industrial and developing countries. They contribute
to substantial savings in energy and resources and help meet the demands of the
rapidly growing world population.
2 Staudinger: Pioneer of Bioinspired Chemical Research
When Hermann Staudinger moved to Freiburg, he shifted his entire research focus
and thrust toward macromolecular chemistry, preparing and characterizing a wide
variety of macromolecules. These included biopolymers such as cellulose, natural
rubber, and chemically modified biopolymers as well as a wide variety of new
synthetic polymers ranging from polystyrene and polyoxymethylene to polysilicic
acid. Inspired by his close affiliation to botany, learning from nature was an integral
part of his research for decades. In fact, originally Staudinger had planned to study
botany. However, his father, the school teacher Franz Staudinger, advised him to
study chemistry first “in order to be able to understand botanical problems better.”
As an organic chemist, he carefully studied nature, successfully isolated natural
ingredients, identified their structure, and developed chemical syntheses for preparing them in the laboratory. This led him to the development and temporary
wartime commercial use of synthetic surrogates for the flavors of pepper and
roasted coffee, which were not available in Germany during World War
I. Together with Leopold Ruz ˇic ˇka and Staudinger’s former PhD student Tadaeus
Reichstein, he identified pyrethroids as natural biodegradable insecticides produced
by the chrysanthemum flower. Due to their very low mammalian toxicity, pyrethroids are in high demand today as common household insecticides. It was
extremely fortunate for the polymer community that Staudinger’s synthetic efforts
failed to produce the appropriate stereochemistry of three-membered ring in the
pyrethroid structure, thus enabling him to move to new horizons and pioneer
macromolecular chemistry.
It was Hermann Staudinger who recognized that biopolymers and synthetic
polymers are assembled according the same blueprint, linking together a huge
number of small monomer molecules by covalent bond formation. This approach
toward bioinspired research and molecular bionics was revolutionary, because at
that time the formation and properties of natural and synthetic polymers were
thought to be vastly different. In Staudinger’s view, synthetic polymers represent
excellent model systems for achieving a better understanding of biopolymers and
24
H.-J. Cantow and R. Mu ¨lhaupt
Staudinger’s molecular design principle, are indispensible in daily life. At the
beginning of the twenty-first century, we are living in the “Plastics Age.” As highly
cost-, eco-, resource-and energy-efficient materials polymers are pacemakers for
the progress in modern sustainable technologies, bringing great benefits to society.
Polymers secure health, mobility, communication, shelter, clothing, protection,
resources, and reliable supplies of food and energy. Above all, the versatile
polymeric materials with tailored property profiles render high-technology products
affordable for those living in industrial and developing countries. They contribute
to substantial savings in energy and resources and help meet the demands of the
rapidly growing world population.
2 Staudinger: Pioneer of Bioinspired Chemical Research
When Hermann Staudinger moved to Freiburg, he shifted his entire research focus
and thrust toward macromolecular chemistry, preparing and characterizing a wide
variety of macromolecules. These included biopolymers such as cellulose, natural
rubber, and chemically modified biopolymers as well as a wide variety of new
synthetic polymers ranging from polystyrene and polyoxymethylene to polysilicic
acid. Inspired by his close affiliation to botany, learning from nature was an integral
part of his research for decades. In fact, originally Staudinger had planned to study
botany. However, his father, the school teacher Franz Staudinger, advised him to
study chemistry first “in order to be able to understand botanical problems better.”
As an organic chemist, he carefully studied nature, successfully isolated natural
ingredients, identified their structure, and developed chemical syntheses for preparing them in the laboratory. This led him to the development and temporary
wartime commercial use of synthetic surrogates for the flavors of pepper and
roasted coffee, which were not available in Germany during World War
I. Together with Leopold Ruz ˇic ˇka and Staudinger’s former PhD student Tadaeus
Reichstein, he identified pyrethroids as natural biodegradable insecticides produced
by the chrysanthemum flower. Due to their very low mammalian toxicity, pyrethroids are in high demand today as common household insecticides. It was
extremely fortunate for the polymer community that Staudinger’s synthetic efforts
failed to produce the appropriate stereochemistry of three-membered ring in the
pyrethroid structure, thus enabling him to move to new horizons and pioneer
macromolecular chemistry.
It was Hermann Staudinger who recognized that biopolymers and synthetic
polymers are assembled according the same blueprint, linking together a huge
number of small monomer molecules by covalent bond formation. This approach
toward bioinspired research and molecular bionics was revolutionary, because at
that time the formation and properties of natural and synthetic polymers were
thought to be vastly different. In Staudinger’s view, synthetic polymers represent
excellent model systems for achieving a better understanding of biopolymers and
24
H.-J. Cantow and R. Mu ¨lhaupt