Bioconjugates/Biohybrid Polymers

Dear Colleagues,

Bioorganic-synthetic polymer conjugates, also referred to as biohybrids, are built up from biomolecules (e.g., peptide sequence, protein, sugar, polysaccharide, DNA/RNA, terpene) and synthetic polymers, aiming to combine the advantageous properties of the two components, namely biological function, molecular recognition, chirality, etc. (biological component) and solution properties, processability, etc. (synthetic component). Although the first bioconjugate polymers have already been reported more than 40 years ago, it still remains a challenge to produce well-defined samples on larger scale. This goal has recently been approached with the developments of “living”/controlled polymerization techniques and improved coupling techniques, i.e., PEGylation and “click” chemistry.

This special issue is intended to highlight recent advances in the controlled synthesis and characterization of bioconjugate polymers as well as their use in the biomedical field (drug delivery/targeting, diagnostics, etc.), supramolecular and colloid science, materials science, and so on.

Dr. Helmut Schlaad
Guest Editor