Synthetic biopolymers are human-made copies of biopolymers obtained by abiotic chemical routes.[1] Synthetic biopolymer of different chemical nature have been obtained, including polysaccharides,[2] glycoproteins,[3] peptides and proteins,[4][5] polyhydroxoalkanoates,[6] polyisoprenes.[7]
Synthetic biopolymers: human-made copies of biopolymers obtained by abiotic chemical routes.
Artificial polymer: human-made polymer that is not a biopolymer
The high molecular weight of biopolymers make their synthesis inherently laborious. Further challenges can arise from specific spatial arrangement adopted by the natural biopolymer, which may be vital for its properties/activity but not easily reproducible in the synthetic copy. Despite this, chemical approaches to obtain biopolymer are highly desirable to overcome issues arising from low abundance of the target biopolymer in Nature, the need for cumbersome isolation processes or high batch-to-batch variability or inhomogeneity of the naturally-sourced species.[8]
Examples of synthetic biopolymers obtained by chemical routes
Examples of biopolymers obtained by chemoenzymatic routes
- Polyhydroxoalkanoates and polyesters obtained by enzyme-assisted esterification using lipases.[6]
- Heparin,[16] heparan sulfate[17] and other glycosaminoglycans[18] and plant glycans.[19]
- Polysaccharides such as cellulose, amylose, chitin and derivatives[2]
- Natural and non-natural polynucleotides can be successfully obtained by enzyme-assisted synthesis using ligase- or polymerase-based approaches and template-assisted polymerisation.[20]
Human-made biopolymers obtained through approaches that involve genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technology are different from synthetic biopolymers and should be referred to as artificial biopolymer (e.g., artificial protein, artificial polynucleotide, etc.).[1]
As their natural analogues, synthetic biopolymers find applications in numerous fields, including materials for commodities, drug delivery, tissue engineering, therapeutic and diagnostic applications.[citation needed]
Kubicek, Christian P. (2016), "Synthetic Biopolymers", in Glieder, Anton; Kubicek, Christian P.; Mattanovich, Diethard; Wiltschi, Birgit (eds.), Synthetic Biology, Springer International Publishing, pp. 307–335, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22708-5_9, ISBN 9783319227085 Rudin, Alfred; Choi, Phillip (2013-01-01), Rudin, Alfred; Choi, Phillip (eds.), "Chapter 11 - Ionic and Coordinated Polymerizations", The Elements of Polymer Science & Engineering (Third Edition), Academic Press, pp. 449–493, doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-382178-2.00011-0, ISBN 9780123821782 Song, Jing-She; Huang, Bao-Chen; Yu, Ding-Sheng (2001). "Progress of synthesis and application of trans-1,4-polyisoprene". Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 82 (1): 81–89. doi:10.1002/app.1826. ISSN 1097-4628. Sohma, Youhei; Pentelute, Brad L.; Whittaker, Jonathan; Hua, Qin-xin; Whittaker, Linda J.; Weiss, Michael A.; Kent, Stephen B. H. (2008). "Comparative Properties of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) and [Gly7D-Ala]IGF-1 Prepared by Total Chemical Synthesis". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 47 (6): 1102–1106. doi:10.1002/anie.200703521. ISSN 1521-3773. PMID 18161716. Kochendoerfer, Gerd G.; Salom, David; Lear, James D.; Wilk-Orescan, Rosemarie; Kent, Stephen B. H.; DeGrado, William F. (1999-09-01). "Total Chemical Synthesis of the Integral Membrane Protein Influenza A Virus M2: Role of Its C-Terminal Domain in Tetramer Assembly". Biochemistry. 38 (37): 11905–11913. doi:10.1021/bi990720m. ISSN 0006-2960. PMID 10508393. Peterson, Sherket; Frick, Amber; Liu, Jian (2009). "Design of biologically active heparan sulfate and heparin using an enzyme-based approach". Natural Product Reports. 26 (5): 610–27. doi:10.1039/B803795G. PMID 19387498. Mende, Marco; Bednarek, Christin; Wawryszyn, Mirella; Sauter, Paul; Biskup, Moritz B.; Schepers, Ute; Bräse, Stefan (13 July 2016). "Chemical Synthesis of Glycosaminoglycans". Chemical Reviews. 116 (14): 8193–8255. doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00010. PMID 27410264.