Mimicking DNA Functions with Abiotic, Sequence-Defined Polymers

Abstract

Advances in synthetic chemistry have enabled abiotic, sequence defined polymers to imitate the structures and functions once exclusive to DNA. Indeed, the vast library of accessible backbones and pendant-group functionalities afford synthetic polymers an advantage over DNA in emerging applications as they can be tailored for stability or performance. Moreover, novel methodologies for sequencing and conjugation have been leveraged to elevate the versatility of discrete macromolecules. This review highlights abiotic, sequence-defined polymers in their capacity to mimic the primary functions of DNA – data storage and retrieval, sequence-specific self-assembly of duplexes, and replication and synthetic templating of new macromolecules.

Keywords:

• Sequence-defined polymers
• DNA mimicry
• molecular ladder
• synthetic polymer
• templating
• replication

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, under Award #DE-SC0012479, the National Science Foundation under Award #1462267, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and the National Institutes of Health under Grant #R01 DE026116.