Polypeptide Synthesis via Living Polymerization

Significance

The authors report a controlled polymerization, mediated by hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) to synthesize polypeptides and block co-polypeptides. The polymerization is living, yielding polypeptides with molecular weights (M_n) closely matching predicted values. With polypeptides playing an increasingly larger role as functional materials employed in a wide range of applications, the establishment of a highly efficient method of their syntheses is a notable accomplishment.