近日，中科院化学所王树课题组在生物催化的细胞表面原位聚合反应研究中取得新进展。 这一研究成果于2020年11月28日发表在国际顶尖学术期刊《德国应用化学》上。

在这项工作中，该研究团队开发了一种用于在活细胞表面原位合成共轭聚合物的生物钯催化聚合策略。通过薗头聚合反应（Sonagashira polymerization reaction），研究人员在细胞生成的钯催化下于细胞表面上合成了光敏高分子聚对苯撑乙炔（PPE）。原位形成的PPE具有良好的光采集能力，并且大肠杆菌和蛋白核小球藻表面发出蓝色荧光。除了对微生物进行成像以追踪聚合过程外，PPE对大肠杆菌也表现出了增强的抗菌活性。此外，它还可以通过放大藻类的光吸收以及加速藻类的细胞电子传递来增强蛋白核小球藻中的ATP合成。

据了解，用功能高分子进行细胞表面工程化改造是一种高效调节细胞活性的策略。通过采用这一生物金属催化的聚合策略，功能高分子可在活细胞表面原位合成，从而为调节细胞功能开辟了一条新途径。

附：英文原文

Title: In‐Situ Synthesis of Photoactive Polymers on Living Cell Surface via Bio‐Palladium Catalysis for Modulating Biological Functions

Author: Shu Wang

Issue&Volume: 28 November 2020

Abstract: Cell surface engineering with functional polymers is an effective strategy to modulate cell activity. In this work, we develop a new bio‐palladium catalyzed polymerization strategy for in‐situ synthesis of conjugated polymers on living cell surfaces. Through Sonagashira polymerization reaction, photoactive polyphenyleneethynylene (PPE) is synthesized on the cell surface via cell‐generated bio‐Pd catalyst. The in‐situ formed PPE is identified by excellent light‐harvest capacity and blue fluorescence on the surfaces of E. coli and C. pyrenoidosa. Besides imaging microbes for tracing the polymerization process, PPE also exhibits enhanced antibacterial activity against E. coli. Moreover, it can augment the ATP synthesis of C. pyrenoidosa through enlarging the light absorption and accelerating the cyclic electron transport of the algae. By using this bio‐metal catalyzed polymerization method, functional polymers can be in‐situ synthesized on the living cell surface, which paves a new way for modulating cell functions.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.202015247

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202015247