Synthetic Approaches for Copolymers Containing Nucleic Acids and Analogues: Challenges and Opportunities

Polym Chem. 2021 Apr 21;12(15):2193-2204. doi: 10.1039/d0py01707h. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Abstract

A deep integration of nucleic acids with other classes of materials have become the basis of many useful technologies. Among these biohybrids, nucleic acid-containing copolymers has seen rapid development in both chemistry and application. This review focuses on the various synthetic approaches to access nucleic acid-polymer biohybrids spanning post-polymerization conjugation, nucleic acids in polymerization, solid-phase synthesis, and nucleoside/nucleobase-functionalized polymers. We highlight the challenges associated with working with nucleic acids with each approach and the ingenuity of the solutions, with the hope of lowering the entry barrier and inpsiring further investigations in this exciting area.