This article reviews the development of catalysts for ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), synthesis of polymers bearing amino acids and peptides by ROMP of functionalized norbornenes, formation of aggregates and micelles, and applications of the polymers to medical materials. It also describes the control of monomer unit sequences, that is, living polymerization to synthesize block copolymers, and alternating copolymerization that is achieved on the basis of acid-base interactions. Polymer Journal (2010) 42, 905-915; doi:10.1038/pj.2010.94; published online 13 October 2010Keywords: alternating copolymerization; amino acid; block copolymerization; living polymerization; metathesis catalyst; peptide; ROMP INTRODUCTIONOlefin metathesis reactions are metal-mediated carbon-carbon (C-C) double bond exchange processes, 1,2 which were discovered in the mid 1950s. Chauvin proposed the commonly accepted mechanism for metathesis involving a metallacyclobutane, as illustrated in Scheme 1. 3 Initially, olefin metathesis was regarded as an odd reaction, but now it has undoubtedly established the position as one of the most important C-C bond formation reactions applicable to synthesis of a wide variety of useful products. In the early stages, transition metal chlorides were used as catalysts for the reaction, but the transition metal carbene complex catalysts designed by Schrock and Grubbs have remarkably advanced mechanistic analysis and control of catalytic activity by the choice of ligands. In 2005, Chauvin, Grubbs and Schrock were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis.Olefin metathesis polymerization is an application of metathesis reactions to polymer synthesis and includes ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polycondensation (Scheme 2). ADMET has been extensively developed by Wagener since 1987 4 for the synthesis of polyolefins having regularly spaced functional group branches and high thermal stability and crystallinity. 5,6 ADMET is also useful for synthesizing polymeric materials containing in-chain functionality. Although the general structures of the polymers obtained by ROMP and ADMET are illustratable in the same fashion as shown in Scheme 2, a completely different treatment is necessary from the viewpoint of polymerization kinetics. The former involves chain polymerization, whereas the latter is a step-growth polymerization process.

Amino acid-derived novel norbornene monomers (1a-2b) having nonprotected amino groups, together with tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) protected ones (1a-Boc-2b-Boc) were synthesized and polymerized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization using the Grubbs second generation ruthenium catalyst. The L-alaninederived endo,endo-monomer 1a with amino groups gave no polymer, while the exo,exo-isomer 1b gave a polymer by raising the catalyst concentration. N-Methyl-L-alanine-derived 2a and 2b carrying secondary amino groups gave polymers in yields higher than 1a and 1b. On the other hand, Boc-protected 1a-Boc-2b-Boc gave the polymers in almost quantitative yields irrespective of the stereo structure (endo, exo) as well as the absence and presence of methyl group at the nitrogen atom. 1 H-1 H COSY NMR spectroscopic analysis and molecular mechanics calculation indicated that the polymers were syndiotactic.