Multifunctional sequence-defined macromolecules for chemical data storage

Abstract

Sequence-defined macromolecules consist of a defined chain length (single mass), end-groups, composition and topology and prove promising in application fields such as anti-counterfeiting, biological mimicking and data storage. Here we show the potential use of multifunctional sequence-defined macromolecules as a storage medium. As a proof-of-principle, we describe how short text fragments (human-readable data) and QR codes (machine-readable data) are encoded as a collection of oligomers and how the original data can be reconstructed. The amide-urethane containing oligomers are generated using an automated protecting-group free, two-step iterative protocol based on thiolactone chemistry. Tandem mass spectrometry techniques have been explored to provide detailed analysis of the oligomer sequences. We have developed the generic software tools Chemcoder for encoding/decoding binary data as a collection of multifunctional macromolecules and Chemreader for reconstructing oligomer sequences from mass spectra to automate the process of chemical writing and reading.

Deconstructing Oligomer Distributions: Discrete Species and Artificial Distributions

“…[6][7][8] This allows the study of thermal and physical characteristics of oligomers with as table hydrocarbon backbone that are chemically identical to well-known disperse synthetic polymers. [9][10][11] Forhigh-performance applications in fields such as data storage, [12] catalysis, [13] or pharmacology, [5,14] stringent prerequisites necessitate absolute control over material characteristics together with the capability to tune material properties. [9][10][11] Forhigh-performance applications in fields such as data storage, [12] catalysis, [13] or pharmacology, [5,14] stringent prerequisites necessitate absolute control over material characteristics together with the capability to tune material properties.…”

High-density information storage in an absolutely defined aperiodic sequence of monodisperse copolyester

“…The solid-phase synthesis has been a method to synthesize polymers with defined aperiodic sequences [9][10][11][12] . Although sequence-defined polymers with more than 100 repeating units have been synthesized 13,14 , synthesis has largely been limited to sequence-defined oligomers with a limited number of repeating units due to the difficulties associated with the repeated step-bystep addition of individual monomers to achieve high molecular weights [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] . The iterative convergent method has been widely adopted for the synthesis of dendritic and linear macromolecules with precisely defined chemical structures [27][28][29][30] .…”

Transformation of Thioester‐Initiated Star Polymers into Linear Arms via Native Chemical Ligation

“…Thioester functional polymers can mainly be obtained by employing thioester‐containing monomers (e.g., thioacrylates, thiolactone), their generation during the polymerization process (e.g., polythioesters), or by using thioester‐containing chain transfer agents/initiators depending on the employed polymerization technique . In metal‐mediated polymerizations such as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or single‐electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET‐LRP), mostly ester‐based initiators are used due to their easy synthesis, but more importantly due to their compatibility with a wide range of monomers, which is determined by efficiency of the initiator.…”