SMART POLYMER-COUPLED BIOACTIVE ENTITIES AND USES THEREOF

摘要

Polymer hybrid composite articles having reversible activity and dispersion stabilities having polymer whiskers either chemical tethered to or physically adsorbed on the surfaces of medically or industrially active and important bioactive entities. The polymer whiskers are selected from those that exhibit distinct phase transitions that are induced by changing certain controllable thermodynamic parameters, such as temperature, pH, light, pressure, electric field strength, ionic strength, and solvent composition. Upon transition, the polymer whiskers, attached to the bioactive entity surfaces, undergo expansion or collapse, causing the polymer hybrid composite articles to disperse or coalesce. The bioactive entities chosen are from those that serve a wide range of functions, for example cells, proteins (e.g., enzymes, antibodies and receptors), nucleic acids, or small molecule functional groups. In the expanded polymer-whisker state, the bioactive entities of the composite articles perform their intended functions. When the polymer whiskers are switched into the collapsed-coil state, the bioactive entities are not active and the composite articles flocculate, allowing their facile elimination, collection or recovery. The present invention also provides a means to reversibly switch on and off the activity of an enzymatic catalyst. The present invention further provides a means for selecting and recovering target ligands, such as stem cells. Composite articles comprised of polymer whiskers attached to receptors having an affinity for the target ligand will, when the whiskers are expanded, expose the receptor to and allow attachment of the receptor with the target ligand. When the polymer whiskers are then collapsed, the target ligand is taken with the composite article as it flocculates, and can be collected and recovered. This method may be used in combinatorial chemistry, either in the synthesis of libraries of compounds or in the selection of targeted new molecular entities, based on structure-activity relationships.