A nanoscale MOF-based heterogeneous catalytic system for the polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides enables direct routes toward both polypeptides and related hybrid materials

Abstract

Synthetic polypeptides have emerged as versatile tools in both materials science and biomedical engineering due to their tunable properties and biodegradability. While the advancements of N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) ring-opening polymerization (ROP) techniques have aimed to expedite polymerization and reduce environment sensitivity, the broader implications of such methods remain underexplored, and the integration of ROP products with other materials remains a challenge. Here, we show an approach inspired by the success of many heterogeneous catalysts, using nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as co-catalysts for NCA-ROP accelerated also by peptide helices in proximity. This heterogeneous approach offers multiple advantages, including fast kinetics, low environment sensitivity, catalyst recyclability, and seamless integration with hybrid materials preparation. The catalytic system not only streamlines the preparation of polypeptides and polypeptide-coated MOF complexes (MOF@polypeptide hybrids) but also preserves and enhances their homogeneity, processibility, and overall functionalities inherited from the constituting MOFs and polypeptides.