Patent Title: UNIFORM SEQUENCE-DEFINED POLYURETHANES AND USES THEREOF AS MOLECULAR LABELS

 Number/Link: WO2017/194694

Applicant/Assignee:  Centre National de la Recherche

Publication date: 16 November 2017

“Gist”: Stepwise immobilized polymer synthesis is used to make polyurethane having a predefined sequence of monomers

Why it is interesting: The invention is about monodisperse polyurethanes consisting of a well-defined sequence of monomers having various chain lengths and side groups – not unlike proteins or nucleic acids. In a first step a solid support (e.g. polystyrene beads) which bears a cleavable tether molecule is reacted with N,N’-disuccinimidylcarbonate and in a second step with an aminoalcohol like 5-amino-1-pentanol. Steps 1 and 2 are then repeated using the same or a different aminoalcohol. Finally the tether is cleaved from the support.  If 2 different aminoalcohols are used, a binary code can be encoded in the molecule which can later be read using a sequencing technique. The polyurethanes are said to be useful in anti-counterfeiting technologies.

Reaction sequence according to the invention