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1. Transforming protein-polymer conjugate purification by tuning protein solubility

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12612-9  

   Baker, Stefanie L.; Munasinghe, Aravinda; Kaupbayeva, Bibifatima; Rebecca Kang, Nin; Certiat, Marie; Murata, Hironobu; Matyjaszewski, Krzysztof; Lin, Ping; Colina, Coray M.; Russell, Alan J. (December 2019, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Almost all commercial proteins are purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation. Protein-polymer conjugates are synthesized from pure starting materials, and the struggle to separate conjugates from polymer, native protein, and from isomers has vexed scientists for decades. We have discovered that covalent polymer attachment has a transformational effect on protein solubility in salt solutions. Here, protein-polymer conjugates with a variety of polymers, grafting densities, and polymer lengths are generated using atom transfer radical polymerization. Charged polymers increase conjugate solubility in ammonium sulfate and completely prevent precipitation even at 100% saturation. Atomistic molecular dynamic simulations show the impact is driven by an anti-polyelectrolyte effect from zwitterionic polymers. Uncharged polymers exhibit polymer length-dependent decreased solubility. The differences in salting-out are then used to simply purify mixtures of conjugates and native proteins into single species. Increasing protein solubility in salt solutions through polymer conjugation could lead to many new applications of protein-polymer conjugates. 

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2. Tailoring polymer architectures to drive molecular sieving in protein-polymer hybrids

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2025.101988  

   Kapil, Kriti; Murata, Hironobu; Trachsel, Lucca; Matyjaszewski, Krzysztof (June 2025, Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy)
3. Artificial Zymogen Based on Protein–Polymer Hybrids

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.4c01079  

   Murata, Hironobu; Kapil, Kriti; Kaupbayeva, Bibifatima; Russell, Alan J; Dordick, Jonathan S; Matyjaszewski, Krzysztof (November 2024, Biomacromolecules)
4. Dual-Crystallizable Silk Fibroin/Poly(L-lactic Acid) Biocomposite Films: Effect of Polymer Phases on Protein Structures in Protein-Polymer Blends

   https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22041871  

   Wang, Fang; Li, Yingying; Gough, Christopher R.; Liu, Qichun; Hu, Xiao (February 2021, International Journal of Molecular Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Biopolymer composites based on silk fibroin have shown widespread potential due to their brilliant applications in tissue engineering, medicine and bioelectronics. In our present work, biocomposite nanofilms with different special topologies were obtained through blending silk fibroin with crystallizable poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) at various mixture rates using a stirring-reflux condensation blending method. The microstructure, phase components, and miscibility of the blended films were studied through thermal analysis in combination with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman analysis. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope were also used for advanced structural analysis. Furthermore, their conformation transition, interaction mechanism, and thermal stability were also discussed. The results showed that the hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions existed between silk fibroin (SF) and PLLA polymer chains in the blended films. The secondary structures of silk fibroin and phase components of PLLA in composites vary at different ratios of silk to PLLA. The β-sheet content increased with the increase of the silk fibroin content, while the glass transition temperature was raised mainly due to the rigid amorphous phase presence in the blended system. This results in an increase in thermal stability in blended films compared to the pure silk fibroin films. This study provided detailed insights into the influence of synthetic polymer phases (crystalline, rigid amorphous, and mobile amorphous) on protein secondary structures through blending, which has direct applications on the design and fabrication of novel protein–synthetic polymer composites for the biomedical and green chemistry fields. 

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5. Scale-up synthesis of a polymer designed for protein therapy

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.05.032  

   Ding, Xiaochu; Miller, Paula G.; Hwang, Mintai Peter; Fu, Jiayin; Wang, Yadong (August 2019, European Polymer Journal)