Two methods for protein-polymer conjugation include the grafting-to and grafting-from methods. The grafting-to method involves attaching a protein to a previously synthesized polymer chain. Alternatively, the grafting-from method involves growing a polymer of desired chain length from a small initiator attached to the protein. Using RAFT (Reverse Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer) polymerization, we synthesized acrylamide and dimethylacrylamide polymers of various chain lengths (5, 20, 50, and 250 units). The polymer chains were characterized using <sup>1</sup>H NMR, GPC, and ESI. Once characterized the polymers were conjugated to lysozyme using standard grafting-to techniques (i.e., EDC/NHS amide coupling). Additionally, grafting-from conditions were screened to optimize the efficiency of protein conjugation, which was assessed using PAGE-gel electrophoresis. This presentation will discuss i) RAFT conditions for polymer synthesis, ii) the methods for characterizing polymer samples, iii) the effect of protein concentration on the efficiency of grafting-from bioconjugation, and iv) PAGE-gel electrophoresis methods for characterizing protein-polymer conjugates.<br/>

Protein-Polymer conjugates using grafting-to and grafting-from approaches

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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