Future Directions at the Frontier of Polymer Science and Biology

Sébastien Lecommandoux (1, 2) , Harm-Anton Klok (3) , Zhiyuan Zhong (4) , Timothy Deming (5)

1 LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques
2 Team 3 LCPO : Polymer Self-Assembly & Life Sciences
3 EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
4 Soochow University
5 UCLA - University of California [Los Angeles]

The field of polymer science has continuously grown over the past century, since the discovery of polymers. Macromolecules are nowadays an essential piece of our life and are found in large range of different applications, from construction, materials, composites, food, health and personal care, among others. The research field is rather matured and structured, with a unique balance between fundamental research and more applied science, with a great involvement of companies. Many important challenges are still to be addressed, especially when polymers are considered at the interface with biology. This is exactly what a journal such as Biomacromolecules is focusing on since two decades now. 1 During Spring 2018, the first Bordeaux Polymer Conference (BPC 2018) 2 gathered the top specialists from all over the world, offering them the opportunity to present their most recent research findings and to discuss the latest ideas, discoveries and innovations in the field of Polymer Science and Engineering. This first edition, which gathered 600 participants, was organized by the Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques (LCPO) 3 in Bordeaux on May 28-31, 2018. Several symposia were featured, covering most of the different aspects of polymer science, including (1) Polymerization mechanism and catalysis, (2) Macromolecular engineering, (3) Green polymers, (4) Polymer self-assembly and (5) Interactions of polymers in life sciences and electronics. This Special Issue includes 25 papers (4 reviews and 21 original research manuscripts) that were presented at BPC 2018. These papers are covering a wide range of research topics of interest to the readership of Biomacromolecules, including biomaterials design, renewable materials, polymer micelles and vesicles, nanoparticles, hydrogels and nanogels for nanomedicine, green approaches for polymer design, biobased nanocomposites, biosourced amphiphiles, biocompatible and functional emulsions, macromolecular engineering for biomaterial design, DNA- and protein-based bioconjugates, design of polymer interface for controlled interaction with living organisms, bioadhesives, antimicrobial polymers and surfaces. Altogether, these contributions are providing a brilliant overview of the current state-of-the-art in the field and are highlighting exciting future emerging challenges and opportunities at the frontier of polymer science and life science, in a broad manner.

Domaines: Polymères; Matériaux; Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]

Sébastien Lecommandoux, Harm-Anton Klok, Zhiyuan Zhong, Timothy Deming. Future Directions at the Frontier of Polymer Science and Biology. Biomacromolecules, 2019, 20 (1), pp.1-3. ⟨10.1021/acs.biomac.8b01785⟩. ⟨hal-01981352⟩