DNA‐Synthetic Polymer Conjugates

Summary: By conjugating functional moieties of biopolymers to artificial polymers, novel functional materials can be developed, since such conjugated polymers could combine the functions of the biopolymers and the functions, solidity, and economical advantages of the artificial polymers. This article reviews studies for developing novel materials from DNA and their analogues, and discusses a recent report by Wang and co‐workers (Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2006, 207, 389) that describes the preparation of a thymine‐poly(thiophene) conjugate, a novel conjugated polymer that carries a nucleobase. In addition, they demonstrate that the conjugated polymer is useful for detecting HgII ions. Thus, the report indicates that developing conjugated polymers, which have the functions of DNA on a stable polymer backbone, is one of the promising ways to synthesize practical functional polymers. A schematic representation of the DNA duplex structure and a poly(thiophene) carrying a thymine residue. magnified image A schematic representation of the DNA duplex structure and a poly(thiophene) carrying a thymine residue.