Compartmentalized Polymers for Catalysis in Aqueous Media

The field of polymer science has advanced to a point where precise control over a polymer's chain length, dispersity, and microstructure permits to access compartmentalized polymers that catalyze a range of reactions efficiently and selectively in aqueous media. We here summarize how we unveiled the relation between the primary structure of amphiphilic polymers and their folding/collapse processes into compartmentalized structures in water. In addition, we discuss how these insights allowed us to access active catalysts that function in water and complex cellular media. After obtaining profound knowledge, we achieved enzyme-like activity and selectivity in these synthetic catalytic systems and improved their stability in complex media. We envisage that polymer-based catalytic systems will become accessible that cooperate in concert with enzymes for multistep cascade catalysis in water or induce novel ways to activate drugs in diseased tissue.