Next Generation Polymer Nanostructures (2006-2008)

There is great demand in designing polymeric materials with synthetic flexibility and desired function to create advanced products in biomedical and coatings industries. This project aims to satisfy this demand by developing a novel synthetic methodology to construct dendrimers and other highly ordered nanostructures from uniform polymeric building blocks with predetermined functionality and composition. This represents a significant synthetic breakthrough in polymer chemistry. By applying this new method to the development of a synthetic GAS vaccine, a quantitative and qualitative understanding of how these nanostructures function will develop the enabling science for other biomedical, drug and gene delivery applications.