Connecting natural and synthetic polymerization processes within living systems

Conducting synthetic polymerization inside living systems opens direct routes to novel therapeutics and biotechnologies. Synthetic Polymerization in Living Systems: Design, Preparation, and Applications presents current research on designing, preparing, and deploying synthetic polymers within biological environments. The volume systematically compares natural and synthetic polymerization, establishing the rationale for engineering polymer formation in situ rather than relying on ex vivo synthesis.

Chapters address molecular design principles governing monomer selection, polymerization techniques adapted for intracellular and in vivo conditions, and critical parameters of biocompatibility and biodegradability. The book examines downstream applications in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and therapeutics, detailing how synthetic polymers interact with cellular machinery. It concludes by assessing key findings and outlining future research directions for this field.

Readers will also find:

• Analysis of challenges specific to initiating and controlling polymerization reactions under the constraints of living biological environments
• Discussion of supramolecular self-assembly strategies that enable functional polymer architectures to form within cellular compartments
• Coverage of intracellular polymerization approaches with direct relevance to emerging cancer treatment modalities and targeted drug delivery
• Examination of biodegradable polymer design criteria that balance therapeutic efficacy with safe clearance from biological systems
• Perspectives on integrating synthetic polymerization with tissue engineering, biomedical device fabrication, and regenerative medicine applications

Polymer chemists, cell biologists, materials scientists, medicinal chemists, biochemists, and biotechnologists in both academia and industry will find this volume a focused resource for understanding and advancing synthetic polymerization within living systems and translating these processes into biomedical and technological applications.

Jin Geng is Principal Investigator and Director of the Centre for Polymers in Medicine at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, his research focuses on intracellular polymerization for cancer treatment and supramolecular self-assembly in living cells. He previously conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge and University of Edinburgh. He holds some 40 published papers and 10 filed patents, and has received the Conference Prize from the Chinese Chemical Society and the High-Value Patent Prize from the Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering.