Polymer Chemistry Blog

Christopher Barner-Kowollik is the head of preparative macromolecular chemistry group in the Institute for Technical Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry in Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The main interests of his research group are optimization of existing and novel living/controlled free radical polymerization methods, design of complex macromolecular architectures for variable applications, orthogonal polymer conjugation, surface modification of nano- and micro-objects, kinetics and mechanism of polymerization reactions, high resolution mass spectrometry and multidimensional chromatography on polymer systems. Please follow the link for further information on Christopher’s research group MacroArc and his recent review on Polymer Chemistry.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

I only came to chemistry during my last three years of high school in Germany and the US. In the US, I had a fantastic chemistry teacher, who really inspired me – she made chemistry a fun and interesting subject. Since then, the desire to find out what occurs on a molecular level and how it can be put to good use has provided me with continued enjoyment of the subject.

What was the motivation behind the research in your recent Polymer Chemistry paper where you have discussed the role of nitrones in the preparation of functional polymers?

In early 2008, we started a research program – together with my former post-doctoral fellow Dr. Thomas Junkers (who is now a professor) and PhD student Edgar Wong – into the use of nitrones for controlling molecular weight and mid-chain functionalities in free radical polymerization.

In the beginning, we had a completely different application for nitrones in mind, but then came fast to realize that these fascinating spin traps hold significant potential for the facile design of macromolecules, especially in combination with orthogonal ligation protocols. Since, we have come to appreciate the pioneering efforts of other researchers in this field, most notably the groups of Helmut Ritter and Christophe Detrembleur. It was thus quite natural to summarize the current state of the art, collating our work together with the existing material from other groups. The result is the current review, which we hope will inspire others to employ nitrone based macromolecular design. We will continue to further develop nitrone based design techniques and applications well into the future.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Being involved with Polymer Chemistry almost from the beginning, I find it a most vibrant and highly chemistry focused journal that publishes very high quality work. It was thus only natural to place a lot of our best work in the journal.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

In 2011, I will be attending the up-coming polymer conference in Stellenbosch in South Africa, the International Conference on Polymer Colloids in Durham, New Hampshire, as well as the ACS Meeting in Denver.

How do you spend your spare time?

I spend most of my spare time with my wife (who is also a polymer chemist) and two children playing, travelling and doing things that we enjoy as a family. If some time remains, I am into jogging as well as sessions of deep-into-the-night-reading of short stories – I love Roald Dahl and his most brilliant wit.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

My other passion – besides chemistry – is history. At the day of my university enrollment, I was still tossing up between chemistry and history. It was a very close call and I often wonder what would have been, had I taken my choice differently. I am fascinated by the work of historians such as Ian Kershaw for their precision analysis of complex past events. History is the one subject I could readily leave chemistry behind for.

Jan van Hest is the head of bio-organic chemistry group in Radboud Univeristy Nijmegen. His group finds its inspiration in natural materials and processes and their aim is to develop smart hybrid materials based on peptides and proteins, using a variety of synthetic techniques, such as proteinengineering, peptide synthesis and controlled polymerization methods. Besides, they are developing mimic natural synthetic processes by miniaturisation of reaction environments using microsystem technology (Process on a Chip), and by compartmentalization of biocatalysts in polymeric capsules (polymersomes). Recently, Jan is awarded a VICI grant from The Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO). Please follow the links to find more information on his research group and his recent paper in Polymer Chemistry.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

From the very moment I was taught chemistry I was intrigued by molecules and materials. The fact that chemistry is all around you and that it can be used to explain the properties of every single object motivated me to find out more about this discipline. In particular the interface between chemistry and biology was something that drew my attention. Since then I have only become even more fascinated by this topic.

What was the motivation behind the research in your recent Polymer Chemistry paper where you have discussed shedding the hydrophilic mantle of polymersomes?

This research started as a discussion with some of my colleagues with whom I collaborate in a drug delivery project. The question that arose was to what extent a drug delivery vehicle had to be PEGylated to have stealth-like properties. A fully PEGylated surface could have a negative effect on the uptake efficiency, whereas if not enough PEG was located on the periphery problems could arise with capsule stability. As synthetic polymer chemists we then decided to answer this question by creating a polymersome of which we could remove part of the PEG layer in a controlled fashion. The fact that we could go as far as 5% (and even further) was a real surprise to us.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is an exciting new journal which deals with the latest developments in macromolecular science. It has attracted much attention since its start, and I see that many of my colleagues use the journal to highlight their latest results

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will be in Bilbao, Spain, from 21-25 April at the large nanoscience conference. I also will participate in the Nanotech 2011 in Boston in June.

How do you spend your spare times?

My wife and I like to spend our holidays abroad, going from one place to the next and experience both the culture and nature of a country.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Difficult question. As a child I used to the say I wanted to become a lawyer, but I guess my present profession fits me much better