Polymer Chemistry Blog

Prof. Shiyong Liu was born in Hubei Province, China, in 1972. He obtained his B. S. degree in 1993 and M. S. degree in 1996 from Wuhan University, majoring in environmental chemistry and polymer chemistry, respectively. After obtaining his Ph.D. degree in 2000 at Fudan University under the supervision of Prof. Ming Jiang, he spent three and a half years at University of Sussex and University of Delaware as a postdoctoral fellow, working with Prof. Steven P. Armes (currently at University of Sheffield) and Prof. Eric W. Kaler (currently at University of Minnesota), respectively. Since 2004, he has been a professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Science and Technology of China. He is recipient of 100 Talents Program (CAS, 2004), Distinguished Young Scholars Award (NSFC, 2004), Cheung Kong Professor Award (Ministry of Education of China, 2009), Chinese Chemical Society-Royal Chemical Society Young Chemist Award (2009), Young Faculty Achievement Award of USTC Alumni Foundation (2009), and Young Scientist Award (CAS, 2012). He served in the Editorial Advisory Board for Macromolecules (ACS, 2008-2010). He has served as the Head of Department of Polymer Science and Engineering since 2004 and the Director of CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry since 2010. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed journal papers and 6 book chapters with a total citation of over 5000 and an H-index of 40. His current research interests include the design and synthesis of functional polymeric materials, colloids, and stimuli-responsive polymeric assemblies with controlled properties for applications in imaging, theranostics, and drug/gene nanocarriers.

Research group web site: http://staff.ustc.edu.cn/~sliu.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

My curiosity to explore and experience new things drives me to love chemistry. “To create new substances” is always exciting, as they are might be associated with previously unknown properties and un-realized functions. I enjoy the process of solving synthetic challenges and understanding underlying mechanisms.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20701J)

Since 2004, we have worked on the synthesis of block copolymers of nonlinear chain topologies, which are responsive to pH and temperature and ionic strengths, focusing on the triggered assembly and disassembly and especially self-assembling kinetics via the stopped-flow technique. In the past few years, we have been working on responsive polymer-based functional materials with imaging, sensing, theranostics, and nanomedicines. In this context, to design and synthesis of polymers responsive to biologically relevant milieu (e.g., mildly acidic pH, redox potential, enzymes, etc.) is quite crucial. This motivated us to write this Polymer Chemistry article. We are currently working on bioresponsive supramolecular assemblies of polymer-drug conjugates, which can actively interact with specific tissues, micro-environments, cells, and subcellular components.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is an emerging high-quality journal in synthetic polymer chemistry. Its scope fits well the current trends of functional polymeric materials. We need to acknowledge that although several fundamental scientific problems in polymer science, specifically in polymer physics, still exist, they do not represent the future directions of polymer science. Problem-solving based on challenges encountered in functional materials and their applications is more exciting and rewarding.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

8^th International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials (October 21-23, 2012; Santa Rosa, CA).

Our CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry is organizing “The 3^rd Sino-French Bilateral Seminar on Macromolecules and Soft Matter”, which will be held in Hefei, China on September 26-29, 2012. Website: http://polymer.ustc.edu.cn

How do you spend your spare times?

I am trying to spend more time with my family. My 6 year old son and I go to an aero-modeling course every Saturday afternoon. Watching TV sport games and reading are also good choices. I have kept the habit of browsing through local newspapers before getting to sleep every night, and this does not depend on whether it is 11:00 PM or 2:00 AM.

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

I might have been an economist, investment advisor, or businessman; I am quite good at “mathematics”.

I obtained my degree in Chemistry in 1998 from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), where I specialised in Organic Chemistry. At the same university I undertook postgraduate studies and obtained a PhD in 2004. Under the supervision of Prof Susana López Estévez, I developed the total synthesis of several marine natural polyacetylenes with important biological properties. After that, I moved to the field of polymer chemistry and I joined the group of Prof Neil Cameron at the University of Durham (UK) in 2005. As part of the EU training network ‘SmashyBio’, we worked on the development of highly porous materials for the reversible immobilisation of biomolecules. In 2006, I returned to the University of Santiago de Compostela to work with Profs Ricardo Riguera and Eduardo Fernandez-Megia, on the development on novel dendrimeric materials for applications at the chemistry-biology interface. Since october 2009, I have been working as a research fellow in the Division of Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering, working on the development on novel polymeric materials for drug delivery and synthetic biology.

Web-Page: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pharmacy/people/francisco.fernandez-trillo

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

I have always found inspiration from the people that are close to me or that I know. In that regard, the first person that ‘inspired’ me to do chemistry was my mother, a chemist by training. Not only her example convinced me to do chemistry, but she has shown me the value of responsibility and hard work. In addition, through the years, I have tried to learn from the people around me, not only from my supervisors and mentors, but from the many talented co-workers and collaborators I have had the privilege to work with.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20352A )

In our research group we are very interested in developing novel self-assembled materials for their application in different fields such as drug delivery, tissue culture, imaging or synthetic biology. For some of these applications, developing robust particles that can stand the different conditions that can be found for instance in the body, is of extreme importance. In this regard, polymeric vesicles offer great versatility as the properties can be tailored by a careful selection of monomers and polymerisation techniques.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry has become the reference journal for the synthesis of polymeric materials. Most of the key research groups in the area report their work here, and therefore we felt it was the natural journal to report ours.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

In the next couple of months, I will be speaking at the ACS meeting in Philadelphia and the UKPhamsci conference in Nottingham, about our recent work in the development of novel antibacterial polymers.

How do you spend your spare times?

Well, like one of my former supervisors used to say in his webpage, I have 2 kids and therefore no time for luxuries such as hobbies. The truth is that I like to spend my spare time with my family, as work in academia already takes a lot of my time. Other things that I am happy to do in my spare time are reading a nice book/comic, enjoying a conversation over a pint at the pub, and like any good spaniard, discussing over a nice meal.

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

I have never gave much thought to what would I be if I was not a scientist. What I am sure is that it will have to be something creative, and probably in the engineering or technology area, as I have no talent for arts.

David A Fulton is a Lecturer at Newcastle University in the UK.  A native of the town of Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire, Scotland, he received his BSc (Hons) from Strathclyde University in 1996 and PhD in 2001 from the University of California, Los Angeles under the direction of Prof Sir J Fraser Stoddart FRS, working on cyclodextrin and supramolecular chemistry. After a brief spell in industry he then spent two and half years as a postdoctoral research associate with Prof David Parker FRS at the University of Durham working on the synthesis of gadolinium-centered dendrimers as new MRI contrast agents.  In 2006 he moved up the road to Newcastle to take up his present position within the School of Chemistry, where he went about establishing a polymer chemistry laboratory.  His research interests are focused on using synthetic polymer chemistry to address problems in medicine, nanoscience and materials science.

His group webpage can be found at: www.dafresearchgroup.com.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

I was always interested in science as a child, and when I got to high school chemistry was by far my favourite and best subject, and that led me to study chemistry at degree level and beyond.  Perhaps a more interesting question is why my research interests focus on polymer chemistry when my background is in cyclodextrin chemistry (PhD work) and MRI contrast agents (Postdoctoral work)!  Firstly, the advances in synthetic polymer chemistry over the last 15 years or so really caught my attention.  I’d always had some interest in large molecules, and here were methods to easily prepare them with surprisingly high levels of precision, and I felt I would be able to do some useful work with these synthetic methods.  Secondly, but perhaps more importantly, because polymers are ubiquitous in the world around us, I felt there would be more opportunities to become involved with research projects tackling real-world problems.  Because of these reasons, when I got my independent appointment at Newcastle in 2006 I decided to initiate a research program in polymer chemistry.  It’s been a steep learning curve moving into a new field, but I think my group have made good progress over the last three-four years.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article (entitled: “Investigating templating within Polymer-Scaffolded Dynamic Combinatorial Libraries“, DOI:10.1039/C2PY20600E)?

We became intrigued by the possibility of making wholly-synthetic analogues of natural proteins.  Since I’d been following the developing field of dynamic combinatorial chemistry since my PhD days, I thought it would be interesting to try to take principles from this field and apply them towards the discovery of synthetic macromolecules which may possess molecular-recognition properties.  We developed the concept of the “polymer-scaffolded dynamic combinatorial library (PS-DCL), and with generous funding from EPSRC we’re seeing just how far we will be able to take this concept.  This article helps us understand better how some important structural factors of the polymer scaffold influence how the libraries respond to the addition of templates, and is an important step forward in our development of the concept.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

The most important reason is that I feel that many polymer chemists actually follow the journal and therefore it would be more likely that people might read our article.  Furthermore, although this is only my second article in Polymer chemistry, I’ve found that our manuscripts have been processed very swiftly and fairly with surprisingly thorough peer-reviewing.  These are important factors when considering where to send a manuscript which members of your research group have put a huge amount of effort into.  Finally, I think the journal is also publishing some very nice work, and this will help increase the prestige of the title.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I can take this an opportunity to plug a session which I am co-organizing with Brent Sumerlin at the ACS spring meeting in Dallas 2014 on the utilization and exploitation of dynamic covalent bonds in polymer science.  Next year I will probably try to get to the European Polymer Federation meeting in Pisa.

How do you spend your spare times?

As the father of a one-year old daughter, I rarely have free time.  When I’m not at work I’m usually doing things with my wife and daughter.  I still try to play soccer every Friday evening with the PhD students and postdocs who work in my building, but I find that they constantly stay around the same age of twenty-something whilst I get older every year.

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

It’s easy to think of the professions I wouldn’t want to do, but harder to think of the ones where I would have the required levels of talent and drive to be able to make a living.  I think I have a good enough feel for numbers and just enough creativity that I could probably do something connected with money and finance.

Professor Greg Qiao received his B.Eng. in Polymer Engineering at East China University in 1982 and his Ph.D. at the University of Queensland in 1996 on synthetic organic chemistry.  He then worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne, when he entered the field of synthetic polymer chemistry and engineering. He became a Lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering in 2002, then promoted to a Senior Lecturer in 2004, Associate Professor and Reader in 2007 and a full professor in 2009.  Since 2012, he has been an ARC’s professorial Future Fellow. He has also been appointed as the Assistant Dean (Research) in the Melbourne School of Engineering since 2009.

Professor Qiao was elected as a Fellow of Royal Australia Chemical Institute (FRACI) in 2006. He was awarded a Freehills Award by IchemE in Australia, Royal Australia of Chemical Institute (RACI) and Engineering Australia for excellence in the field of chemical engineering in 2010 and RACI’s Polymer Division Citation for service to Polymer Division and distinguished research achievements in the field of synthetic polymer chemistry in 2012.

Professor Qiao currently leads a Polymer Research Group of ~ 20 people and his research interests has been in the synthesis of novel macromolecular architectures by controlled polymerizations, polymeric membranes for gas separations, functional polymers for specific applications in mineral, paint, packaging, water and special composite industry, and biomacromolecular scaffolds for soft tissue engineering. He has published more than 100 journal papers and is the inventor for more than 20 patents. He is also on the advisory board of Melbourne Neuroscience Institute, and two international journals, “Macromolecular Bioscience” and “Macromolecular Materials & Engineering”.

Group weblink: http://www.chemeng.unimelb.edu.au/polymerscience/index.html

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

When I was a child, I always dreamed of one day becoming a scientist. When I was at school, my initial choice of study was electrical engineering. However, as I was doing very well in chemistry, I ended up majoring in chemistry and chemical engineering during my university years. I subsequently completed a Ph.D in organic chemistry before returning to chemical engineering to focus on synthetic polymer chemistry and engineering. I really love polymer chemistry, as I think it is a scientific tool that can change society and improve quality of life.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article? (entitled ‘Factors Influencing the Growth and Topography of Nanoscale Films Fabricated by ROMP-Mediated Continuous Assembly of Polymers’, DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20692G )

In collaboration with Frank Caruso and several early career researchers, we have recently developed a new ultra-thin film fabrication technology termed Continuous Assembly of Polymers (CAP). The key concept of this process involves a single-step growth of a cross-linked film from a substrate functionalised with initiating sites via controlled polymerization methodologies; such as, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) (Small, 2011, p2863), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) (Chem. Comm., 2011, p12601) or photo-triggered iniferter polymerization (ACS Macro Lett., 2012, p1020). The CAP process is surface confined, allows precise control of the film thicknesses and can be applied to planner substrates or particle surfaces; the latter allowing the formation of hollow capsules following the removal of particle templates.

If we consider the polymerisation of a monomer from an initiator functionalised surface (grafting-from), we can imagine an idealised structure of unidirectional polymer chains perpendicular to the surface, like a ‘toothbrush’. In comparison, the CAP process employs macrocross-linkers (polymers with multiple pendent monomer groups) rather than monomers and as a result generates a cross-linked 3D polymeric network consisting of polymer chains both perpendicular and horizontal to the surface simultaneously, like ‘steel wool’. Since the perpendicular and horizontal chains are derived from the pendent monomer groups and macrocross-linker backbone, respectively, it is possible to prepare films with different compositional layers via the sequential addition of different macrocross-linkers, in a similar fashion that block copolymer grafts can be prepared by the stepwise addition of different monomers.

One of the distinguishing advantages of the CAP process is that it provides access to films derived from natural polymers, which is difficult to achieve using conventional methods. As long as an existing polymer, either synthetic or naturally occurring, can be functionalized with a monomer to generate a macrocross-linker, the CAP process can be performed to convert these polymers into cross-linked 3D films. This development has wide implications, as the films formed can be readily engineered using a diverse range of polymers (synthetic and biological) and controlled polymerisation methodologies, making it of relevance to physical and life science applications.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Our manuscript published in Polymer Chemistry is the 1^st full paper on the CAP process using ROMP. Polymer Chemistry is a very successful and exciting new journal, which provides a forum for publishing high quality synthetic polymer science and boasts a very quick review process. It also reaches a broad readership from various disciplines.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I have attended the last 10 Australasia Polymer Symposiums (APS) and will be attending the upcoming APS with no exception. The next APS will be the 34^th and will be held in beautiful Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia from July 7-10, 2013 (http://www.34aps.org.au).

How do you spend your spare times?

I enjoy reading a good article with a completely fresh mind.

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

Politician or public servant.