Materials and Polymeric Combinatorial Libraries

Polymer libraries are covered according to their numerous applications, each described through a specific example. The reported examples include libraries of copolymers as liquid/solid supports with different compositions, libraries of biodegradable materials for clinical applications, libraries of stationary phases for GC/LC separations, libraries of polymeric reagents or catalysts, libraries of artificial polymeric receptors or molecularly imprinted polymers, and libraries of polymeric biosensors. The opportunities that could arise in the near future from novel applications of polymer libraries are also briefly discussed. 

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Polymer libraries have recently been the focus of several publications with the aim either to discover novel polymeric materials for a specific application (primary libraries) or to rapidly optimize the properties of known polymers (focused libraries). All the major areas where successful combinatorial approaches to polymer libraries have been reported are covered in the following sections with the help of a specific, recent example and up-to-date referencing. Several other papers dealing with polymer combinatorial libraries can be consulted by the interested reader (80-89). 

The use of anions as templating agents is discussed by Vilar. The chapter starts with a general overview of the area and a discussion of the applications of anion templates in organic and coordination chemistry. The second part of the chapter deals with examples where anions are employed as templates in dynamic combinatorial libraries. This approach promises to provide an efficient route for the synthesis of better and more selective anion receptors. The last chapter by Ewen and Steinke also deals with the use of anions as templates but in this case in the context of molecular imprinted polymers. The first half of the chapter provides an introduction into molecularly imprinted polymers and this is followed by a detailed discussion of examples where anionic species have been used to imprint this class of polymeric materials. 

To tackle the many nucleic acid delivery challenges, an approach that we have utilized is the development of large combinatorial libraries of biomaterials. As the optimal biomaterial properties are difficult to define, we have developed automated and semi-automated methods to s)mthesize and screen both polymeric and lipid-like materials for nucleic acid delivery. 

A great deal of research is dedicated to the rational design of biomaterial carriers that efficiently improve ceU survival and ceU engraftment and possibly are able to control cell functions and hence the fate and clinical utility of the delivered cells through modulation of material bioactivity. Combinatorial approaches and various libraries of polymeric biomaterials for a rapid, microscale testing of cell—material interactions have been proposed with the aim to obtain a material-based control of cellular functions (Anderson et al., 2005 Meredith et al., 2003 Brocchini, 2001 Brocchini et al., 1997). 

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