Oxygen-tolerant, Eosin Y mediated synthesis of protein-polymer biohybrids and protein-coated polymer nanoparticles

To avoid the use of metal catalysts used in conventional approaches, an Eosin Y/TEMED mediated, photoinduced polymerization of vinyl monomers was optimized for the synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates. This oxygen tolerant, photoinduced approach allowed to graft a series of hydrophobic, hydrophilic and responsive polymers with quantitative protein macroinitiator consumption. CALB bioconjugates were also synthesized and found to retain part of the parent protein activity for extended periods of time. Notably, when BSA was used in the absence of initiator, protein-coated nanoparticles were shown to form during emulsion polymerization.