Antioxidant Activity of Synthetic Polymers of Phenolic Compounds.

In recent years, developing potent antioxidants has been a very active area of research. In this context, phenolic compounds have been evaluated for their antioxidant activity. However, the use of phenolic compounds has also been limited by poor antioxidant activity in several in vivo studies. Polymeric phenols have received much attention owing to their potent antioxidant properties and increased stability in aqueous systems. To be truly effective in biological applications, it is important that these polymers be synthesized using benign methods. In this context, enzyme catalyzed synthesis of polymeric phenols has been explored as an environmentally friendly and safer approach. This review summarizes work in enzymatic syntheses of polymers of phenols. Several assays have been developed to determine the antioxidant potency of these polymeric phenols. These assays are discussed in detail along with structure-property relationships. A deeper understanding of factors affecting antioxidant activity would provide an opportunity for the design of versatile, high performing polymers with enhanced antioxidant activity.

Micellar nanoreactors for hematin catalyzed synthesis of electrically conducting polypyrrole.

Enzymatic synthesis of doped polypyrrole (PPy) complexes using oxidoreductases (specifically peroxidases) is very well established "green" methods for producing conducting polypyrrole. The importance of this approach is realized by the numerous potential opportunities of using PPy in biological applications. However, due to very high costs and low acid stability of these enzymes, there is need for more robust alternate biomimetic catalysts. Hematin, a hydroxyferriprotoporphyrin, has a similar iron catalytic active center like the peroxidases and has previously shown to catalyze polymerization of phenol monomers at pH 12. The insolubility of hematin due to extensive self-aggregation at low pH conditions has prevented its use in the synthesis of conjugated polymers. In this study, we have demonstrated the use of a micellar environment with sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBSA) for biomimetic synthesis of PPy. The micellar environment helps solubilize hematin, generating nanometer size reactors for the polymerization of pyrrole. The resulting PPy is characterized using UV-visible, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and reveals the formation of an ordered PPy/DBSA complex with conductivities approaching 0.1 S/cm.

Biocatalytically oligomerized epicatechin with potent and specific anti-proliferative activity for human breast cancer cells.

Catechins, naturally occurring flavonoids derived from wine and green tea, are known to exhibit multiple health benefits. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is one of the most widely investigated catechins, but its efficacy in cancer therapy is still inconsistent and limited. The poor stability of EGCG has contributed to the disparity in the reported anti-cancer activity and other beneficial properties. Here we report an innovative enzymatic strategy for the oligomerization of catechins (specifically epicatechin) that yields stable, water-soluble oligomerized epicatechins with enhanced and highly specific anti-proliferative activity for human breast cancer cells. This one-pot oxidative oligomerization is carried out in ambient conditions using Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) as a catalyst yielding water-soluble oligo(epicatechins). The oligomerized epicatechins obtained exhibit excellent growth inhibitory effects against human breast cancer cells with greater specificity towards growth-inhibiting cancer cells as opposed to normal cells, achieving a high therapeutic differential. Our studies indicate that water-soluble oligomeric epicatechins surpass EGCG in stability, selectivity and efficacy at lower doses.

Biomimetic synthesis of water-soluble conducting copolymers/homopolymers of pyrrole and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene.

A novel biomimetic route for the synthesis of electrically conducting homopolymers/copolymers of pyrrole and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) in the presence of a polyelectrolyte, such as polystyrene sulfonate (SPS), is presented. A poly(ethylene glycol)-modified hematin (PEG-hematin) was used to catalyze the homopolymerization of pyrrole and EDOT as well as copolymerization of EDOT and pyrrole in the presence of SPS to yield homopolymers of polypyrrole/SPS and PEDOT/SPS as well as a polypyrrole-co-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/SPS complex. Spectroscopic characterization [UV-visible, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)], thermal analysis, (TGA), and electrical conductivity studies for these complexes indicated the presence of a stable and electrically conductive form of these polymers. Furthermore, the presence of SPS that serves as a charge-compensating dopant in this complex provides a unique combination of properties such as processability and water solubility.