From competition to cooperation: a highly efficient strategy towards well-defined (co)polypeptides.

ABSTRACT

By associating primary (slow but controlled ring-opening polymerization; ROP) and tertiary (fast but uncontrolled ROP) amines in the same molecule, a novel highly active organocatalytic system proceeding by an accelerated amine mechanism through monomer activation (AAMMA) and leading to living ROP of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides at room temperature was successfully developed.