Research Overview | MONET CCI

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U.S. National Science Foundation Center for the Chemistry of Molecularly Optimized Networks (NSF MONET)

Research that drives

Our accomplishments at the U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks (NSF MONET) continue to evolve.

Fundamental chemical advances in molecule-material relationships by recasting a major field of study as a fully chemistry-centered sub-discipline and extending our understanding and application of fundamental chemical principles.
Technological advances that rewrite existing performance and end-of-life rules for polymer network materials via efficient chemical resetting and recycling to improve performance, extend lifetime, and minimize waste stream.
Conceptual advances, by demonstrating that new forms of embedded covalent response, such as reactive strand extension, improve the limits to which polymer gels and elastomers can be stretched and the energy they can absorb.

Please see our collection of publications that describe some of the achievements of our team.

Follow NSF MONET's Research:

Maleimides are widely utilized in bioconjugation because they efficiently and selectively react with thiols. Owing to their favorable reaction kinetics, maleimides have found broad applications in bioconjugate chemistry, including the synthesis of antibody-drug conjugates for cancer therapy, fluorescence labeling of proteins, or functionalization of materials. As increasingly complex platforms are developed, multivalent linkers are being incorporated more frequently into synthetic strategies. Although the chemistry of monovalent maleimides is well understood, the chemoselectivity of multivalent maleimide linkers has not been fully established. To investigate differences in the chemoselectivity of mono- and bivalent maleimides, we performed bioconjugation of mal-PEG11-mal or mPEG12-mal with the physalis mottle virus-like particle. Through a series of chemical assays and characterization studies, we demonstrate that while monovalent maleimides are highly selective for cysteine modifications, bivalent maleimides exhibit cross-reactivity toward both lysine and cysteine residues. Overall, this study highlights how linker valency can influence the chemoselectivity of maleimide-based conjugation chemistry.

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