4325081

Inhibiting viral infections with glycopolymers: Accessing non-linear antiviral polymers through reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer polymerizations

Date
August 19, 2025

Influenza, a large endemic family of viruses, causes a significant health burden—hundreds of thousands of infections and tens of thousands of deaths occur annually in the United States. Though antiviral medications and vaccines are available to help control outbreaks, these strategies become ineffective when the virus mutates. One supplement to help treat viral infections is to use antiviral glycopolymers; these materials mimic the cell surfaces that viruses bind to and trap them through non-covalent binding interactions. Here, sialic acids and mannoses are equipped with chemical linkers so they may be conjugated to the polymer’s surface; influenza is known to bind these sugars in human lungs to begin infection. We report the synthesis of modular hyperbranched and star polymers through reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerizations of tetrafluorophenyl acrylates or styrene sulfonates. Our synthetic approach will enable us to control the placement of glycans onto the polymer and modify the material’s backbone with various hydrophobic or hydrophilic amines. We will investigate strategies to maximize antiviral inhibition by changing the topology of the polymer (e.g., branching density), the material’s backbone identity, and the density of sugars on the polymer surface. Modular polymers will allow us to generate a large library of systematically varied materials that maintain key polymers parameters such as molecular weight or dispersity. This study further investigates the role a polymer’s architecture plays on its interaction with viral surfaces. The antiviral efficacy of these glycomaterials will be analyzed with hemagglutination inhibition assays. We aim to elucidate structure-property relationships that will allow us to better maximize antiviral inhibition through material design.

Presenter

Co-Authors

Speaker Image for Michael Schulz
Assistant Professor, California Institute of Technology

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