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And for more exciting polymer content, check our Macromolecules neighbor featuring our newest postdoc, Kam!

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It’s been a pleasure to support Supraja Chittari’s work developing this workflow. Congratulations to her and the team!

Inspired by metrics from bioinformatics, PRISM introduces visualization and quantitative comparison tools for stochastic polymer sequences, advancing data-directed analyses and the design of synthetic macromolecules.

PRISM fits experimental RAFT kinetics via numerical integration to extract reactivity ratios, then uses mechanism-specific stochastic simulations to generate sequence ensembles across alternating, gradient, block, and multiblock copolymer architectures.

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Bottom-Up Simulation, Reconstruction, and Quantification of Macromolecule Sequences from Experimental Polymerizations

Understanding sequence–structure–function relationships is central in biology, but far less developed for synthetic macromolecules. We built PRISM (Polymer Rate Insights and Sequence Modeling), an integrated workflow linking polymerization kinetics to sequence descriptors. 🔗 doi.org/10.1021/acs....

doi.org

Motivated by the canonical sequence–structure–function paradigm, tools to characterize chemical patterning in natural biomacromolecules, from proteins to nucleic acids, have grown exponentially in rec...

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Structure–Function Relationships in Sequence-Controlled Copolymers for Rare Earth Element Chelation

Bottom line: polymer sequence—not just chemistry—can be engineered to improve REE binding and even tune selectivity. That’s a powerful lever for designing better materials for separations, sensing, and catalysis. Full paper: doi.org/10.1021/jacs...

doi.org

The ability to tune material function through primary sequence is a defining feature of biological macromolecules, enabling precise control over structure and target interactions in complex aqueous en...

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We discovered that: • More hydrophobic content improves binding by pushing water out of coordination sites • Clustering hydrophobic + chelating monomers can match or beat more hydrophobic random polymers • Gradient architectures balance binding strength and selectivity

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We built a library of amphiphilic copolymers, varying chelating group density, hydrophobic monomer type, and sequence pattern (statistical, gradient, block), then tested their REE binding and selectivity.

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Jeff Martell @jeffmartell.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

In biology, from DNA to enzymes, sequence controls function. In our most recent publication, Matt Bogen asked if we could do the same in synthetic polymers to isolate and separate rare earth elements.

table of contents image illustrating how polymer composition and sequence impact lanthanide binding

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Reposted by Abby Knight

Excited to share our new preprint, which was years in the making! chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr... New reactions are typically developed by trial and error. How can we speed up this process? Read on to learn how we used DNA scaffolding to perform >500,000 parallel reactions on attomole scale. 1/n

chemrxiv.org

DNA-Scaffolded Ultrahigh-Throughput Reaction Screening

Discovering and optimizing reactions is central to synthetic chemistry. However, chemical reactions are traditionally screened using relatively low-throughput methods, prohibiting exploration of diver...

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Lastly, one of my favorite memories in this position is my (then) two year old telling my husband about my department's tenure vote last fall. I am better at my job with them and my littlest by my side.

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This promotion is an acknowledgement of each member of the Knight Group. From our three first undergraduates to our first seven PhDs - their hard work and creativity is the foundation of our research program. And I don't know what I'd do without their constant sass.

In all seriousness, I want to take a moment to acknowledge how grateful I am to all of the colleagues and mentors who have supported the Knight Group through providing instrumentation access, scientific guidance, laughter, and formal letters of support over the last seven years.