The renewal in macromolecular engineering

The objective of Eupoc annual conference (Gargnano, near Brescia, Italy, May 25-29) - organized by EPF (European Polymer Federation) and AIM (Italian Association for Macromolecules) is to discuss a new side of macromolecular research: "Precision Polymers". In particular, this conference highlights new directions in polymer synthesis. Indeed, the polymer chemists of the 21st century have to explore options, which are beyond conventional macromolecular engineering. For instance, the control over polymer architectures is nowadays not a challenge anymore. Recent tools such as controlled radical polymerizations or "click" chemistry allow a fine control of polymer architectures. On the other hand, tools for controlling the primary structure (i.e. tacticity and sequences) and secondary structures (i.e. foldamers) of synthetic or bio-hybrid macromolecules are still very rudimentary. Yet, as learned from nucleic acids and proteins science, the control of these parameters is probably essential to attain new generations of polymer materials with controlled molecular functions.
The conference includes sessions on the synthesis of precision polymers with focus on sequence-definition, functionality positioning and monodisperse macromolecules, as well as synthesis of biologically related polymers/hybrid polymers with discrete biosegments. Moreover the characterization and properties of precision polymers and applications of those in various fields such as responsive macromolecules and advanced polymers for biomedicine or molecular electronics are addressed. Other topics are, for example: biologically inspired macromolecules or designed biomacromolecules, single-chain technology and precision interactions.