Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) are capable of generating electricity from physiologically present fuels making them promising power sources for the future of implantable devices. The potential application of such systems is limited, however, by inefficient current generation. Polymer-based protein engineering (PBPE) offers a unique method to tailor enzyme function through tunable modification of the enzyme surface with functional polymers. In this study, we report on the modification of glucose oxidase (GOX) with ferrocene-containing redox polymers to increase current generation efficiency in an enzyme-modified anode. Poly(N-(3-dimethyl(ferrocenyl)methylammonium bromide)propyl acrylamide) (pFcAc) was grown from covalently attached, water-soluble initiator molecules on the surface of GOX in a "grafting-from" approach using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The covalently-coupled ferrocene-containing polymers on the enzyme surface promoted the effective "wiring" of the GOX active site to an external electrode. The resulting GOX-pFcAc conjugates generated over an order of magnitude increase in current generation efficiency and a 4-fold increase in maximum EBFC power density (≈1.7µWcm(-2)) with similar open circuit voltage (0.27V) compared to native GOX when physically adsorbed onto paddle-shaped electrodes made up of electrospun polyacrylonitrile fibers coated with gold nanoparticles and multi-wall carbon nanotubes. The formation of electroactive enzyme-redox polymer conjugates using PBPE represents a powerful new tool for the improvement of mediated enzyme-based bioelectronics without the need for free redox mediators or anode/cathode compartmentalization.

CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated with protein 9) was first identified as a component of the bacterial adaptive immune system and subsequently engineered into a genome-editing tool. The key breakthrough in this field came with the realization that CRISPR/Cas9 could be used in mammalian cells to enable transformative genetic editing. This technology has since become a vital tool for various genetic manipulations, including gene knockouts, knock-in point mutations, and gene regulation at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. CRISPR/Cas9 holds great potential in human medicine, particularly for curing genetic disorders. However, despite significant innovation and advancement in genome editing, the technology still possesses critical limitations, such as off-target effects, immunogenicity issues, ethical considerations, regulatory hurdles, and the need for efficient delivery methods. To overcome these obstacles, efforts have focused on creating more accurate and reliable Cas9 nucleases and exploring innovative delivery methods. Recently, functional biomaterials and synthetic carriers have shown great potential as effective delivery vehicles for CRISPR/Cas9 components. In this review, we attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of the existing CRISPR-Cas9 delivery strategies, including viral delivery, biomaterials-based delivery, synthetic carriers, and physical delivery techniques. We underscore the urgent need for effective delivery systems to fully unlock the power of CRISPR/Cas9 technology and realize a seamless transition from benchtop research to clinical applications.

α‐Lipoic acid (LA) has recently emerged as an attractive, inexpensive monomer for synthesizing degradable polymers via ring‐opening of its 1,2‐dithiolane, introducing easily cleavable disulfide linkages into polymer backbones. Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization with vinyl monomers enables access to degradable poly(disulfide)s with controlled molecular weights. However, conventional thermal RAFT methods suffer from oxygen sensitivity, limited LA incorporation (<40 mol%), and modest degrees of polymerization (DP < 300). Here, we report an oxygen‐tolerant, red‐light‐driven RAFT approach using methylene blue (MB⁺) as a photosensitizer, and triethanolamine (TEOA) as a sacrificial electron donor. This photoRAFT strategy affords well‐defined LA–vinyl copolymers with DPs exceeding 6000, relatively low dispersities ( Đ = 1.1–1.6), and LA incorporations up to 68 mol%. The method is compatible with a broad range of functional comonomers, including hydrophilic, charged, and zwitterionic acrylates and acrylamides, yielding water‐soluble degradable polymers. The resulting copolymers are readily degradable by disulfide‐reducing agents, UV light, and ambient sunlight. Overall, this mild and efficient platform overcomes the limitations of thermal RAFT, providing improved access to functional, high‐molecular‐weight degradable LA copolymers, suggesting potential applications as biocompatible plastics and biomedical materials.

Infectious diseases caused by pathogens are a health burden, but traditional pathogen identification methods are complex and time-consuming. In this work, we have developed well-defined, multifunctional copolymers with rhodamine B dye synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using fully oxygen-tolerant photoredox/copper dual catalysis. ATRP enabled the efficient synthesis of copolymers with multiple fluorescent dyes from a biotin-functionalized initiator. Biotinylated dye copolymers were conjugated to antibody (Ab) or cell-wall binding domain (CBD), resulting in a highly fluorescent polymeric dye-binder complex. We showed that the unique combination of multifunctional polymeric dyes and strain-specific Ab or CBD exhibited both enhanced fluorescence and target selectivity for bioimaging of Staphylococcus aureus by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The ATRP-derived polymeric dyes have the potential as biosensors for the detection of target DNA, protein, or bacteria, as well as bioimaging.

α‐Lipoic acid (LA) has recently emerged as an attractive, inexpensive monomer for synthesizing degradable polymers via ring‐opening of its 1,2‐dithiolane, introducing easily cleavable disulfide linkages into polymer backbones. Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization with vinyl monomers enables access to degradable poly(disulfide)s with controlled molecular weights. However, conventional thermal RAFT methods suffer from oxygen sensitivity, limited LA incorporation (<40 mol%), and modest degrees of polymerization (DP < 300). Here, we report an oxygen‐tolerant, red‐light‐driven RAFT approach using methylene blue (MB⁺) as a photosensitizer, and triethanolamine (TEOA) as a sacrificial electron donor. This photoRAFT strategy affords well‐defined LA–vinyl copolymers with DPs exceeding 6000, relatively low dispersities ( Đ = 1.1–1.6), and LA incorporations up to 68 mol%. The method is compatible with a broad range of functional comonomers, including hydrophilic, charged, and zwitterionic acrylates and acrylamides, yielding water‐soluble degradable polymers. The resulting copolymers are readily degradable by disulfide‐reducing agents, UV light, and ambient sunlight. Overall, this mild and efficient platform overcomes the limitations of thermal RAFT, providing improved access to functional, high‐molecular‐weight degradable LA copolymers, suggesting potential applications as biocompatible plastics and biomedical materials.

Developing polymeric materials that combine precise, modular functionalization with programmed backbone degradability remains an outstanding challenge in macromolecular engineering. Herein, we present a molecular design strategy that integrates orthogonal postpolymerization modification with selective, stimulus-responsive backbone degradability within a single macromolecular platform. The ring-opening polymerization of 1,2-dithiolanes introduces cleavable disulfide linkages into polymer backbones, providing a powerful route to degradable materials under biologically relevant reducing conditions. By incorporating a β-triketone (TK) moiety into an α-lipoic-acid-derived 1,2-dithiolane, we synthesized triketone–lipoic acid (TKLA), a dual-functional monomer that combines click-type, catalyst-free amine ligation with programmed backbone degradability. Leveraging photoinduced electron/energy-transfer reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (PET-RAFT) copolymerization of TKLA with acrylate and acrylamide monomers, we accessed well-defined copolymers containing both pendant TK groups and disulfide-rich backbones in a single synthetic step. Under mild conditions, TK-bearing copolymers react quantitatively with a broad scope of amines to form β,β′-diketoenamines (DKEs), enabling modular installation of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, charged, and bioactive substituents. Importantly, these DKE moieties are not static but participate in associative transamination, allowing dynamic exchange and reconfiguration of installed functionalities. Meanwhile, the disulfide-containing backbones fragment cleanly and selectively under reducing environments, affording controlled deconstruction while preserving, or transforming, the appended side-chain chemistry. Overall, the integration of efficient, chemoselective β-triketone–amine condensation with LA-based degradability within a single monomer framework establishes a molecular design strategy for constructing functional, recyclable, and stimuli-responsive polymer architectures.