Functional polymers: from plastic electronics to polymer-assisted therapeutics

Functional macromolecules once sought almost exclusively for their mechanical or thermal properties are now finding numerous applications in a great variety of areas. In some cases, newly designed functional polymers provide such an array of new properties and functions that they effectively create fields rather than extend or support them. This brief account focusing largely on the work of the author's own laboratory explores recent advances in the design of functional polymers in two seemingly very disparate areas: organic or 'plastic' electronics and polymer therapeutics. While at first glance the requirements for functional polymers appear to be quite different for these two areas, the same general design concepts apply, focusing first on the definition of the key properties to be achieved, followed by the establishment of a synthetic blueprint encompassing these aims, and concluding with proof of concept studies. The examples given in this account illustrate the vibrant nature of research in the area of functional polymers and its great potential impact on to-morrow's technologies.