Disclosed is a polymer blend comprising an organic semiconductor (OSC) polymer blended with an isolating polymer and method for making the same. The OSC polymer includes a diketopyrrolopyrrole fused thiophene polymeric material, and the fused thiophene is beta-substituted. The isolating polymer includes a non-conjugated backbone, and the isolating polymer may be one of polyacrylonitrile, alkyl substituted polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polysulfonate, polycarbonate, an elastomer block copolymer, derivatives thereof, copolymers thereof and mixtures thereof. The method includes blending the OSC polymer with an isolating polymer in an organic solvent to create a polymer blend and depositing a thin film of the polymer blend over a substrate. Also disclosed is an organic semiconductor device that includes a thin semiconducting film comprising OSC polymer.

The disclosure provides an ex vivo method to prepare regulatory T cells, a population of regulatory T cells with enhanced properties and methods of using the population or complexes useful to induce Tregs in a mammal. The ex vivo methods allows for the generation and expansion of super regulatory T cells for the prevention, inhibition or treatment of autoimmune disorders.

This invention relates to methods and compositions for preparing linear and cyclic polyolefins. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and compositions for preparing functionalized linear and cyclic polyolefins via olefin metathesis reactions. Polymer products produced via the olefin metathesis reactions of the invention may be utilized for a wide range of materials applications. The invention has utility in the fields of polymer and materials chemistry and manufacture.

The present disclosure provides cyclic silyl ethers of the formula:

##STR00001##

and salts thereof. The cyclic silyl ethers may be useful as monomers for preparing polymers. Also described herein are polymers prepared by polymerizing a cyclic silyl ether and optionally one or more additional monomers. The polymers may be degradable (e.g., biodegradable). One or more OSi bonds of the polymers may be the degradation sites. Also described herein are compositions and kits including the cyclic silyl ethers or polymers; methods of preparing the polymers; and methods of using the polymers, compositions, and kits.

The present disclosure provides cyclic silyl ethers of the formula: ##STR00001##
and salts thereof. The cyclic silyl ethers may be useful as monomers for preparing polymers. Also described herein are polymers prepared by polymerizing a cyclic silyl ether and optionally one or more additional monomers. The polymers may be degradable (e.g., biodegradable). One or more OSi bonds of the polymers may be the degradation sites. Also described herein are compositions and kits including the cyclic silyl ethers or polymers; methods of preparing the polymers; and methods of using the polymers, compositions, and kits.

All organic, dielectric polymers with high discharge efficiency at elevated operation temperatures are reported.

Disclosed are protein-like polymers and uses thereof. The protein-like polymers generally comprise a polymer of formula (FX1) or (FX2). The polymer of formula (FX1) or (FX2) in some aspects inhibits the protein-protein interaction between VCP and mutant-type Huntingtin protein.

The present invention concerns a simultaneously antimicrobial and antifouling and protein repellent polyzwitterion (monolayers, polymer networks and surface-attached polymer networks formed thereby), and substrates coated with the inventive simultaneously antimicrobial and antifouling and protein repellent polyzwitterion. The invention also concerns uses of the inventive polymers and substrates for preventing and combating microbial growth.

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of designing a polymer. The method can include: providing a set of polymer data; generating a set of polymer structures; providing one or more target properties for the polymer, predicting properties of each polymer structure of the set of polymer structures, and design considerations for the set of polymer structures; and selecting one or more polymer structures from the set of polymer structures, based at least in part, on the predicted properties of the polymer structures. The polymer data can include a set of monomer structures.

The present disclosure is directed to methods of making a polymer, including exposing a reaction mixture including a strained cyclic unsaturated monomer and an organic initiator to a stimulus to provide an activated organic initiator, whereby the activated organic initiator is effective to polymerize the strained cyclic unsaturated monomer via a 4-membered carbocyclic intermediate to provide a polymer having constitutional units derived from the strained cyclic unsaturated monomer.