• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.506-513
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• 2015

Ethylidene norbornene (ENB) and its blends with endo-dicyclopentadiene (endo-DCPD) were prepared and reacted via the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) reaction with the $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ generation Grubbs' catalysts. Dynamic exothermic behaviors during ROMP and tensile properties after ROMP were evaluated using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a universal testing machine (UTM) for the samples, respectively. It revealed that the ROMP rate was accelerated with the less contents of endo-DCPD and under the $2^{nd}$ generation catalyst. Also, the addition of endo-DCPD and the $1^{st}$ generation catalyst resulted in higher tensile modulus and strength but lower toughness. Gel fraction measurement and fracture surface observation were made to understand the tensile properties.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3627-3631
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• 2014

In this study we examined two ester-containing cross-links, hex-2-enyl acetate and hex-2-enyl propionate, as new cross-linking systems for helix stabilization of short peptides. We demonstrated that these hexenyl ester cross-links can be readily installed via a ruthenium-mediated ring-closing metathesis reaction of L-aspartic acid 4-allyl ester or L-glutamic acid 5-allyl ester at position i and (S)-2-(4'-pentenyl)alanine at position i+4 using second generation Hoveyda-Grubbs catalyst at $60^{\circ}C$. Between these two cross-links, we found that the hex-2-enyl propionate significantly stabilizes the ${\alpha}$-helical conformations of short model peptides. The helix-stabilizing effects of the hex-2-enyl propionate tether appear to be as powerful as Verdine's i,i+4 all-hydrocarbon stapling system, which is one of the most widely used and the most potent helix-stabilizing cross-linking systems. Furthermore, the hex-2-enyl propionate bridge is reasonably robust against non-enzymatic hydrolytic cleavage at a physiological pH. While extended studies for probing its chemical scopes and biological applications are needed, we believe that this new helix-stabilizing system could serve as a useful chemical tool for understanding protein folding and designing conformationally-constrained peptide drugs.