The National Institute for Materials Science has developed an AI-based mass spectrometric technique that can determine the monomeric sequence of a polymer. The method could help gain a deeper understanding of basic polymeric structures, develop new materials and solve plastic recycling problems. A polymer is a large molecule composed of a chain of many small molecules called monomers that are bonded together. During the copolymerisation process, the monomers are stochastically arranged along the main chain, generating sequence distribution. The development of a polymer sequencer had been awaited as a potentially effective tool towards innovative polymer materials. The technique can be applied to various combinations of versatile monomers.
The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) has developed an AI-based mass spectrometric technique capable of determining the monomeric sequence of a polymer. This technique may be useful in gaining a deeper understanding of basic polymeric structures, facilitating the development of new materials and helping solve plastic recycling problems.
A polymer is a very large molecule composed of a chain of many (ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands) small molecules called monomers that are bonded together. Many common polymers (e.g., plastics and resins) are copolymers, consisting of several different types of monomers. During the copolymerization process, the monomers are stochastically arranged along the main-chain, generating sequence distribution. Since this sequence distribution is thought to greatly influence the material performance of copolymeric materials, the development of a polymer sequencer—an analytical method for quantitatively evaluating the distribution—had been awaited as a potentially effective tool toward innovative polymer materials.
The research team at NIMS recently developed the world’s first practical polymer sequencer quantifying the short monomer segments in specific sequences, herein called “codon” using an analogy from nucleotide triplets, via pyrolysis mass-spectra. In this technique, an analyte copolymer is gradually heated from room temperature to 600oC, successively generating oligomeric fragments to be recorded by mass-spectrometry in order of their heat susceptibilities. Based on the fragment patterns, virtual copolymers repeating a single codon species are reconstructed via AI analysis, allowing the quantification of the codon composition in the analyte. This polymer sequencer is applicable to various combinations of versatile monomers. In addition, the polymer sequencer may be used to gain a deeper understanding of basic polymeric structures, facilitating the development of new materials and helping solve plastic recycling problems.
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