Enzymatic Polymerization towards Green Polymer Chemistry

Introduction: Enzymatic Polymerization.- Synthesis of Polysaccharides I: Hydrolase as Catalyst.-  Synthesis of Polysaccharides II: Phosphorylase as Catalyst.- Synthesis of Polysaccharides III: Sucrase as Catalyst.- Synthesis of Polyesters I: Hydrolase as Catalyst for Polycondensation.- Synthesis of Polyesters II: Hydrolase as Catalyst for Ring-Opening Polymerization.- Synthesis of Polyesters III: Acytransferase as Catalyst.- Synthesis of Polypeptides.- Synthesis of Poly(aromatic)s I: Oxidoreductase as Catalyst.- Synthesis of Poly(aromatic)s II: Enzyme-Model Complex as Catalyst.- Synthesis of Vinyl Polymers via Enzymatic Oxidative Polymerization.- Enzymatic-Modification of Polymers and -Synthesis of Functionalized Polymers.

Shiro Kobayashi studied organic chemistry and polymer chemistry in Kyoto University, where he obtained BS, MS, and PhD. He worked as a postdoc with Prof. G. A. Olah at Case Western Reserve University for two years. In 1972, he joined Kyoto University as a research associate to start studying polymer synthesis. He stayed as a Humboldt fellow with Prof. H. Ringsdorf at University of Mainz in 1976. Then, he was appointed as a full professor at Tohoku University in 1986, starting research on enzymatic polymerization. In 1997, he moved to Kyoto University and officially retired in 2005, to become Emeritus Professor. Since then, he has been a distinguished professor at Kyoto Institute of Technology until 2017. His research interests include polymer synthesis and functional polymeric materials. In particular, he developed enzymatic polymerization, which enabled the first chemical synthesis of several polysaccharides like cellulose, xylan, chitin, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin, various functional polyesters, and new aromatics polymers. The method provides much contribution to green polymer chemistry. To date, he has published 195 original research papers on enzymatic polymerization. He received various awards among others: the Award of the Chemical Society of Japan for Young Chemists (1976), the Award of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan (1986), Humboldt Research Award, Germany (1999), the Award of the Chemical Society of Japan (2001), the Hattori Hokokai Foundation Award (2001), the 30th John Stauffer Distinguished Lecture Award in the Sciences, University of Southern California (2002), Medal with Purple Ribbon (2007, Japanese Government), and The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (2015, Japanese Government). He is a Foreign Member of German Academy of Sciences since 1999, and an American Chemical Society PMSE Fellow (2015). He was a member of Scientific Advisory Board for Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz (2001-09). So