Presentation Date: Feb 14, 2026
AGSA Abstract
Phenylboronic acids are widely exploited for reversible recognition of cis-diols, yet their incorporation into precision polymer architectures that enable tunable multivalency and enhanced glucose sensing is limited. This work reports the development of an amphiphilic bottlebrush polymer bearing phenylboronic acid ester–containing side chains as a modular platform for glucose detection in aqueous media. Precise control over polymer architecture, including backbone length, side-chain density, and boronic acid content, enables systematic modulation of binding-site distribution and cooperative interactions. Compared to linear and randomly functionalized polymer analogues, these bottlebrush polymers exhibit enhanced sensitivity, tunable binding behavior, and improved signal transduction, highlighting the critical role of molecular architecture in governing saccharide recognition. This study provides design principles for next-generation polymeric materials for chemical and biomedical sensing applications.
