HIGHLIGHT Green Polymer Chemistry Using Nature’s Catalysts, Enzymes JUDIT E. PUSKAS, MUSTAFA Y. SEN, KWANG SU SEO Department of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325 Received 8 February 2009; Accepted 12 February 2009 DOI: 10.1002/pola.23351 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). JUDIT E. PUSKAS Dr. Puskas received a PhD degree in plastics and rubber technology in 1985, in the framework of collaboration between the National Science Foundation of the USA and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Her advisors were Professors Ferenc Tu ¨do ¨s and Tibor Kelen of Hungary, and Professor Joseph P. Kennedy at the University of Akron, Ohio, USA. She started her academic career in 1996. Before that she was involved in polymer research and development in the microelectronic, paint, and rub- ber industries. Her present interests include green polymer chemistry, bio- mimetic processes and biomaterials, living/controlled polymerizations, polymerization mechanisms and kinetics, thermoplastic elastomers and polymer structure/property relationships, and probing the polymer-bio interface. She is one of the editors of the new Interdisciplinary Reviews in Nanomedicine and NanoBiotechnology WIRE, published by Wiley- Journal of Polymer Science: Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol. 47, 2959–2976 (2009) V V C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Correspondence to: J. E. Puskas (E-mail: jpuskas@ uakron.edu) ABSTRACT: The use of enzymes as catalysts for organic synthesis has become an increas- ingly attractive alternative to conventional chemical catalysis. Enzymes offer several advan- tages including high selectivity, ability to operate under mild conditions, catalyst recyclability, and biocompatibility. Although there are many examples in the literature involving enzymes for the synthesis of polymers, our search showed that very little had been done in the area of polymer modification. In this ar- ticle, we will discuss enzyme catalysis in general and high- light our recent results concern- ing precision polymer function- alization using enzymatic cataly- sis—‘‘green polymer chemis- try.’’ V C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2959–2976, 2009 Keywords: enzymes; esterifica- tion; functionalization of poly- mers; green polymer chemistry; Michael addition 2959