Protein-polymer conjugates are complex molecules with major societal implications. Many advances in the fields of medicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology have been associated with the development of these bioconjugates. Synthetic polymers are usually attached to proteins in order to change or enhance their native properties. Polymer-enhanced biomacromolecular activity, specificity and stability are of particular interest. The most visible impact of coupling polymers to proteins has been on therapeutic proteins. There is a rich history and literature which describes how such polymers increase protein lifetimes in vivo and mask the protein from circulating antibodies and immune cells. Although the attachment of polymers to therapeutic proteins has these benefits, it often comes at an unpredictable cost of reduced functionality. Several studies have shown modification decreases the bioactivity of therapeutic proteins. In this review, we explore different synthetic approaches to protein-polymer conjugation and whether more rational and controlled attachment chemistries can reveal how to create molecular sieves around a protein without sacrificing activity. Research has begun to reveal the influence of polymer molar mass, number of attached polymers, synthetic approach, and polymer architecture on molecular sieving properties. Although rational approaches to polymer-based protein engineering are relatively new additions to the arsenal of approaches to the design of protein-displayed molecular sieves, general trends are emerging that will help guide future research in the field.

蛋白质-聚合物结合物是具有重要社会意义的复杂分子。药物，生物技术和纳米技术领域的许多进步与这些生物结合物的发展有关。合成聚合物通常附着在蛋白质上，以改变或增强其天然特性。聚合物增强的生物大分子活性，特异性和稳定性特别令人关注。聚合物与蛋白质偶联最明显的影响是治疗性蛋白质。有丰富的历史和文献描述了这种聚合物如何增加体内蛋白质的寿命并屏蔽循环抗体和免疫细胞中的蛋白质。尽管聚合物与治疗性蛋白质的连接具有这些好处，但通常会以无法预测的功能降低为代价。几项研究表明，修饰会降低治疗性蛋白质的生物活性。在这篇综述中，我们探索了蛋白质-聚合物结合的不同合成方法，以及更合理和受控的结合化学方法能否揭示如何在不牺牲活性的情况下围绕蛋白质创建分子筛。研究已经开始揭示聚合物摩尔质量，连接的聚合物数量，合成方法和聚合物结构对分子筛性能的影响。