At Rutgers
21. Chain-Growth Synthesis of Sequence-Defined Native Polypeptides via Traceless Cascade Polymerization
Li, J.; Ma, Y.; Ding, E. A.; Mendes, J. G.; Han, Z.; Kish, I. M.; Emge, T. J.; Schuster, B. S.; Gu, Y.*, ChemRxiv 2026, doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008205/v1
20. Mechanical Caging of Nucleic Acids Enabled by Light-Activated Synthetic Molecular Motors
Ma, Y.; McCarthy, E.; Murthy, N. S.; McGovern, C.; Han, Z.; Ekesan, Ş.; Nandi, S.; Sirimarapu, A.; Olson, W. K.; York, D. M.; Gu, Y.*, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, doi: 10.1002/anie.4279044
19. Conformational Preorganization of Neighbouring Groups Modulates and Expedites Polymer Self-Deconstruction
Yin, S.; Zhang, R.; Zhou, R.; Murthy, N. S.; Wang, L.; Gu, Y.*, Nat. Chem. 2026, 18, 407-417.
Selected Highlights:
“Scientists Develop Plastics That Can Break Down, Tackling Pollution.” Rutgers News
“Plastic Can Be Programmed to Have a Lifespan of Days, Months or Years.” New Scientist
18. Nucleic Acid–Inspired Phosphorus-Containing Polymers
Ma, Y.; Gu, Y.*, Eur. Polym. J. 2025, 240, 114294.
(Part of the Special Issue “Polymers Beyond Carbon: Phosphorus and Sulfur in Advanced Polymer Materials”)
17. Controlled and Orthogonal Partitioning of Large Particles into Biomolecular Condensates
Kelley, F. M.; Ani, A.; Pinlac, E. G.; Linders, B.; Favetta, B.; Barai, M.; Ma, Y.; Singh, A.; Dignon, G. L.*; Gu, Y.*; Schuster, B. S.*, Nat. Commun. 2025, 16, 3521.
Prior to Rutgers
16. A General DNA-Gated Hydrogel Strategy for Selective Transport of Chemical and Biological Cargos
Gu, Y.; Distler, M. E.; Cheng, H. F.; Huang, C.; Mirkin, C. A., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 17200-17208.
15. Polymer Networks: From Plastics and Gels to Porous Frameworks
Gu, Y.†; Zhao, J.†; Johnson, J. A., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 132, 5054-5085. († equal contribution)
14. PolyMOF Nanoparticles: Dual Roles of a Multivalent polyMOF Ligand in Size Control and Surface Functionalization
Gu, Y.†; Huang, M.†; Zhang, W.†; Pearson, M. A.; Johnson, J. A., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 16676-16681. († equal contribution)
13. A (Macro) Molecular-Level Understanding of Polymer Network Topology
Gu, Y.†; Zhao, J.†; Johnson, J. A., Trends Chem. 2019, 1, 318-334. († equal contribution)
12. Counting Loops in Sidechain-Crosslinked Polymers from Elastic Solids to Single-Chain Nanoparticles
Wang, J.; Wang, R.; Gu, Y.; Sourakov, A.; Olsen, B. D.; Johnson, J. A., Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 5332-5337.
11. Leaving Groups as Traceless Topological Modifiers for the Synthesis of Topologically Isomeric Polymer Networks
Gu, Y.; Schauenburg, D.; Bode, J. W.; Johnson, J. A., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 14033-14037.
10. Photoswitching Topology in Polymer Networks with Metal–Organic Cages as Crosslinks
Gu, Y.; Alt, E. A.; Wang, H.; Li, X.; Willard, A. P.; Johnson, J. A., Nature 2018, 560, 65-69.
9. Janus Graft Block Copolymers: Design of a Polymer Architecture for Independently Tuned Nanostructures and Polymer Properties
Guo, Z.; Le, A. N.; Feng, X.; Choo, Y.; Liu, B.; Wang, D.; Wan, Z.; Gu, Y.; Zhao, J.; Li, V.; Osuji, C.; Johnson, J. A.; Zhong, M., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 8493-8497.
8. Counting Secondary Loops Is Required for Accurate Prediction of End-Linked Polymer Network Elasticity
Wang, J.; Lin, T-S.; Gu, Y.; Wang, R.; Olsen, B. D.; Johnson, J. A., ACS Macro Lett. 2018, 7, 244-249.
7. Semibatch Monomer Addition as a General Method to Tune and Enhance the Mechanics of Polymer Networks via Loop-Defect Control
Gu, Y.; Kawamoto, K.; Zhong, M.; Chen, M.; Hore, M. J.A.; Jordan, A. M.; Korley, L. T.J.; Olsen, B. D.; Johnson, J. A., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2017, 114, 4875-4880.
6. Logic-Controlled Radical Polymerization with Heat and Light: Multiple-Stimuli Switching of Polymer Chain Growth via a Recyclable, Thermally Responsive Gel Photoredox Catalyst
Chen, M.; Deng, S.; Gu, Y.; Lin, J.; MacLeod, M. J.; Johnson, J. A., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 2257-2266.
5. Living Additive Manufacturing: Transformation of Parent Gels into Diversely Functionalized Daughter Gels Made Possible by Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis
Chen, M.†; Gu, Y.†; Singh, A.; Zhong, M.; Jordan, A. M.; Biswas, S.; Korley, L. T.J.; Balazs, A. C.; Johnson, J. A., ACS Cent. Sci. 2017, 3, 124-134. († equal contribution)
4. Star PolyMOCs with Diverse Structures, Dynamics, and Functions by Three-Component Assembly
Wang, Y.; Gu, Y.; Keeler, E. G.; Park, J.; Griffin, R. G.; Johnson, J. A., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 188-192.
3. Ultra-Sensitive ROS-Responsive Tellurium-Containing Polymers
Cao, W.; Gu, Y.; Li, T.; Xu, H., Chem. Commun. 2015, 51, 7069-7071.
2. Tellurium-Containing Polymer Micelles: Competitive-Ligand-Regulated Coordination Responsive Systems
Cao, W.; Gu, Y.; Meineck, M.; Xu, H., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 5132-5137.
1. The Combination of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy Towards More Efficient Drug Delivery
Cao, W.; Gu, Y.; Meineck, M.; Xu, H., Chem. Asian J. 2014, 9, 48-57.
