Sequence‐Defined Oligourethane Isomeric Mixtures for Irreversible Encryption

Sequence-defined polymers (SDPs) offer a promising molecular medium for information storage and encryption, yet current strategies for enhancing security typically depend on extending chain length or increasing monomer diversity-approaches that impose substantial synthetic complexity. Here, we introduce a fundamentally different encryption mechanism based on isomeric mixtures of sequence-defined oligourethanes (SDOs). Because isomeric SDOs share identical molecular weights, their mixtures collapse into a single peak in primary MALDI-TOF MS, concealing compositional identity. More critically, tandem MS fragmentation generates multiple degenerate decoding paths, preventing reconstruction of the original mixture and establishing an intrinsically one-way, irreversible molecular encryption process. Using four octameric isomers as a proof-of-concept system, we further integrate these mixtures into CMYK molecular digital inks that enable direct printing and secure information transmission. Encrypted messages can be retrieved only through a bespoke MS/MS decoding algorithm coupled with a predefined ASCII-mapping scheme. This work introduces isomeric oligomer mixtures as a new class of molecular cryptographic media, bridging chemical design with information theory and offering a scalable platform for next-generation data security and anti-counterfeiting technologies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2026-02-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.9117281
Primary Topic
Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Sequence‐Defined Oligourethane Isomeric Mixtures for Irreversible Encryption

J. F. Tan, Lingxiao Guo, Keyu Li, J. Y. Hu et al.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes
article

Sequence‐Defined Oligourethane Isomeric Mixtures for Irreversible Encryption

J. F. Tan, Lingxiao Guo, Keyu Li, J. Y. Hu, Junhua Zhang, Chunlai Yang, Qiangqiang Shi
article en

Abstract

Sequence-defined polymers (SDPs) offer a promising molecular medium for information storage and encryption, yet current strategies for enhancing security typically depend on extending chain length or increasing monomer diversity-approaches that impose substantial synthetic complexity. Here, we introduce a fundamentally different encryption mechanism based on isomeric mixtures of sequence-defined oligourethanes (SDOs). Because isomeric SDOs share identical molecular weights, their mixtures collapse into a single peak in primary MALDI-TOF MS, concealing compositional identity. More critically, tandem MS fragmentation generates multiple degenerate decoding paths, preventing reconstruction of the original mixture and establishing an intrinsically one-way, irreversible molecular encryption process. Using four octameric isomers as a proof-of-concept system, we further integrate these mixtures into CMYK molecular digital inks that enable direct printing and secure information transmission. Encrypted messages can be retrieved only through a bespoke MS/MS decoding algorithm coupled with a predefined ASCII-mapping scheme. This work introduces isomeric oligomer mixtures as a new class of molecular cryptographic media, bridging chemical design with information theory and offering a scalable platform for next-generation data security and anti-counterfeiting technologies.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 65(14)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Openalex Percentile: Top 48%
Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes
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Sequence‐Defined Oligourethane Isomeric Mixtures for Irreversible Encryption — J. F. Tan, Lingxiao Guo, et al. · Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS