Congratulations to the three winners of the 2024 GFP-Academic Innovation Prize – Laurence Charles (SACS team), Didier Gigmes (CROPS team) and Jean-François Lutz (CNRS Research Director, ISIS, University of Strasbourg) for their work on molecular barcodes enabling the identification and traceability of materials.

This technology is based on polyurethanes prepared through a multi-step solid-phase synthesis process. The polymers formed by this method have a uniform molecular structure, allowing precise control over chain length and the sequence of comonomers within each chain. As a result, it is literally possible to “write” messages into these macromolecules using a “monomer alphabet.” The encoding can be binary, but more complex alphabets can also be used. The messages embedded in the chains can include texts, images, industrial identification codes, or production data. Sequence-controlled polyurethanes are, therefore, potentially highly useful materials for applications in anti-counterfeiting, material identification, and even plastic recycling.

Indeed, these polymers can be mixed in trace amounts into solid materials (plastics, wood) as well as liquids or gels. The use of these additives in trace quantities ensures excellent miscibility with most materials studied. For example, they have been shown to be incorporable into high-value functional materials such as medical implants. Furthermore, these molecular barcodes can be extracted from host materials and decoded using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In some cases, they can even be analyzed directly on the material’s surface using desorption electrospray ionization (DESI-MS). A software tool named MS-DECODER enables the automatic decoding of these polymers, making the technology highly accessible to non-specialist users.

This invention represents a breakthrough both academically and industrially. The fundamental research behind it led to a patent filing and was initially developed in a maturation project with SATT Conectus Alsace. In January 2020, an exclusive license was granted to the German company Polysecure GmbH, which now markets the product under the brand name Poltag®. It took only five years to transition from the initial fundamental research to commercialization, demonstrating that coded polymers are not merely academic curiosities but indeed a new family of functional polymers.