Polymers are at the epicentre of modern technological progress and the associated environmental pollution. Considerations of both polymer functionality and lifecycle are crucial in these contexts, and the polymer backbone — the core of a polymer — is at the root of these considerations. Just as the meaning of a sentence can be altered by editing its words, the function and sustainability of a polymer can also be transformed via the chemical modification of its backbone. Yet, polymer modification has primarily been focused on the polymer periphery. In this Review, we focus on the transformations of the polymer backbone by defining some concepts fundamental to this topic (for example, ‘polymer backbone’ and ‘backbone editing’) and by collecting and categorizing examples of backbone editing scattered throughout a century’s worth of chemical literature, and outline critical directions for further research. In so doing, we lay the foundation for the field of polymer backbone editing and hope to accelerate its development.

聚合物是现代技术进步和相关环境污染的中心。在这些情况下，对聚合物功能和生命周期的考虑至关重要，而聚合物主链（聚合物的核心）是这些考虑因素的根源。正如句子的含义可以通过编辑单词来改变一样，聚合物的功能和可持续性也可以通过其主链的化学修饰来改变。然而，聚合物改性主要集中在聚合物外围。在这篇综述中，我们通过定义该主题的一些基本概念（例如“聚合物主链”和“主链编辑”），并通过收集和分类散布在一个世纪的价值中的主链编辑示例来重点关注聚合物主链的转变。化学文献，并概述进一步研究的关键方向。这样做，我们为聚合物主链编辑领域奠定了基础，并希望加速其发展。