Synthesis of well-designed polymers carrying saccharide moieties via RAFT miniemulsion polymerization

Fructose-Based Acrylic Copolymers by Emulsion Polymerization

The exploration of a renewable resource for the preparation of waterborne copolymers was conducted. Low molar mass sugar resources were selected for their wide availability. A fructose-based monomer (MF) bearing a methacrylate radically polymerizable group was successfully synthesized. The latter was shown to be able to homopolymerize in emulsion. The high Tg of the resulting polymer (about 115 °C) makes it of particular interest for adhesive and coating applications where hard materials are necessary to ensure valuable properties. As a result, its incorporation in waterborne acrylic containing formulations as an equivalent to petrochemical-based methyl methacrylate was investigated. It was found that the bio-based monomer exhibited similar behavior to that of common methacrylates, as shown by polymerization kinetics and particle size evolution. Furthermore, the homogeneous incorporation of the sugar units into the acrylate chains was confirmed by a unique glass transition temperature in differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The potential of MF for the production of waterborne copolymers was greatly valued by the successful increase of formulation solids content up to 45 wt %. Interestingly, polymer insolubility in tetrahydrofurane increased with time due to further reactions occurring in storage. Most likely, the partial deprotection of sugar units was the reason for the creation of hydrogen bonding and, thus, physically insoluble entangled chains. This behavior highlights opportunities to make use of hydroxyl groups either for further functionalization or, eventually, for achieving enhanced adhesion on casted substrates.

Synthesis of amphiphilic nanoparticles and multi-block hydrophilic copolymers by a facile and effective “living” radical polymerization in water

A convenient and robust approach using MANDC-COOH as the initiator and oxidatively stable Cu(OAc)₂as the catalyst to synthesize amphiphilic nanoparticles and hydrophilic multi-block copolymers was successfully developed in water.

A surfactant-free emulsion RAFT polymerization of methyl methacrylate in a continuous tubular reactor

A surfactant-free emulsion RAFT polymerization of methyl methacrylate was successfully conducted in a continuous tubular reactor with a mixed solvent of water and dimethyl formamide in the presence of air, using CTBCOOH as the chain transfer agent and emulsion stabilizer.

Electrospun glycopolymer fibers for lectin recognition

Thermoresponsive glycopolymers have been prepared by a free radical polymerisation process, and subsequently processed into blended fibers with poly-l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone (PLCL) using electrospinning.

Synthesis of a pyridyl disulfide end-functionalized glycopolymer for conjugation to biomolecules and patterning on gold surfaces

A pyridyl disulfide end-functionalized polymer with N-acetyl-d-glucosamine pendant side-chains was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The glycopolymer was prepared from a pyridyl disulfide initiator catalyzed by a Cu(I)/Cu(II)/2,2'-bipyridine system in a mixture of methanol and water at 30 degrees C. The final polymer had a number-average molecular weight (M(n)) of 13.0 kDa determined by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and a narrow polydispersity index (1.12) determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The pyridyl disulfide end-group was then utilized to conjugate the glycopolymer to a double-stranded short interfering RNA (siRNA). Characterization of the glycopolymer-siRNA by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) showed 97% conjugation. The activated disulfide polymer was also patterned on gold via microcontact printing. The pyridyl disulfide allowed for ready immobilization of the glycopolymer into 200 microm sized features on the surface.