A Dicyclic Scaffold for Programmed Monocyclic and Polycyclic Polymer Architectures

Supramolecular photosensitizers using extended macrocyclic hosts for photodynamic therapy with distinct cellular delivery

Two hydrophilic macrocycles can strongly bind hypocrellin B. The resulting supramolecular photosensitizers show excellent photodynamic efficiency with different cellular delivery.

Correlations of nanoscale film morphologies and topological confinement of three-armed cage block copolymers

Three-armed cage block copolymers composed of immiscible blocks in near equivalent volume fractions formed topologically controlled sub-10 nm cylindrical and lamellar nanostructures in nanoscale films.

Synthesis of a bead-like multicyclic polymer by UV-induced coupling of an anthracene-telechelic monocyclic precursor and its reversible topological conversion

In this study, a bead-like multicyclic polymer was synthesized by the UV-induced coupling reaction of an anthracene-telechelic monocyclic precursor and the reversible topological transformation between the monocyclic polymer and the multicyclic polymer was realized.

Rhodanine-based Knoevenagel reaction and ring-opening polymerization for efficiently constructing multicyclic polymers

Cyclic polymers have a number of unique physical properties compared with those of their linear counterparts. However, the methods for the synthesis of cyclic polymers are very limited, and some multicyclic polymers are still not accessible now. Here, we found that the five-membered cyclic structure and electron withdrawing groups make methylene in rhodanine highly active to aldehyde via highly efficient Knoevenagel reaction. Also, rhodanine can act as an initiator for anionic ring-opening polymerization of thiirane to produce cyclic polythioethers. Therefore, rhodanine can serve as both an initiator for ring-opening polymerization and a monomer in Knoevenagel polymerization. Via rhodanine-based Knoevenagel reaction, we can easily incorporate rhodanine moieties in the backbone, side chain, branched chain, etc, and correspondingly could produce cyclic structures in the backbone, side chain, branched chain, etc, via rhodanine-based anionic ring-opening polymerization. This rhodanine chemistry would provide easy access to a wide variety of complex multicyclic polymers.

Synthesis and properties of pH-cleavable toothbrush-like copolymers comprising multi-reactive Y junctions and a linear or cyclic backbone

Y-junction-bearing toothbrush-like copolymers can exhibit unique physical properties and hierarchical (co)assembly behaviors dependent on topology, external stimuli and hydrolysis.