Synthesis of Chain End Functionalized Multiple Hydrogen Bonded Polystyrenes and Poly(alkyl acrylates) Using Controlled Radical Polymerization

End-functionalized polymers by controlled/living radical polymerizations: synthesis and applications

This review focuses on end-functionalized polymers synthesized by controlled/living radical polymerizations and the applications in fields including bioconjugate formation, surface modification, topology construction, and self-assembly.

Self-Assembled Structures of Diblock Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends through Multiple Complementary Hydrogen Bonds

A poly(styrene-b-vinylbenzyl triazolylmethyl methyladenine) (PS-b-PVBA) diblock copolymer and a poly(vinylbenzyl triazolylmethyl methylthymine) (PVBT) homopolymer were prepared through a combination of nitroxide-mediated radical polymerizations and click reactions. Strong multiple hydrogen bonding interactions of the A···T binary pairs occurred in the PVBA/PVBT miscible domain of the PS-b-PVBA/PVPT diblock copolymer/homopolymer blend, as evidenced in Fourier transform infrared and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The self-assembled lamellar structure of the pure PS-b-PVBA diblock copolymer after thermal annealing was transformed to a cylinder structure after blending with PVBT at lower concentrations and then to a disordered micelle or macrophase structure at higher PVBT concentrations, as revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy.

Formation of a miscible supramolecular polymer blend through self-assembly mediated by a quadruply hydrogen-bonded heterocomplex

A supramolecular network polymer consisting of a pair of immiscible polymers, poly(butyl)methacrylate (PBMA) and polystyrene (PS), is described. A urea of guanosine (1, UG) and 2,7-diamido-1,8-naphthyridine (2, DAN), which form an exceptionally strong quadruply hydrogen-bonding complex, are displayed at 1-10 mol % along the main backbone of PBMA and PS, respectively. (1)H NMR studies show heterocomplexation between UG and DAN exclusively. This high-fidelity, high-affinity supramolecular connection of two different polymer coils at the molecular level produces a polymer blend. Blends containing different weight ratios of the polymers and mole percent of the recognition units were characterized by AFM and DSC experiments with no isolated domains observed and a single glass-transition temperature (T(g)). The T(g) is tunable by varying the weight ratio of the polymers in the blend. In addition, viscosity measurements, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), and dynamic light-scattering (DLS) studies demonstrate the formation of a supramolecular network structure.

Association of star-shaped poly(D,L-lactide)s containing nucleobase multiple hydrogen bonding

A new family of associating polymers based on four-arm, star-shaped poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) containing peripheral complementary hydrogen-bonding sites is described. Hydroxy-terminated, four-arm, star-shaped PDLLAs of controlled molar mass were functionalized with complementary DNA base pairs, adenine (A) and thymine (T), to obtain PDLLA-A and PDLLA-T, respectively. 1H NMR spectroscopy confirmed quantitative functionalization and the subsequent formation of PDLLA-A and PDLLA-T hydrogen-bonded complexes. Job's analysis revealed a 1:1 optimal stoichiometry for the hydrogen-bonded complexes, and the association constant (Ka) that was determined using the 1H NMR-based Benesi-Hildebrand treatment was 84 M(-1) for the low molar mass complementary polymers. Furthermore, the PDLLA-based hydrogen-bonded complexes exhibited higher solution viscosities compared to the corresponding non-hydrogen-bonded precursors, which further confirmed strong complementary multiple-hydrogen-bonding associations between the star-shaped polymers with terminal adenine and thymine groups. Moreover, variable-temperature 1H NMR studies demonstrated the thermoreversibility of the hydrogen-bonded PDLLA-based complexes in solution.

Well-Defined Protein−Polymer Conjugates via in Situ RAFT Polymerization

Biotechnology, biomedicine, and nanotechnology applications would benefit from methods generating well-defined, monodisperse protein-polymer conjugates, avoiding time-consuming and difficult purification steps. Herein, we report the in situ synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) as an efficient method to generate well-defined, homogeneous protein-polymer conjugates in one step, eliminating major postpolymerization purification steps. A water soluble RAFT agent was conjugated to a model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), via its free thiol group at Cys-34 residue. The conjugation of the RAFT agent to BSA was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization--time of flight (MALDI-TOF), and 1H NMR. BSA-macroRAFT agent was then used to control the polymerization of two different water soluble monomers, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), in aqueous medium at 25 degrees C. The growth of the polymer chains from BSA-macroRAFT agent was characterized by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), 1H NMR, MALDI-TOF, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) analyses. The controlled character of the RAFT polymerizations was confirmed by the linear evolution of molecular weight with monomer conversion. The SEC analyses showed no detectable free, nonconjugated polymer formation during the in situ polymerization. The efficiency of BSA-macroRAFT agent to generate BSA-polymer conjugates was found to be ca. 1 by deconvolution of the SEC traces of the polymerization mixtures. The structural integrity and the conformation-related esterase activity of BSA were found to be unaffected by the polymerization conditions and the conjugation of the polymer chain. BSA-poly(NIPAAm) conjugates showed hybrid temperature-dependent phase separation and aggregation behavior. The lower critical solution temperature values of the conjugates were found to increase with the decrease in molecular weight of poly(NIPAAm) block conjugated to BSA.