Enzymatic and Chemical Approaches for Post-Polymerization Modifications of Diene Rubbers: Current state and Perspectives

Diene rubbers are polymeric materials which present elastic properties and have double bonds in the macromolecular backbone after the polymerization process. Post-polymerization modifications of rubbers can be conducted by enzymatic or chemical methods. Enzymes are environmentally friendly catalysts and with the increasing demand for rubber waste management, biodegradation and biomodifications have become hot topics of research. Some rubbers are renewable materials and are a source of organic molecules, and biodegradation can be conducted to obtain either oligomers or monomers. On the other hand, chemical modifications of rubbers by click-chemistry are important strategies for the creation and combination of new materials. In a way to expand the scope of uses to other non-traditional applications, several and effective modifications can be conducted with diene rubbers. Two groups of efficient tools, enzymatic, and chemical modifications in diene rubbers, are summarized in this review. By analyzing stereochemical and reactivity aspects, the authors also point to some applications perspectives for biodegradation products and to rational modifications of diene rubbers by combining both methodologies.

Determination of refractive index increment of synthetic polybutadienes and microstructural control of grafting density and liquid crystalline properties

Polybutadienes (PBs) with microstructural control of 8% to 94% moles of 1,2-olefins synthesizedvialiving anionic polymerization (LAP) were used as precursors for the synthesis of PB-based liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) with well-controlled grafting densities.

End-Chain Fluorescent Highly Branched Poly(l-lactide)s: Synthesis, Architecture-Dependence, and Fluorescent Visible Paclitaxel-Loaded Microspheres

A facile method in combination of "grafting from" and "end-functionalization" was developed for the synthesis of fluorescent highly branched poly(l-lactide)s (PLLA-COU) via ring opening polymerization (ROP) and esterification end-capping. These resulting PLLA-COU with four kinds of architectures, including linear, star, linear-comb, and star-comb structures, were subjected to characterization and application as fluorescent visible paclitaxel-loaded microspheres. The mutual effects of architecture and end-groups on thermal and fluorescence properties, enzymatic degradation, and drug release behaviors were focused. Contrast to linear and star PLLA-COU, two comb-shaped analogues demonstrated higher fluorescence quantum yield, faster drug release, and lower enzymatic degradation rate. All the fluorescent microspheres could maintain fluorescence traceability. The fluorescent PLLA-COU displayed negligible toxicity and good biocompatibility. This work highlights that the fluorescent highly branched poly(l-lactide)s are properties-tailored and used as fluorescent visible drug delivery systems (DDS) for potential theranostic applications.

Development of biodegradable polyesters based on a hydroxylated coumarin initiator towards fluorescent visible paclitaxel-loaded microspheres

In this work, we developed a facile end-functionalization method using hydroxylated coumarin to initiate the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters to synthesize a series of fluorescent biodegradable aliphatic polyesters with tailorable properties. The resulting fluorescent functionalized poly(l-lactide) (PLLA-COU), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL-COU) poly(δ-valerolactone) (PVL-COU) and poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC-COU) were investigated to evaluate the dependence of fluorescence on the chemical structure and molecular weight of the materials. The differences in the electron withdrawing ability and the density of ester groups are responsible for the changes in the fluorescence quantum yield. Then, two representative biodegradable materials, namely, PLLA-COU and PCL-COU, were used to prepare fluorescent paclitaxel-loaded microspheres. During in vitro drug release, the release rate of the PCL-COU microspheres is dramatically faster than that of the PLLA-COU microspheres due to the difference in the material nature and their surface morphologies, possibly achieving a tunable degradation and release rate for the drug carriers. Fluorescent functionalized polyester microspheres can retain their fluorescence properties and emit bright blue light for fluorescence tracing during the degradation process. Biological evaluations showed that both fluorescent polyesters are devoid of any significant toxicity and have good biocompatibility. The results demonstrated that the obtained fluorescent polyesters are promising for use in traceable and controlled drug delivery with tunable drug release.

Relationships between Architectures and Properties of Highly Branched Polymers: The Cases of Amorphous Poly(trimethylene carbonate) and Crystalline Poly(ε-caprolactone)

Highly branched polymers (HBPs) are a special class of functional polymeric materials and possess unique properties due to their unique topological structure. A new series of highly branched linear-comb and star-comb amorphous poly(trimethylene carbonate)s (PTMC) and crystalline poly(ε-caprolactone)s (PCL) with well-defined structure and high molecular weight were first synthesized using hydroxylated polybutadiene (HPB) as macroinitiators by simple "one-step" and "graft from" strategies. It is expected that the impact of long-chain, highly branched architecture on the properties of amorphous and crystalline polymers, respectively, is different. We explored systematically for the first time the effect and comparison of branched architectures on the physical and chemical properties of highly branched PTMCs and PCLs, including the intrinsic viscosity, glass transition, thermal degradation, creep property, rheological property, and crystallization and melting behaviors. It is found that the intrinsic viscosities in solution for both comb-branched PTMCs and PCLs were much lower compared with their linear and star counterparts arise from more compact structure and smaller hydrodynamic volumes. For amorphous PTMC, the creep strain and rate increased remarkably with degree of branching increasing due to the shorter side chains making it difficult for the highly branched molecules to entangle. For crystalline PCL, both WAXD and DSC analysis of PCLs with different topological structures indicated that the comb branched architectures have no significant influence on the crystal structure of PCL, but greatly promote the crystallization behavior, e.g., higher crystallinities. The deep understanding of structure-property relationship expects to guide the synthesis of designed functional polymer materials and the processing of polymer products.

Synthesis of highly branched poly(δ-valerolactone)s: a comparative study between comb and linear analogues

A structure–property relationship was constructed based on the facile synthesis of linear-comb and star-comb poly(δ-valerolactone)s.

A mild and fast continuous-flow trifluoromethylation of coumarins with the CF3 radical derived from CF3SO2Na and TBHP

A mild and fast Cu(I)-catalyzed trifluoromethylation of coumarins with CF3SO2Na and TBHP in a continuous-flow reactor has been developed. This method is experimentally simple and carried out under mild conditions, affording the corresponding products in moderate to good yields, and showing wide substrate tolerance. The scale-up flow process results in an isolated yield of 68% and a productivity of 305 mg h(-1) of 3-trifluoromethyl-7-diethylamino-4-methyl coumarin when the concentration was increased five-fold. Given these features and the widespread applications of coumarins, this method may find use from laboratory to manufacturing.

Facile synthesis of well-defined linear-comb highly branched poly(ε-caprolactone) using hydroxylated polybutadiene and organocatalyst

A simple method was proposed to synthesize well-defined linear-comb highly branched poly(ε-caprolactone) with high molecular weight and narrow polydispersity.

Synthesis, postmodification and fluorescence properties of reduction-cleavable core-couplable miktoarm stars with a branched core

Postmodification of (PEG)_m(PCL)_n miktoarm stars with a dual-reactive branched core allowed the introduction of versatile functionalities, and the coumarin-functionalized star exhibited tunable fluorescence properties sensitive to solvent polarity and reduction stimulus.