Mass spectrometry as a tool to advance polymer science

In contrast to natural polymers, which have existed for billions of years, the first well-understood synthetic polymers date back to just over one century ago. Nevertheless, this relatively short period has seen vast progress in synthetic polymer chemistry, which can now afford diverse macromolecules with varying structural complexities. To keep pace with this synthetic progress, there have been commensurate developments in analytical chemistry, where mass spectrometry has emerged as the pre-eminent technique for polymer analysis. This Perspective describes present challenges associated with the mass-spectrometric analysis of synthetic polymers, in particular the desorption, ionization and structural interrogation of high-molar-mass macromolecules, as well as strategies to lower spectral complexity. We critically evaluate recent advances in technology in the context of these challenges and suggest how to push the field beyond its current limitations. In this context, the increasingly important role of high-resolution mass spectrometry is emphasized because of its unrivalled ability to describe unique species within polymer ensembles, rather than to report the average properties of the ensemble.

Perspective on Plasma Polymers for Applied Biomaterials Nanoengineering and the Recent Rise of Oxazolines

Plasma polymers are unconventional organic thin films which only partially share the properties traditionally attributed to polymeric materials. For instance, they do not consist of repeating monomer units but rather present a highly crosslinked structure resembling the chemistry of the precursor used for deposition. Due to the complex nature of the deposition process, plasma polymers have historically been produced with little control over the chemistry of the plasma phase which is still poorly understood. Yet, plasma polymer research is thriving, in par with the commercialisation of innumerable products using this technology, in fields ranging from biomedical to green energy industries. Here, we briefly summarise the principles at the basis of plasma deposition and highlight recent progress made in understanding the unique chemistry and reactivity of these films. We then demonstrate how carefully designed plasma polymer films can serve the purpose of fundamental research and biomedical applications. We finish the review with a focus on a relatively new class of plasma polymers which are derived from oxazoline-based precursors. This type of coating has attracted significant attention recently due to its unique properties.