Doubly hydrophilic multiarm hyperbranched polymers with acylhydrazone linkages as acid-sensitive drug carriers

A novel type of drug carrier capable of controlled drug release is proposed. It consists of an acid-sensitive doubly hydrophilic multiarm hyperbranched copolymer with a hyperbranched polyamidoamine core and many linear poly(ethylene glycol) arms. Using pH-sensitive acylhydrazone linkages, the polymer forms unimolecular micelles that can encapsulate hydrophobic drugs. Due to their amphiphilicity, the drug-loaded unimolecular micelles can self-assemble into multimolecular micelles that show acid-triggered intracellular delivery of the hydrophobic drugs.     

Poly(arylether amides) and poly(aryletherketone amides) via aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions of self‐polymerizable AB and AB2 monomers

Two new extended self‐polymerizable AB monomers, N‐(4‐fluorobenzoyl)‐4‐amino‐4′‐hydroxydiphenylether and N‐(4‐fluorobenzoyl)‐4‐amino‐4′‐hydroxybiphenyl, were prepared. The monomers were homopolymerized and copolymerized to high‐molecular‐weight, linear poly(arylether amides) in N‐methylpyrrolidone (NMP)/toluene in the presence of potassium carbonate at elevated temperature. The polymers retained NMP up to 200 °C. Samples containing small amounts of the solvent (5–10 wt %) were soluble in polar aprotic solvents. However, after complete removal of the NMP, the polymers were only soluble in strong acids such as sulfuric acid and methanesulfonic acid (MSA). The polymers, which had intrinsic viscosities of 0.57–1.49 dL/g (30.1 ± 0.1 °C in MSA), were semicrystalline with melting temperatures above 400 °C. Two new self‐polymerizable AB₂ amide monomers, N,N′‐bis(4‐fluorobenzoyl)‐3,4‐diamino‐4′‐hydroxydiphenylether and N,N′‐bis(4‐fluorobenzoyl)‐3,5‐diamino‐4′‐hydroxybenzophenone, were also prepared and polymerized to give a hyperbranched poly(arylether amide) and a hyperbranched poly(aryletherketone) amide. The arylfluoride‐terminated, amorphous polymers had intrinsic viscosities of 0.34 and 0.24 dL/g (30.0 ± 0.1 °C in m‐cresol), glass‐transition temperatures of 210–269 °C, and were soluble in a wide variety of organic solvents. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight analysis indicated that the components of the low‐molecular‐weight fractions contained cyclic structures. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2374–2389, 2003     

Synthesis of a thermoresponsive shell‐crosslinked 3‐layer onion‐like polymer particle with a hyperbranched polyglycerol core

A novel thermoresponsive shell crosslinked three‐layer onion‐like polymer particles were prepared using hyperbranched polyglycerol (PG) as parents compound, the periphery hydroxyl groups of PG were transformed into trithiocarbonates (? SC(S)S? ) first; then, it was used as chain transfer agent to prepare star‐like block copolymer of N‐isopropyl acrylamide (NIPA) and N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl acrylate (DMA) in sequence via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process. Thus, a three‐layer polymer, PG? [SC(S)S? (DMA)? b? (NIPA)]_n, was obtained. The middle layer of poly(DMA) was then crosslinked with 1,8‐diiodoctane, and the resulting onion‐like three‐layer polymer showed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water because of the outer layer of poly(NIPA). The LCST value only slightly depended on the crosslinking degree. Finally, the ? SC(S)S? were transformed into thiols by sequential treating with sodium borohydride and formic acid; thus, the core molecule was chemically detached from the crosslinked shell and a novel shell crosslinked polymer particle was obtained. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5652–5660, 2005     

Synthesis,photochemical and phase behavior of linear and hyperbranched photoactive benzylidene liquid‐crystalline polyesters

Photoactive hyperbranched benzylidene liquid‐crystalline polyester (PAHBP) and photoactive linear benzylidene liquid‐crystalline polyester (PALBP) were synthesized by solution polycondensation with pyridine as an acid acceptor. PAHBP and PALBP were thoroughly characterized with Fourier transform infrared, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, fluorescent spectrophotometry, gel permeation chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and polarized optical microscopy. Both polymers exhibited nematic mesophase. The glass‐transition temperature and liquid‐crystalline isotropic temperature of PAHBP were higher than those of PALBP. During photolysis under ultraviolet light, both polymers underwent an intermolecular photocycloaddition reaction, and the photoactivity of PAHBP was faster than that of PALBP; this was further confirmed by photoviscosity studies. PALBP and PAHBP were fluorescent in nature. An increase in the fluorescence intensity with the time of ultraviolet‐light irradiation was observed for both PAHBP and PALBP. The rate of increase in the fluorescence intensity of the linear analogue (PALBP) was higher than that of the hyperbranched polymer (PAHBP). This behavior could be attributed to the attainment of better planarity in the case of the linear one but not in the case of PAHBP because of the rapid crosslinking of PAHBP leading to an irregular architecture. This behavior was further confirmed by the calculation of the steric energy from corresponding model compounds. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3986–3994, 2006     

Effect of molecular architecture and size of mesogen on phase behavior and photoactive properties of photoactive liquid crystalline hyperbranched polyester epoxies containing benzylidene moiety

A series of photoactive liquid crystalline linear and hyperbranched polyester epoxies were synthesized by polyaddition of photoactive bis benzylidene alkanone diol monomers and terephthalic acid and trimesic acid respectively with good yield. The effect of molecular architecture (linear and hyperbranched), size of mesogenic unit (cyclic and acyclic units) on the physicochemical, thermal, mesogenic, and photoactive properties of hyperbranched polymers were studied and compared. Degree of branching of hyperbranched polymers was found to be in the range of 0.46–0.49. Monomers containing cyclic moieties only exhibited nematic mesophase, while all polymers exhibited typical nematic mesophase. Intermolecular photo cycloaddition reaction was studied by ultraviolet–visible spectra (UV–vis) and NMR spectroscopy and photo viscosity measurement of UV irradiated polymer solutions. Faster photo induced behavior of hyperbranched polymers containing acyclic alkanone moiety, as compared to polymers containing cycloalkanone moieties, was observed. The change in the refractive index was found to be in the range of 0.02–0.024. Substantial variation of refractive index indicates that this polymer could be used for optical recording. All the polymers were also found to be fluorescent in nature. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 552–563, 2008     

Investigation of thermodynamic properties of hyperbranched poly(ester amide) by inverse gas chromatography

Thermodynamic properties of the hyperbranched poly (ester amide) (Hybrane® 1200) were investigated by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) using 19 different solvents as the probes at infinite dilution. Retention data of probes were used for an extensive characterization of the polymer, which includes the determination of the Flory‐Huggins interaction parameter, the weight fraction activity coefficient, the total, partial, and additive solubility parameters. The analysis of the results indicated that the additive value of the solubility parameter is lower than the value obtained from a standard procedure. Furthermore, the solubility parameter decreases with increase of temperature. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 2166–2172, 2008     

十八烷基超支化分子的结构表征与破乳性能

以甲醇为溶剂,用十八胺、丙烯酸甲酯和乙二胺为原料,通过迈克尔加成反应和酰胺化缩合反应,制备了1.0 G超支化分子;通过红外光谱、核磁共振手段对合成产品的结构进行了表征,且考察了十八烷基超支化分子对O/W型原油模拟乳液的破乳性能,并与传统的线性破乳剂SP-169进行了对比.结果表明:在温度为50℃、添加量为20 mg/L、破乳时间为120 min的条件下,其脱水率达到了76.2%,脱出水中的含油量为41.9 mg/L;而破乳剂SP-169在相同的条件下的脱水率为61.5%,脱出水中的含油量为52.4 mg/L.     

Synthesis and supramolecular self‐assembly of thermosensitive amphiphilic star copolymers based on a hyperbranched polyether core

A novel amphiphilic thermosensitive star copolymer with a hydrophobic hyperbranched poly (3‐ethyl‐3‐(hydroxymethyl)oxetane) (HBPO) core and many hydrophilic poly(2‐(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) arms was synthesized and used as the precursor for the aqueous solution self‐assembly. All the copolymers directly aggregated into core–shell unimolecular micelles (around 10 nm) and size‐controllable large multimolecular micelles (around 100 nm) in water at room temperature, according to pyrene probe fluorescence spectrometry and ¹H NMR, TEM, and DLS measurements. The star copolymers also underwent sharp, thermosensitive phase transitions at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), which were proved to be originated from the secondary aggregation of the large micelles driven by increasing hydrophobic interaction due to the dehydration of PDMAEMA shells on heating. A quantitative variable temperature NMR analysis method was designed by using potassium hydrogen phthalate as an external standard and displayed great potential to evaluate the LCST transition at the molecular level. The drug loading and temperature‐dependent release properties of HBPO‐star‐PDMAEMA micelles were also investigated by using indomethacin as a model drug. The indomethacin‐loaded micelles displayed a rapid drug release at a temperature around LCST. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 668–681, 2008     

Molecular engineering of photoactive liquid crystalline polyester epoxies containing benzylidene moiety

A series of photoactive liquid crystalline polyester epoxies incorporating bisbenzylidene segments as photoactive mesogenic cores were synthesized by polyaddition of diepoxy monomers and terephthalic acid/trimesic acid. To investigate the influence of structural parameters such as, molecular architecture, structural rigidity of mesogenic unit and substituents on thermal, mesogenic, and photoactive properties, the bisbenzylidene segment was incorporated into one acyclic and two cycloalkanone units with two and four substituents, respectively in both linear and hyperbranched architectures. Degree of branching of hyperbranched polymers was found to be in the range of 0.49–0.62. All polymers exhibited nematic mesophase (nematic droplets). Photo induced (2π + 2π) cycloaddition reaction, upon exposure to light at 365 nm, was examined. Inter molecular photocycloaddition was confirmed by photoviscosity measurement of UV irradiated polymer solutions. Faster photo induced reactivity of polymers in hyperbranched architecture was observed when compared to linear structure. Acyclic units facilitated photocycloaddition, and five‐membered ring showed higher photoactivity compared to six‐membered ring. The steric hindrance caused by substituents decreased the photoactivity of polymers. Refractive index change was found to be in the range of 0.015–0.024. Substantial variation of refractive index indicates that these polymers could be used for optical recording. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7637–7655, 2008