Ring‐Opening and polymerization of 1‐[2′‐(heptaphenylcyclotetrasiloxanyl)ethyl]‐1,3,3,5,5‐pentamethylcyclotrisiloxane

1‐[2′‐(Heptaphenylcyclotetrasiloxanyl)ethyl]‐1,3,3,5,5‐pentamethylcyclotetrasiloxane ( II ) was prepared from 1‐[2′‐(methyldichlorosilyl)ethyl]‐1,3,3,5,5,7,7‐heptaphenylcyclotetrasiloxane ( I ) and tetramethyldisiloxane‐1,3‐diol. Acid‐catalyzed ring‐opening of II in the presence of tetramethyldisiloxane gave 1,9‐dihydrido‐5‐[2′‐(heptaphenylcyclotetrasiloxanyl)ethyl]nonamethylpentasiloxane ( III ) and 1,9‐dihydrido‐3‐[2′‐(heptaphenylcyclotetrasiloxanyl)ethyl]nonamethylpentasiloxane ( IV ). Both acid‐ and base‐catalyzed ring‐opening polymerization of II gives highly viscous, transparent polymers. The structures of I – IV and polymers were determined by UV, IR, ¹H, ¹³C, and ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy. In addition, molecular weights obtained by GPC and NMR end group analysis were confirmed with mass spectrometry. On the basis of ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy, the polymers appear to result exclusively from ring‐opening of the cyclotrisiloxane ring. No evidence for ring‐opening of the cyclotetrasiloxane ring was observed. Polymer properties were determined by DSC and TGA. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 137–146, 2006     

Poly(L‐glutamic acid) grafted with oligo(2‐(2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl methacrylate): Thermal phase transition,secondary structure,and self‐assembly

Thermoresponsive and pH‐responsive graft copolymers, poly(L ‐glutamate)‐g‐oligo(2‐(2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl methacrylate) and poly(L ‐glutamic acid‐co‐(L ‐glutamate‐g‐oligo(2‐(2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl methacrylate))), were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of N‐carboxyanhydride (NCA) monomers and subsequent atom transfer radical polymerization of 2‐(2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl methacrylate. The thermoresponsiveness of graft copolymers could be tuned by the molecular weight of oligo(2‐(2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl methacrylate) (OMEO₃MA), composition of poly(L ‐glutamic acid) (PLGA) backbone and pH of the aqueous solution. The α‐helical contents of graft copolymers could be influenced by OMEO₃MA length and pH of the aqueous solution. In addition, the graft copolymers exhibited tunable self‐assembly behavior. The hydrodynamic radius (R_h) and critical micellization concentration values of micelles were relevant to the length of OMEO₃MA and the composition of biodegradable PLGA backbone. The R_h could also be adjusted by the temperature and pH values. Lastly, in vitro methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay revealed that the graft copolymers were biocompatible to HeLa cells. Therefore, with good biocompatibility, well‐defined secondary structure, and mono‐, dual‐responsiveness, these graft copolymers are promising stimuli‐responsive materials for biomedical applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Substituent effects on the chain‐transfer behavior of 7‐methylene‐2‐methyl‐1,5‐dithiacyclooctane in the presence of disulfides and thiols

The chain‐transfer behavior of 7‐methylene‐2‐methyl‐1,5‐dithiacyclooctane was investigated in the presence of four chain‐transfer agents: thiophenol (PhSH), thiobenzoic acid (BzSH), diphenyl disulfide (PhSSPh), and dibenzoyl disulfide (BzSSBz). The chain‐transfer constants for these compounds at 60 °C were 0.38 (PhSH), 0.76 (BzSH), 0.24 (PhSSPh), and 0.05 (BzSSBz). The variations in the thiol chain‐transfer constants could be explained in terms of the stability of the resulting radicals. The chain transfer to the disulfides, however, appeared to be determined by the electronic character of the disulfide bond, and this suggests that the transfer took place via an addition–fragmentation mechanism. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 4421–4425, 2002     

Cationic polymerization of L,L‐lactide

Cationic bulk polymerization of L ,L‐ lactide (LA) initiated by trifluromethanesulfonic acid [triflic acid (TfA)] has been studied. At temperatures 120–160 °C, polymerization proceeded to high conversion (>90% within ～8 h) giving polymers with M_n ～ 2 × 10⁴ and relatively high dispersity. Thermogravimetric analysis of resulting polylactide (PLA) indicated that its thermal stability was considerably higher than the thermal stability of linear PLA of comparable molecular weight obtained with ROH/Sn(Oct)₂ initiating system. Also hydrolytic stability of cationically prepared PLA was significantly higher than hydrolytic stability of linear PLA. Because thermal or hydrolytic degradation of PLA starting from end‐groups is considerably faster than random chain scission, both thermal and hydrolytic stability depend on molecular weight of the polymer. High thermal and hydrolytic stability, in spite of moderate molecular weight of cationically prepared PLA, indicate that the fraction of end‐groups is considerably lower than in linear PLA of comparable molecular weight. According to proposed mechanism of cationic LA polymerization growing macromolecules are fitted with terminal ? OH and ? C(O)OSO₂CF₃ end‐groups. The presence of those groups allows efficient end‐to‐end cyclization. Cyclic nature of resulting PLA explains its higher thermal and hydrolytic stability as compared with linear PLA. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2650–2658, 2010     

Selectivity in anionic and cationic ring‐opening polymerizations of tetramethyl‐1‐(3′‐trifluoromethylphenyl)‐1‐phenylcyclotrisiloxane and tetramethyl‐1‐[3′,5′‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]‐1‐phenylcyclotrisiloxane

Anionic and cationic ring‐opening polymerizations of two novel cyclotrisiloxanes, tetramethyl‐1‐(3′‐trifluoromethylphenyl)‐1‐phenylcyclotrisiloxane ( I ) and tetramethyl‐1‐[3′,5′‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]‐1‐phenylcyclotrisiloxane ( II ), are reported. Anionic ring‐opening polymerization of I or II leads to copolymers with highly regular microstructures. Copolymers obtained by cationic polymerizations of I or II , initiated by triflic acid, have less regular microstructures characteristic of chemoselective polymerization processes. The composition and microstructure of copolymers have been characterized by ¹H and ²⁹Si‐NMR, the molecular weight distributions by GPC, and the thermal properties by DSC and TGA. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5235–5243, 2004     

Ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide by rare‐earth tris(4‐tert‐butylphenolate) single‐component initiators

The ring‐opening polymerization of L ‐lactide initiated by single‐component rare‐earth tris(4‐tert‐butylphenolate)s was conducted. The influences of the rare‐earth elements, solvents, temperature, monomer and initiator concentrations, and reaction time on the polymerization were investigated in detail. No racemization was found from 70 to 100 °C under the examined conditions. NMR and differential scanning calorimetry measurements further confirmed that the polymerization occurred without epimerization of the monomer or polymer. A kinetic study indicated that the polymerization rate was first‐order with respect to the monomer and initiator concentrations. The overall activation energy of the ring‐opening polymerization was 79.2 kJ mol^?1. ¹H NMR data showed that the L ‐lactide monomer inserted into the growing chains with acyl–oxygen bond cleavage. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6209–6215, 2004     

Living polymerization of D,L‐3‐methylglycolide initiated with bimetallic (Al/Zn) μ‐oxo alkoxide and copolymers thereof

D,L ‐3‐Methylglycolide (MG) was successfully polymerized with bimetallic (Al/Zn) μ‐oxo alkoxide as an initiator in toluene at 90 °C. The effect of the initiator concentration and monomer conversion on the molecular weight was studied. It is shown that the polymerization of MG follows a living process. A kinetic study indicated that the polymerization approximates the first order in the monomer, and no induction period was observed. ¹H NMR spectroscopy showed that the ring‐opening polymerization proceeds through a coordination–insertion mechanism with selective cleavage of the acyl–oxygen bond of the monomer. On the basis of ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR analyses, the selective cleavage of the acyl–oxygen bond of the monomer mainly occurs at the least hindered carbonyl groups (P₁ = 0.84, P₂ = 0.16). Therefore, the main chain of poly(D,L ‐lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid) (50/50 molar ratio) obtained from the homopolymerization of MG was primarily composed of alternating lactyl and glycolyl units. The diblock copolymers poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)‐b‐poly(D,L ‐lactic acid‐alt‐glycolic acid) and poly(L ‐lactide)‐b‐poly(D,L ‐lactic acid‐alt‐glycolic acid) were successfully synthesized by the sequential living polymerization of related lactones (ϵ‐caprolactone or L ‐lactide). ¹³C NMR spectra of diblock copolymers clearly show their pure diblock structures. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 357–367, 2001     

A novel use of Ti‐POSS as initiator of L‐lactide ring‐opening polymerization

The efficacy of a metal‐silsesquioxane, namely, heptaisobutyl (isopropoxyde)titanium‐polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (Ti‐POSS), as initiator of the ring‐opening polymerization of L ‐lactide (LLA) has been assessed. Indeed, as demonstrated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements, a well‐controlled polymerization occurs via a coordination‐insertion mechanism. Moreover, the above reaction leads to the direct insertion of the silsesquioxane molecule into the polymer backbone, thus producing a hybrid system. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements demonstrated that in comparison with a commercial poly‐L ‐lactide (PLLA), the polymers prepared with Ti‐POSS exhibit a higher crystallinity. Indeed, the presence of silsesquioxane molecules, attached to one end of the polymer chains, has been found to appreciably affect the crystal nucleation density. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Lipase‐catalyzed ring‐opening polymerization of 6(S)‐methyl‐morpholine‐2,5‐dione

Lipase‐catalyzed ring‐opening bulk polymerizations of 6(S)‐methyl‐morpholine‐2,5‐dione (MMD) were investigated. Selected commercial lipases were screened as catalysts for MMD polymerization at 100 °C. Polymerizations catalyzed with 10 wt % porcine pancreatic lipase type II crude (PPL), lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia, and lipase type VII from Candida rugosa resulted in MMD conversions of about 75% in 3 days and in molecular weights ranging from 8200 to 12,100. Poly(6‐methyl‐morpholine‐2,5‐dione) [poly(MMD)] had a carboxylic acid group at one end and a hydroxyl group at the other end. However, lipase from Mucor javanicus showed lower catalytic activity for the polymerization. During the polymerization, racemization of the lactate residue took place. PPL was selected for further studies. The rate of polymerization increased with increasing PPL concentration under otherwise identical conditions. When the PPL concentration was 5 or 10 wt % with respect to MMD, a conversion of about 70% was reached after 6 days or 1 day, respectively, whereas for a PPL concentration of 1 wt %, the conversion was less than 20% even after 6 days. High concentrations of PPL (10 wt %) resulted in high number‐average molecular weights (<3 days); with a lower concentration of PPL, lower molecular weight poly(MMD) was obtained. The concentration of water was an important factor that controlled not only the conversion but also the molecular weight. With increasing water content, enhanced polymerization rates were achieved, whereas the molecular weight of poly(MMD) decreased. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3030–3039, 2005     

Synthesis of cyclic polysulfides: Controlled ring‐expansion polymerization of cyclic tetrathioester with thiirane

We synthesized cyclic tetrathioesters containing thioester moieties at the o‐position (o‐CTE) and m‐position (m‐CTE) of an aromatic skeleton. The reaction of phenoxy propylenesulfide (PPS) with o‐CTE and m‐CTE was examined using tetrabutylammonium chloride as a catalyst in 1‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, yielding the corresponding cyclic polysulfides poly[o‐CTE(PPS)_n] with M_n's = 37,000–54,000 at 34–61% yields and poly[m‐CTE(PPS)_n] with M_n's = 46,600–107,200 at 63–>99% yields. Although the molecular weights of poly[o‐CTE(PPS)_n] could not be controlled, those of poly[m‐CTE(PPS)_n] could be controlled by the feed ratios of PPS and reaction temperature. Furthermore, the glass transition temperature (T_g) and thermal decomposition temperature (T_dⁱ) of poly[m‐CTE(PPS)_n] increased with decreasing molecular weights. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 857–866     

Synthesis and characterization of L‐leucine containing chiral vinyl monomer and its polymer,poly(2‐(methacryloyloxyamino)‐4‐methyl pentanoic acid)

A chiral monomer containing L ‐leucine as a pendant group was synthesized from methacryloyl chloride and L ‐leucine in presence of sodium hydroxide at 4 °C. The monomer was polymerized by free radical polymerization in propan‐2‐ol at 60 °C using 2,2′‐azobis isobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator under nitrogen atmosphere. The polymer, poly(2‐(Methacryloyloxyamino)‐4‐methyl pentanoic acid) is thus obtained. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined to be: M_w is 6.9 × 10³ and M_n is 5.6 × 10³. The optical rotation of both chiral monomer and its polymer varies with the solvent polarity. The amplification of optical rotation due to transformation of monomer to polymer is associated with the ordered conformation of chiral monomer unit in the polymeric chain due to some secondary interactions like H‐bonding. The synthesized monomer and polymer exhibit intense Cotton effect at 220 nm. The conformation of the chain segments is sensitive to external stimuli, particularly the pH of the medium. In alkaline medium, the ordered chain conformation is destroyed resulting disordered random coils. The ordered coiling conformation is more firmly present on addition of HCl. The polymer exhibits swelling‐deswelling characteristics with the change of pH of the medium, which is reversible. The Cotton effect decreases linearly with the increase of temperature which is reversible on cooling. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2228–2242, 2009     

Controlled surface‐initiated ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide from risedronate‐anchored hydroxyapatite nanocrystals: Novel synthesis of biodegradable hydroxyapatite/poly(L‐lactide) nanocomposites

Risedronate‐anchored hydroxyapatite (HA‐RIS) nanocrystals were prepared with 4.1 wt % RIS and used for controlled surface‐initiated ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of L ‐lactide (L ‐LA). The strong adsorption of RIS to HA surface not only led to enhanced dispersion of HA nanocrystals in water as well as in organic solvents but also provided alkanol groups as active initiating species for ROP of L ‐LA. HA‐RIS was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, ¹H NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and X‐ray diffraction. The graft polymerization of L ‐LA onto HA‐RIS took place smoothly in the presence of stannous octoate in toluene at 120 °C, resulting in HA/poly(L ‐LA) nanocomposites with high yields of 85–90% and high poly(L ‐LA) contents of up to 97.5 wt %. Notably, differential scanning calorimetry measurements revealed that the poly(L ‐LA) in HA/poly(L ‐LA) nanocomposites exhibited considerably higher melting temperatures (T_m = 173.3?178.1 °C) and higher degrees of crystallinity (X_c = 41.0?43.1%) as compared to poly(L ‐LA) homopolymer (T_m = 168.5 °C, X_c =25.7%). In addition, our initial results showed that these HA/poly(L ‐LA) nanocomposites could readily be electrospun into porous matrices. This study presented a novel and controlled synthetic strategy to HA/RIS/poly(L ‐LA) nanocomposites that are promising for orthopedic applications as well as for bone tissue engineering. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Convenient and useful synthesis of N‐carboxyanhydride monomers through selective cyclization of urethane derivatives of α‐amino acids

A new convenient synthesis of N‐carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) of α‐amino acids was achieved by selective cyclization of urethane derivatives of α‐amino acids. The urethanes were readily synthesized via N‐carbamoylation of α‐amino acids by bis(4‐nitrophenyl)carbonate quantitatively. These urethanes having 4‐nitrophenoxy moiety were tolerant to air and moisture to allow their facile purification and storage. When the obtained urethanes were heated in 2‐butanone at 60 °C, they underwent the selective cyclization via intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the carboxyl moiety to the urethane moiety with releasing 4‐nitrophenol, leading to the successful formation of the corresponding NCAs. Addition of carboxylic acids remarkably stabilized the formed NCAs during the reaction, allowing their isolation in high yields. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3839–3844, 2009     

Synthesis of a new 2‐amino‐glycan,poly‐(1→6)‐α‐D‐mannosamine,by ring‐opening polymerization of 1,6‐anhydro‐mannosamine derivatives

A stereoregular 2‐amino‐glycan composed of a mannosamine residue was prepared by ring‐opening polymerization of anhydro sugars. Two different monomers, 1,6‐anhydro‐2‐azido‐mannose derivative ( 3 ) and 1,6‐anhydro‐2‐(N, N‐dibenzylamino)‐mannose derivative ( 6 ), were synthesized and polymerized. Although 3 gave merely oligomers, 6 was promptly polymerized into high polymers of the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of 2.3 × 10⁴ to 2.9 × 10⁴ with 1,6‐α stereoregularity. The differences of polymerizability of 3 and 6 from those of the corresponding glucose homologs were discussed. It was found that an N‐benzyl group is exceedingly suitable for protecting an amino group in the polymerization of anhydro sugars of a mannosamine type. The simultaneous removal of O‐ and N‐benzyl groups of the resulting polymers was achieved by using sodium in liquid ammonia to produce the first 2‐amino‐glycan, poly‐(1→6)‐α‐D ‐mannosamine, having high molecular weight through ring‐opening polymerization of anhydro sugars.© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Controlled ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide and 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one forming a triblock copolymer

Novel elastomeric A‐B‐A triblock copolymers were successfully synthesized in a new two‐step process: controlled ring‐opening polymerization of the cyclic ether–ester 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one as the amorphous middle block (B‐block) followed by addition and polymerization of the two semicrystalline L ‐lactide blocks (A‐block). A 1,1,6,6‐tetra‐n‐butyl‐1,6‐distanna‐2,5,7,10‐tetraoxacyclodecane initiator system was utilized and the reaction was performed in chloroform at 60 °C. A good control of the synthesis was obtained, resulting in well defined triblock copolymers. The molecular weight and chemical composition were easily adjusted by the monomer‐to‐initiator ratio. The triblock copolymers formed exhibited semicrystallinity up to a content of 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one as high as 89% as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. WAXS investigation of the triblock copolymers showed a crystal structure similar to that of the pure poly(L ‐lactide). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1774–1784, 2000