Effect of chain transfer agent on the radiation grafting of methyl methacrylate onto chromium(III) crosslinked collagen

Thioglycolic acid is an efficient agent for controlling the lengths of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) chains grafted onto collagen. The addition of 0.006 mol of thioglycolic acid per one mol of methyl methacrylate (MMA) has no effect on the yield of grafting, but brings about a decrease in the molecular weight of grafted PMMA by about 50%. The mechanism of the grafting reaction in the presence of the chain transfer agent thioglycolic acid is discussed on the basis of the results.