Synthesis and UCST‐type phase behaviors of OEGylated random copolypeptides in alcoholic solvents |
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| Authors: | Mengxiang Zhu Wenjun Liu Jiang Xiao Ying Ling Haoyu Tang |
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| Affiliation: | Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials and Application Technology of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Materials of Colleges and Universities of Hunan Province, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China |
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| Abstract: | A series of OEGylated random copolypeptides with similar main‐chain lengths and different oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) molar content and chain lengths were prepared from triethylamine initiated ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of OEGylated γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamic acid based N‐carboxyanhydride (OEGmBLG–NCA, m = 2, 3) and γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamic acid based N‐carboxyanhydride (BLG–NCA). 1H NMR analysis verified copolypeptides structures and determined the OEG molar content (x). FTIR analysis further confirmed the molecular structures, indicated α‐helical conformations of copolypeptides in the solid‐state, and revealed H‐bonding interactions between OEG pendants and alcoholic solvents. The copolypeptides exhibited a reversible upper critical solution temperature (UCST)‐type phase behavior in various alcoholic solvents (i.e., methanol, ethanol, 1‐propanol, 1‐butanol, and 1‐pentanol) depending on the x values and OEG side‐chain lengths (m). Variable‐temperature UV–vis analysis revealed that the UCST‐type transition temperatures (Tpts) of the copolypeptides in alcohols decreased as x or m value increased or as polymer concentration decreased. Tpts of copolypeptides with high x values (x ≥ 0.50) increased as the number of methylene of the alcoholic solvent increased from 3 (i.e., 1‐propanol) to 5 (i.e., 1‐pentanol). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 3444–3453 |
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| Keywords: | phase behavior ring‐opening polymerization stimuli‐sensitive polymers structure– property relations synthesis |
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