Syntheses and characterization of block copolymers of poly(aliphatic ester) with clickable polyphosphoester |
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Authors: | Yu‐Cai Wang You‐Yong Yuan Feng Wang Jun Wang |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China;2. Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China |
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Abstract: | We report a series of biocompatible and biodegradable block copolymers of poly(ε‐caprolactone) with “clickable” polyphosphoester (PPE). The block copolymers are synthesized through controlled ring‐opening polymerization of five‐membered cyclic phosphoester monomer, propargyl ethylene phosphate (PAEP), initiated with poly(ε‐caprolactone) macroinitiator. The polymerization followed first‐order kinetics with living polymerization characteristics, thus the molecular weight and composition of copolymers are tunable by adjusting the feed ratio of PAEP monomer to macroinitiator. Azide‐functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) has been grafted to the copolymer to demonstrate the reactive feasibility by Cu(I)‐catalyzed “click” chemistry of azides and alkynes, generating “brush‐coil” polymers. The mild conditions associated with the click reaction are shown to be compatible with poly(ε‐caprolactone) and PPE backbones, rendering the click reaction a generally useful method for grafting numerous types of functionality onto the block copolymers. The block copolymers also show good biocompatibility to cells, suggesting their suitability for a range of biomaterial applications. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011 |
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Keywords: | block copolymers click chemistry polyphosphoester ring‐opening polymerization |
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