Synthetic Approaches to Combine the Versatility of the Thiol Chemistry with the Degradability of Aliphatic Polyesters

Abstract

Thiol chemistry is an efficient tool to manipulate the microstructure of aliphatic polyesters and open the way to different applications. Synthetic strategies that aim to synthesize thiol-functionalized aliphatic polyesters are reviewed herein. The introduction of thiol-editable groups on aliphatic polyesters can occur both at chain ends and along the chains, enabling diverse modifications of the polymeric chains and imparting new properties and functions. The use of thiol chemistry for postpolymerization modification of this class of polymers and the (co)polymerizations of monomers bearing thiol groups has also been described herein.