Synthesis and characterization of hydrolysable poly(ether-urethane-urea)s derived from l-leucine anhydride cyclopeptide; a green synthetic method for monomer

l-leucine anhydride cyclodipeptide (LAC) was prepared through a green method under microwave irradiation with good yield. Then a new class of hydrolysable poly(ether-urethane-urea)s (PEUUs) was synthesized via two-step polymerization method. In the first step, 4,4′-methylene-bis-(4-phenylisocyanate) (MDI) was reacted with LAC to produce isocyanate-terminated poly(imide-urea) oligomers (hard segment). Reaction of the resulting pre-polymer with different molecular weights (MW) of polyethyleneglycols (PEG)s such as PEG-400, PEG-600, PEG-1000 and PEG-2000 was the second step to furnish a series of new PEUUs. The resulting multiblock copolymers have inherent viscosities in the range of 0.4-1.8 dL/g. These multiblock copolymers are hydrolysable, thermally stable and soluble in amide-type solvents. Polymers containing different molecular weights of PEGs soft segments show different thermal stability, phase separation, hard segment cohesiveness and hydrolysis rate. Some structural characterization and physical properties of these PEUUs are reported.