Polymer Chemistry Blog

A series of thermoresponsive polymers suitable for releasing drugs from polymer nanoparticles have been created by a team at Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, China.

The team synthesised a series of thermoresponsive oligo(ethylene glycol)-grafted polypeptides that can self-assemble into amphiphilic nanoparticles in aqueous solution. These polymers show sharp temperature-dependent phase transitions and the lower critical solution temperature can be adjusted from 22.3 to 74.1 °C by varying the molecular weight, the length of the OEG side chain, the polymer concentration and salt concentration. The polymer nanoparticles are not toxic and the team demonstrated their drug release profiles using doxorubicin as a model drug.

Versatile synthesis of temperature-sensitive polypeptides by click grafting of oligo(ethylene glycol): Yilong Cheng, Chaoliang He, Chunsheng Xiao, Jianxun Ding, Xiuli Zhuang and Xuesi Chen, Polym. Chem., 2011, 2, 2627-2634

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A new family of polymeric ionic liquids could find use as materials for electrochemical devices.

The team led by A. S. Shaplov synthesised three ionic monomers with highly delocalized anions and mobile aprotic cations. These monomers were designed to mimic the structure of three highly conductive anions. A radical polymerization procedure was then used to form the polymeric ionic liquids. Interested to know more? Read the full article for free. 

Design and synthesis of new anionic “polymeric ionic liquids” with high charge delocalization: A. S. Shaplov, P. S. Vlasov, M. Armand, E. I. Lozinskaya, D. O. Ponkratov, I. A. Malyshkina, F. Vidal, O. V. Okatova, G. M. Pavlov, C. Wandrey, I. A. Godovikov and Y. S. Vygodskii, Polym. Chem., 2011, 2, 2609-2618

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Chemoresponsive polymer structures containing dynamic covalent imine bonds have been created using RAFT polymerisation. The team from Newcastle University, UK, fabricated core-cross-linked star polymers using diblock copolymers containing ‘inert’ and ‘reactive’ blocks. The also team made nanogels using methacrylate copolymers that cross-link by forming kinetically stable imine bonds in organic solvents.

Read the full article for free:
Alexander W. Jackson, Christopher Stakes and David A. Fulton, Polym. Chem., 2011, 2, 2500-2511

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Organocatalyzed ring opening polymerization using multifunctional dendritic and polysaccharide initiators offers a simple method for creating uniform biodegradable or biocompatible star polymers.

Developed by James Hedrick and co-workers in the USA and Singapore, the method can generate homo and block star polymers with a specified average molecular weight and narrow polydispersity. The team say that the method’s ability to create of uniform materials could be useful for developing designer delivery systems.

Daniel J. Coady, Amanda C. Engler, Yi Yan Yang and James L. Hedrick, Polym. Chem., 2011, 2, 2619-2626

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Dendrimers capable of detecting TNT have been developed by scientists in Australia. 

The performance of three generations of fluorescent carbazole dendrimers in solution and in thin films were tested to identify differences in the binding to explosives. This technology could help create portable sensors for detecting nitroaromatic explosives.

Read the full article for free (free registration required): Guoqiang Tang, Simon S. Y. Chen, Paul E. Shaw, Katalin Hegedus, Xin Wang, Paul L. Burn and Paul Meredith, Polym. Chem., 2011, 2, 2360-2368

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In this Hot Review Johan P. A. Heuts and Niels M. B. Smeets give an overview of cobalt-catalyzed chain transfer in free-radical polymerization and the chemistry and applications of its derived macromonomers.

Johan P. A. Heuts and Niels M. B. Smeets, Polym. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00224D, Advance Article

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Improving the blood clearance time of ¹²⁵I labeled Dex-g-PMAGGCONHTyr by copolymerization: Pharmacokinetics studies shows that modifying a tyrosine conjugate with a ¹²⁵I labelled graft copolymer increased the blood clearance time. The Chinese scientists behind the research claim that the modified dextran graft copolymer is potentially an excellent radiotherapy carrier.

Why not read the full article available for free (free registration required): Deqian Wang, Ruigang Liu, Ning Che, Qinmei Li, Zhuang Li, Ye Tian, Honglang Kang, Bing Jia and Yong Huang, Polym. Chem., 2011, 2, 1872-1878

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