Author of the Month: Professor Takeshi Endo

Takeshi Endo is a Professor of Molecular Engineering Institute (MEI) at Kinki University and an Emeritus Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT). He is also Director of MEI and Vice President of Kinki University. He became an Assistant Professor at TIT in 1969, Associate Professor in 1982 and a Professor in 1986. He was Director of Chemical Resources Laboratory at TIT from 1991 until his retirement from TIT in 2000. Then he moved to Yamagata University, and became Vice President of Yamagata University until his retirement from Yamagata University in 2005. He moved to Kinki University in 2005. He was awarded the award of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan (1984), the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (1989), and the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Technical Development (2000). From 2008, he has been an Honorary Member of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan.

Institute Website: Molecular Engineering Institute (MEI)

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

I have been interested in the nature science from a young age, especially, photosynthesis that is essential to grow foods such as rice and sweet potato that I can see around my house. The interests let me to study the chemistry at university.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article?

Our group recently reported on synthesis of polypeptide through polycondensation of N-phenoxycarbonyl derivative of a-amino acid with the elimination of phenol and CO2. During the course of investigation about polymethionine(oxides), we have achieve the facile route for the synthesis of well-defined poly polymethionine(oxides) in terms of molecular weigh and terminal structure through polycondensation of the corresponding urethane derivative. In addition, we found that oligo(methionine sulfoxide)-base polymer offers a excellent antifouling property against biological matters. We expect that the synthetic method could be used widely to construct polypeptide-based polymer for biomedical application.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is one of the most attractive journals in the field of polymer chemistry and many readers working on the related fields will have a lot of interesting.

In which upcoming conference may our readers meet you?

I will attend the 11th International Conference on Advanced Polymers via Macromolecular Engineering (APME 2015), which is held at Yokohama in Japan from 18th to 22nd October 2015 as a member of organizing committee (Chairman). The conference is now announced at http://www.apme2015.jp/index.html. I am looking forward to seeing you at Yokohama in Japan.

How do you spend your spare times?

I enjoy watching TVs about baseball, soccer and tennis game.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I would choose a SF writer.


Facile synthesis of polymethionine oxides through polycondensation of activated urethane derivative of α-amino acid and their application to antifouling polymer against proteins and cells

Shuhei Yamada,   Kazuhiro Ikkyu,   Kazuhiro Iso,   Mitsuaki Goto and   Takeshi Endo

We have developed a facile route for the synthesis of poly(methionine) and poly(methionine oxide), including poly(methionine sulfoxide), and poly(methionine sulfone) through polycondensation of the corresponding N-phenoxycarbonyl derivatives of α-amino acids in the presence of amines. These urethane derivatives were readily synthesized through N-carbamylation of onium salt of methionine with diphenyl carbonate. Oxidation of sulfide on the urethane derivative with a hydrogen peroxide selectively provided the corresponding sulfoxide and sulfone in high yield. Heating of their urethane derivative 60 °C successfully obtained the corresponding polypeptide through polycondensation accompanying the elimination of phenol and CO2 in high yield. The molecular weight of polypeptide was adjusted by varying the feed ratio of urethane derivative to amine. MALDI-TOF mass analysis revealed that the added amine was successfully incorporated into the terminal end of the polypeptide. Taking advantage of our facile synthetic route to synthesize a polypeptide, we have synthesized a polystyrenes bearing oligo(L-methionine sulfoxide) in the side chain, and investigated their application as a surface-coating polymer that leads to antifouling property against proteins and cells. The polystyrene was readily synthesized through polycondensation of a urethane derivative of L-methionine sulfoxide in the presence of 4-vinylbenzylamine, followed by radical polymerization with water-soluble azo initiator. The inhibition of protein (hRP-IgG) adsorption and F9 cells adhesion was observed on the surface of the polymer-coated PS plate because of the hydrophilic nature of L-methionine sulfoxide segment. In addition, the result of CCK-8 assay reveals a low cytotoxicity against F9 cells, indicating that the polymer possesses a high biocompatibility.


Cyrille Boyer is a guest web-writer for Polymer Chemistry. He is currently an associate professor and an ARC-Future Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (Australia) and deputy director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine.


Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Author of the Month: Prof. Nathaniel A. Lynd

Nate studied chemistry at Michigan State University, and attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota where he worked in the laboratory of Prof. Marc A. Hillmyer on the effects of polydispersity on block polymer self-assembly. After graduating in late 2007, Nate moved to the Materials Research Laboratory at the University of California in Santa Barbara and worked in the groups of Glenn H. Fredrickson, Edward J. Kramer, and Craig J. Hawker. During nearly six years of research at the MRL, Nate published work in areas of polymer science encompassing a broad range of synthetic, physical, and theoretical topics. After UCSB, Nate became a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the Materials Sciences Division and became a project leader at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis. In April 2014, Nate was appointed as an assistant professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Nate’s research efforts are focused on creating and utilizing new functional and reactive macromolecular materials. Newer work is built on a foundation of techniques for advanced copolymer structure determination and detailed mechanistic understanding which facilitate the compositional control of structure-property-processing relationships. Specifically, we are currently engaged in gaining further understanding of compositional control in polyether materials, degradable biomedical materials, membranes for carbon capture, and understanding ion transport in polymer electrolytes and membranes.

Research group: http://lynd.che.utexas.edu/

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

I always had an interest in science as a kid. I was (and still am!) very interested in geology, paleontology, and space exploration like many. My interest narrowed to chemistry with a very inspirational honors chemistry teacher in high school (Mr. John Wheeler, Batavia High School). In undergraduate, I took organic chemistry from Dr. Gregory L. Baker, a polymer chemist. I was fascinated by the possibilities of polymers, and did undergraduate research in Dr. Baker’s lab on the stereospecific synthesis of substituted lactides. This was how I got started in polymer science.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article?

Functional, mono-sized polymer particles are enabling to a range of applications. Our interest in this was motivated by a one very specific application, but we focused on the underlying chemistry for the article.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

I’ve had a very positive experience with the journal, and I think it’s the right venue for rapidly reporting new developments. Additionally, I believe it reaches the right audience. As such, I’ve selected Polymer Chemistry to publish several other articles as well.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will be a several upcoming conferences. I’ll be at an ECI conference on membranes in Syracuse, Italy in February, also the upcoming American Chemical Society Meeting in Denver. Additionally, I’ll be at the upcoming Gordon Research Conference on Polymers in June, and will attend the International Symposium on Ionic Polymerization in Bordeaux this July.

How do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy reading science fiction, spending time with my family, and running whenever I get a chance. I enjoy cooking and especially barbecue. Lately, I’ve been working on my central Texas style BBQ’ing skills!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I would probably enjoy being a scientific illustrator, or a software engineer.


A synthetic strategy for the preparation of sub-100 nm functional polymer particles of uniform diameter

Kato L. Killops,   Christina G. Rodriguez,   Pontus Lundberg,   Craig J. Hawk and   Nathaniel A. Lynd

Abstract: An amphiphilic block copolymer surfactant is used to impart peripheral surface functionality to polymer nanoparticles synthesized via emulsion polymerization. Particles ranged in size from ca. 55 nm by SEM (ca. 82 nm by DLS) to just over 200 nm. Particles displaying latent functionality were readily functionalized directly after polymerization using a fluorescent dye.


Cyrille Boyer is a guest web-writer for Polymer Chemistry. He is currently an associate professor and an ARC-Future Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (Australia) and deputy director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine.


Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Paper of the month: Fe(III)-mediated ICAR ATRP in a p-xylene/PEG-200 biphasic system: facile and highly efficient separation and recycling of an iron catalyst

Zhang et al. report a highly efficient separation and recycling of an iron catalyst in a p-xylene/PEG-200 biphasic system exploiting Fe(III)-mediated ICAR ATRP.


Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a well-established polymerization protocol which allows access to the facile preparation of well-defined materials. As copper is considered an unwanted contamination in some applications, a significant attention has been directly towards the investigation of ATRP catalyst separation and recycling. However, most of the recycling studies are conducted with copper catalysts neglecting other catalytic species such as iron which are less toxic, abundant and biocompatible. Inspired by the successful application of biphasic systems in organic synthesis, Cheng, Zhang and co-workers utilized a PEG-200/p-xylene biphasic system to afford a thermo-regulated phase-separable catalysis (TPSC) via Fe(III)-mediated initiators for continued activator regeneration ATRP (ICAR ATRP). Although PEG-200 and p-xylene are immiscible at ambient temperature, they become homogeneous when heated to 70 °C. Upon commencement of the polymerization, followed by a subsequent cooling period, the reaction mixture separates in two phases. The PEG-200 phase includes the catalyst complex and could be re-used 10 times while still maintaining high catalyst activity while the p-xylene layer contains well-defined polymers with less than 4 ppm of catalyst. Importantly, the versatility and robustness of this protocol was demonstrated by the polymerization of a large diversity of monomers, including methacrylates, acrylates and styrene. In all cases, narrow molecular weight distributions (Ð <1.27) were obtained while high end-group fidelity was verified through successful chain extension experiments that confirmed the “living”/controlled nature of the system. This novel strategy complements previous studies in the field and clearly shows a trend of using alternative metals for controlled polymerizations while at the same time recycling the catalyst to minimize cost and purification steps.

Tips/comments directly from the authors:

1. Iron catalysts have unique advantages over copper catalysts from the view point of catalyst abundancy, biocompatibility and toxicity. Therefore, iron catalysts are better candidates than others for the synthesis of polymeric materials, especially those used for biomedical applications, by the ATRP method.

2. For this Fe(III)-mediated ICAR ATRP, it should be noted that choosing a facile and highly efficient separation biphasic TPSC system for the features of homogeneous catalysis at high temperatures (polymerization temperature) and phase separation at room temperature is important.

3. In this system iron catalyst complexes can be separated and recycled in situ more than 10 times. However, a small amount of PEG-200 may dissolve in p-xylene, as a consequence, we can add some fresh PEG-200 to keep a more efficient TPSC strategy.

4. The organic phase (p-xylene layer with the resultant polymers) can be transferred at room temperature by simple decantation and washed with p-xylene in recycling procedure.

Fe(III)-mediated ICAR ATRP in a p-xylene/PEG-200 biphasic system: facile and highly efficient separation and recycling of an iron catalyst, by B. Zhang, X. Jiang, L. Zhang, Z. Cheng and X. Zhu, Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 6616-6622


Dr. Athina Anastasaki is a Web Writer for Polymer Chemistry. She is currently a Warwick (UK)/ Monash (Australia) research fellow working under the Monash Alliance. Visit http://haddleton.org/group-members for more information.

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Focus on: Polymeric Nanomaterials for Drug Delivery

This month the “focus” is on polymeric nanomaterials which have been investigated for their applicability as drug delivery devices. The use of polymers in biomedical applications, specifically drug delivery, has markedly increased over the past decades with the advancement in polymerisation techniques. More precise synthetic methodologies have allowed for a higher degree of control over polymer compositions and architectures, therefore, expanding the polymer chemist’s toolbox. Drug delivery vehicles based on polymers aim to overcome problems with hydrophobic drug administration such as low bioavailability and/or rapid clearance, poor solubility and high off target toxicity. They usually should be biocompatible, achieve high drug loading efficiencies, show biodegradability and in some cases include site specific targeted drug delivery and/or sustained release of the bioactive compound(s). Perhaps unsurprisingly, PEG has been used in each report as it is well-known for giving stabilization and “stealth” properties to nanomaterials in the body. However, the variety of polymer architectures and core compositions employed in these reports alone highlights the diversity arising when investigated polymeric materials for drug delivery.

1. Biocompatible and bioreducible micelles fabricated from novel α-amino acid-based poly(disulfide urethane)s: design, synthesis and triggered doxorubicin release, Wentao Lu, Xiuxiu Wang, Ru Cheng, Chao Deng, Fenghua Meng and Zhiyuan Zhong, Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 6001-6010.

Through the design of reductively biodegradable amino acid based poly(disulfide urethane)s (AAPU(SS)s), ABA triblock copolymers consisting of PEG-AAPU(SS)-PEG were prepared which formed micelles. Doxorubicin was encapsulated in the core of the micelles and an increase in drug release was observed in a reductive environment. Cell viability studies showed that the drug loaded micelles reduced cell viability and cell internalisation was investigated.

2. Amphiphilic core cross-linked star polymers as water-soluble, biocompatible and biodegradable unimolecular carriers for hydrophobic drugs, D. Gu, K. Ladewig, M. Klimak, D. Haylock, K. M. McLean, A. J. O’Connor and G. G. Qiao, Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 6475-6487.

Unimolecular core cross-linked stars (CCS) were prepared by the ring opening polymerisation of caprolactone and a crosslinker utilizing a PEG macroinitiator. The formation of CCS with varying contents was investigated and a hydrophobic drug, pirarubicin, was encapsulated and release of the drug was studied at different pH. Cytotoxicity and cellular uptake tests showed that the materials exhibited low toxicities, while drug loaded CCS polymers were similar to the free drug.

3. A biodegradable and fluorescent nanovehicle with enhanced selective uptake by tumor cells, Jinxia An, Xiaomei Dai, Yu Zhao, Qianqian Guo, Zhongming Wu, Xinge Zhang and Chaoxing Li, Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 6529-6542.

A PEGylated core cross-linked polymeric nanovehicle was prepared via RAFT, which contained reduction- and pH-dependent degradable moieties and fluorescence imaging functionalities in the core. Due to the fluorescence imaging functionality the cell internalization pathway into HEPG2 cells was investigated by cellular uptake and competition inhibition assays. Drug loaded nanovehicles were shown to inhibit cancer cell proliferation.


Dr. Fiona Hatton is a Web Writer for Polymer Chemistry. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, having completed her PhD in the Rannard group at the University of Liverpool, UK. Visit her webpage for more information.

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Photopolymerization Fundamentals Conference 2015

Congratulations to Brian Donovan, a PhD student in the Patton Group at the University of Southern Mississippi, USA, who was awarded the Polymer Chemistry Best Poster Award at the Photopolymerization Fundamentals Conference 2015 in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Brian received the award from Polymer Chemistry Associate Editor, Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik, in the presence of the conference chair, Professor Christopher Bowman, for his work on the effects of phosphonic acid monomers on the network properties of UV polymerizable adhesives.

Pictured (left to right): Professor Christopher Bowman, Brian Donovan and Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik.
Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Editorial Board’s Top Picks: Ben Zhong Tang

Ben Zhong Tang is an Associate Editor for Polymer Chemistry and a Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST), China. His research focuses on the synthesis of new molecules and polymers with novel structures and unique functions and the exploration of their high-tech applications as advanced materials in life science, optoelectronic devices, etc.

You can find all Editorial Board’s Top Picks papers in our web collection


Focus on Luminogenic Polymers (Associate Editor: Prof. Ben Zhong Tang, HKUST, China)

1. A fluorescent supramolecular polymer with aggregation induced emission (AIE) properties formed by crown ether-based host–guest interactions
Dong Chen, Jiayi Zhan, Mingming Zhang, Jing Zhang, Jiaju Tao, Danting Tang, Ailin Shen, Huayu Qiu and Shouchun Yin
Polym. Chem. 2015, 6, 25–29.

Supramolecular polymers are a group of novel macromolecules with their monomeric units self-assembled together through monovalent interactions. S. Yin and coworkers at Hangzhou Normal University (China) and University of Maryland (USA) have synthesized a new supramolecular polymer by utilizing crown ether-based host–guest interactions. The supramolecular polymer shows aggregation-induced emission, thanks to the tetraphenylethene units imbedded in the macromolecular chain. Its fluorescence intensity is decreased dramatically on the addition of Pd2+ due to the coordination of the metal ion with the triazole group, enabling the polymer to find practical application as a fluorescent chemosensor.

2. Amphiphilic fluorescent copolymers via one-pot combination of chemoenzymatic transesterification and RAFT polymerization: synthesis, self-assembly and cell imaging
Zengfang Huang, Xiqi Zhang, Xiaoyong Zhang, Changkui Fu, Ke Wang, Jinying Yuan, Lei Tao and Yen Wei
Polym. Chem. 2015, 6, 607–612.

Fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) have attracted much attention. Many FONs, however, are hydrophobic particles and have been fabricated by non-covalent strategies. Z. Huang and coworkers at University of Electronic Science & Technology of China and Tsinghua University have combined radical polymerization and enzymatic transesterification processes and developed a one-pot covalent procedure for the fabrication of FONs with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) attribute. The amphiphilic chains of the obtained polymers self-assemble into spherical FONs with the hydrophobic AIE cores covered by hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) shells. The FONs show excellent dispersibility in aqueous media, compatibility with biological species, and performance as bioimaging reagent.

3. Aggregation-induced circularly polarized luminescence of an (R)-binaphthyl-based AIE-active chiral conjugated polymer with self-assembled helical nanofibers
Shuwei Zhang, Yuan Sheng, Guo Wei, Yiwu Quan, Yixiang Cheng and Chengjian Zhu
Polym. Chem. 2015, 6, 2416–2422.

A number of polymers with atomic chirality have been found to emit circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). Polymers with axial chirality, however, have been rarely prepared. A team led by Y. Cheng and C. Zhu at Nanjing University (China) have synthesized a series of conjugated polymers containing (R)-binaphthylene and tetraphenylethene (TPE) units with axial chirality and aggregation-induced emission (AIE). All the polymers show AIE effects, thanks to the TPE units embedded in the polymer chains. When the polymers form aggregates in aqueous mixtures, a polymer with the “right” structure becomes CPL active. The aggregation-induced CPL effect of the polymer is tunable by changing the water content of the aqueous mixture.

Review article

Luminescent polymers and blends with hydrogen bond interactions
Shih-Hung Huang, Yeo-Wan Chiang and Jin-Long Hong
Polym. Chem. 2015, 6, 497–508.

Macromolecular luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics are useful functional materials because they emit strongly in the aggregate or solid state. As the restriction of intramolecular rotations of luminogens is the main cause for the AIE activity, it has been envisioned that hydrogen-bond interactions can be utilized to construct AIE-active polymers. J.-L. Hong and coworkers have summarized the research effort in the area of AIE study. Through appropriate choices of H-bonding units and sites, a variety of AIE-active polymers and blends have been conveniently generated. In the polymers containing multiple luminogen units, the entangling polymer chains and the intermolecular H-bonding interactions impose effective rotational restriction on the luminogens. In the hydrophilic polymers carrying single luminogens, ready aggregation of the hydrophobic luminogens from the phase-separated H-bonding sites reinforces the beneficial rotational restriction, resulting in AIE systems with intense light emissions. In the luminogenic polymer blends consisting of H-bonding donors and acceptors, the preferable intermolecular H-bond interactions effectively hamper the motion of the constituent components. Thanks to the effective intermolecular H-bond interactions, the blends emit more efficiently than their pure luminogen counterparts without H-bond interactions.

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Jeremiah Johnson joins the Polymer Chemistry Editorial Board

We are delighted to announce that Dr Jeremiah Johnson has become the newest member of the Polymer Chemistry Editorial Board.

Jeremiah is Firmenich Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, having completed his PhD at Columbia University (USA) and a postdoc at California Institute of Technology (USA).

The Johnson lab focuses on researching molecular design in three primary areas: nano-scale materials synthesis, macro-scale materials synthesis, and development of new chemical methods for modifying interfaces between bulk and nanoscale objects (surface chemistry).

He was chosen by Chemical Communications as one of their Emerging Investigators of 2015. You can see his contribution to the themed issue here:

Improving photo-controlled living radical polymerization from trithiocarbonates through the use of continuous-flow techniques
Mao Chen and Jeremiah A. Johnson
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 6742-6745

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Author of the Month: Dr Daniel Klinger

Daniel obtained his degree in chemistry from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. During his diploma studies under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Patrick Theato, he worked on the development of photo-switchable block copolymers using controlled radical polymerization methods. He then moved to the group of Katharina Landfester at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz where he received his PhD at the end of 2011. During this time he focused on the development of responsive microgels and polymeric nanoparticles for enzymatic and light-triggered release applications. In, early 2012, Daniel joined the group of Craig J. Hawker at the University of California in Santa Barbara as a postdoctoral researcher and started working on surfactant-directed block copolymer self-assembly in nanoparticles.

In his current position as project leader in the Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB, he combines the areas of block copolymer self-assembly, with his existing experience in the fields of stimuli-responsive materials and colloidal chemistry. He currently focuses on the development of functional nanomaterials from the controlled assembly of tailor-made polymeric building blocks. Among other areas, he is interested in phase-separated block copolymer nanoparticles, stimuli-responsive micro- and nano gels and new polymers and composite materials for applications in photonics, optoelectronics and thermal conductors.

What was your inspiration of becoming a chemist?

From early on, I was always interested in understanding how things around me work and constantly asked the questions, “Why is it like this?” and “How come it does that?” It was my father – a chemistry teacher – who first showed me that all these interesting phenomena could be explained by the interaction of atoms and molecules. I became hooked on the subject in high school when I learned that these physical and chemical principles could be used to develop entirely new materials of my own design. It is this process of developing new materials by combining a theoretical understanding with the handicraft of an actual experiment that still excites me and drives my research.  The ability to transform an abstract idea on paper into a reality in the lab is highly rewarding to me.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article?

To me, stimuli-responsive microgels have long been an interesting class of materials. Adjusting the swelling and degradation profiles via macromolecular design allows for precise tuning of their loading and release behavior. However, the utilization and efficiency of such nanoparticles in actual biomedical applications crucially depends on various structural parameters such as surface chemistry, size and size distribution. Since investigations on new responsive particles normally come with variations in these factors, accurately comparing the biological efficiency of different approaches is difficult. To overcome this limitation, I wanted to develop a synthetic platform that could investigate different response mechanisms while keeping the structural and morphological parameters constant, and the approach presented here is a first step towards realizing this goal.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is a great platform for the rapid publication of studies that are not only focusing on macromolecular synthesis but also combine new polymeric materials with a variety of different research fields and applications. Since our presented research is based on combining polymer chemistry with the area of functional colloids, the interdisciplinary character of the journal makes our work accessible to a broad readership and thereby enhances its exposure.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

Most likely, I will attend the fall ACS meeting in Boston 2015.

How do you spend your spare times?

I really like travelling and exploring new countries, cultures and foods around the world. I am especially happy if I am able to combine this with spending time in nature. I love being active outdoors and enjoy hiking, rock climbing and camping in the wilderness where simple things like sitting around the campfire can be the best reward after a long day.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Being a chemist, I enjoy mixing things together to make new and interesting products. If I were not a scientist, I would combine this excitement with my passion for food to become a chef. I am just not sure whether a lot of people would enjoy these “experiments”.


A robust platform for functional microgels via thiol–ene chemistry with reactive polyether-based nanoparticles

Carolin Fleischmann,   Jeffrey Gopez,   Pontus Lundberg,   Helmut Ritter,   Kato L. Killops,   Craig J. Hawker and   Daniel Klinger

We herein report the development of crosslinked polyether particles as a reactive platform for the preparation of functional microgels. Thiol–ene crosslinking of poly(allyl glycidyl ether) in miniemulsion droplets – stabilized by a surface active, bio-compatible polyethylene glycol block copolymer – resulted in colloidal gels with a PEG corona and an inner polymeric network containing reactive allyl units. The stability of the allyl groups allows the microgels to be purified and stored before a second, subsequent thiol–ene functionalization step allows a wide variety of pH- and chemically-responsive groups to be introduced into the nanoparticles. The facile nature of this synthetic platform enables the preparation of microgel libraries that are responsive to different triggers but are characterized by the same size distribution, surface functionality, and crosslinking density. In addition, the utilization of a crosslinker containing cleavable ester groups renders the resulting hydrogel particles degradable at elevated pH or in the presence of esterase under physiological conditions.


Cyrille Boyer is a guest web-writer for Polymer Chemistry. He is currently an associate professor and an ARC-Future Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (Australia) and deputy director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine.


Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Author of the Month: Dr. Patrick Lacroix-Desmazes

Dr. Patrick Lacroix-Desmazes graduated in 1992 from the National School of Chemistry of Montpellier, France, and received a Master degree in Polymer Science from the University of Montpellier. He obtained his PhD degree in 1996 from the University Claude-Bernard Lyon I, under the supervision of Professor Alain Guyot in collaboration with Elf Atochem and in the frame of a European program on reactive surfactants, on the use of macromonomers as stabilizers in dispersion polymerization in polar media. After a postdoctoral research in 1997 on suspension polymerization with inorganic stabilizers at BP Chemicals in Wingles, he joined CNRS as a junior scientist working with Professor Bernard Boutevin. In 1999, he developed RITP, a promising method for controlled/living radical polymerization. He received his Habilitation Degree in 2004. He was awarded the 2004 Innovative Research ADER Award (Association for the development of Education and Research) in collaboration with Solvay. In 2009, he was distinguished as a researcher laureate from Languedoc-Roussillon and the same year he was promoted CNRS research director. Currently, he is the head of the team Engineering Macromolecular Architectures (IAM) at the Institute Charles Gerhardt in Montpellier. He is deputy president of the French Polymer Group association (GFP) and active member of the French Chemical Society (SCF). His research interests cover the mechanisms and kinetics of controlled radical polymerizations (photoiniferters, NMP, ATRP, RAFT, ITP, RITP), including in dispersed media (emulsion, dispersion, suspension polymerization), the self-assembly of polymers, the bottom-up elaboration of hybrid materials as well as the synthesis and use of polymers in liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide for the development of clean processes in unconventional media.

Link to my research group’s website: http://iam.icgm.fr/

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

When I was very young, my first wish was to become a novelist. Then, during my studies I became more and more interested by sciences and my dream was to become aerospace engineer or something related to the exploration of universe! But I was not brilliant enough in math to reach this goal. And, as I also appreciated chemistry and all the mystery about it from alchemy to modern chemistry, I found that becoming chemist could be a good way to satisfy my thirst for creation. Researcher in chemistry is a great job: I like it not only on a scientific point of view but also because it is an excellent way to make new friends all over the world and share our cultures.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article?

We have been working on double hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBC) since a few years and with some colleagues of our institute we have shown that such copolymers could be nicely used as structure-directing agents in the elaboration of hybrid mesoporous silica materials (paper here). In the present article, we wanted to detail the synthesis of such copolymers and to show how a platform of DHBC with different characteristics (cationic, anionic, pH- or T-stimuli responsive) could be efficiently produced. Many papers appear in the literature on this topic but quite few are giving and discussing the very details that make the synthesis more or less challenging, so we tried to emphasize on such details.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is a journal with a good audience and fast dissemination and the reviewing process is usually constructive. For this article, we really took our time to fully answer the comments of the referees. This journal is a leading one in chemistry and the editorial and production team is well organized.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

My next conference will probably be the 3rd International Symposium on Green Chemistry to be held in La Rochelle on May 3-7 2015. I will present our latest results on polymer-assisted clean processes in supercritical carbon dioxide.

How do you spend your spare times?

I like hiking in general and in the mountains when I have enough time, contemplating nature, far from the rushing modern life. I also enjoy swimming, running and biking with my 14 and 16 years old girls. I love travelling and discovering new countries and share other cultures with my family.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I think I would create a new type of job: itinerant teacher. Instead of the students coming to the teacher, the teacher would visit the students worldwide to share the knowledge and cultures.


Asymmetric neutral, cationic and anionic PEO-based double-hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs): synthesis and reversible micellization triggered by temperature or pH

Maël Bathfield,   Jérôme Warnant,   Corine Gérardin and  Patrick Lacroix-Desmazes

The syntheses of three poly(ethylene oxide)-based (PEO) double-hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs) of different second block nature (thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) block, anionic poly(vinylbenzyl phosphonic di-acid) block, and cationic poly(vinylbenzyl triethyl ammonium chloride) block) are described. The synthesis strategy depends on the synthesis of a single 5kD-PEO-based macro-chain transfer agent that is able to control the RAFT polymerizations of various functional monomers. Low molecular weights of the second block were targeted to obtain asymmetric structures for the DHBCs. Their ability to form micelles under appropriate conditions (specified temperature, pH and nature of the auxiliary of micellization) and the reversibility of the micellization process were checked. Finally, a nanostructured hybrid silica material was obtained using the PNIPAM-based copolymer as a structure-directing agent (SDA), which yielded well-organized mesoporous silica after template removal.


Cyrille Boyer is a guest web-writer for Polymer Chemistry. He is currently an associate professor and an ARC-Future Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (Australia) and deputy director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine.


Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Introducing our newest Advisory Board member: Priyadarsi De

We are delighted to announce that Dr Priyadarsi De (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India) has joined the Advisory Board of Polymer Chemistry.

Dr. Priyadarsi De is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences in the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata (IISER-K). He has held positions at University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA, where he worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the group of Professor Rudolf Faust, and in Southern Methodist University (Dallas, USA) with Professor Brent Sumerlin. He has also spent time in industry, as a Distinguished Scientist at PhaseRx Pharmaceuticals, Seattle, USA.

His research interests include RAFT polymerization of amino acid and fatty acid based monomers, polymeric-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials, polymeric polyelectrolytes, cross-linked polymeric hydrogels and organogels, and weak-link polymers such as polyperoxides and polysulfides.

See some of Priyadarsi’s recent Polymer Chemistry papers:

Polymerization-induced self-assembly driving chiral nanostructured materials
Kamal Bauri, Amal Narayanan, Ujjal Haldar and Priyadarsi De
Polym. Chem., 2015,6, 6152-6162

POSS-induced enhancement of mechanical strength in RAFT-made thermoresponsive hydrogels
Ujjal Haldar, Mridula Nandi, Binoy Maiti and Priyadarsi De
Polym. Chem., 2015,6, 5077-5085

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)