Premium
Environmental pH‐responsive fluorescent PEG‐polyurethane for potential optical imaging
Author(s) -
Yang Hong Yu,
Zhang Xiu Mei,
Duan Li Jie,
Zhang Ming Yao,
Gao Guang Hui,
Zhang Hui Xuan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.38880
Subject(s) - polyurethane , peg ratio , polymer chemistry , gel permeation chromatography , ethylene glycol , polymer , polymerization , fluorescence , titration , chemistry , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , copolymer , conjugated system , side chain , fluorescence spectroscopy , nuclear chemistry , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , engineering , economics
A series of environmental pH‐responsive block copolymers PEG‐polyurethane with tertiary amine groups in the main chain and free carboxyl groups in the side chain were synthesized, including poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), 1,4‐bis (hydroxyethyl) piperazine, 1,6‐diisocyanato hexamethylene, and 2,2‐dimethylolpropionic acid. The chemical structure, molecular weight, and pH‐dependent capacity of pH‐responsive PEG‐polyurethane were examined by 1 H‐NMR, FTIR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and an acid‐base titration. Moreover, the fluorescent dye fluorescein isothiocyanate was conjugated with PEG‐polyurethane by the similar polymerization method and the obtained polymer was measured by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV‐vis) and fluorescent spectroscopy. The results indicated that the pH‐responsive PEG‐polyurethane showed a pH‐buffering phenomenon and fluorescent imaging in a range of pH values. As a result, we demonstrated its potential application for optical imaging; however, it is believed that more applications in the areas of biomedicine will be possible owing to its free carboxyl acid terminal residues in the stimuli‐responsive polymer. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013