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Telechelic Triblock Poly( α‐Amino Acid)‐Poly(Tetrahydrofuran)‐Poly( α‐Amino Acid) Copolymers: Chain‐End Transformation, Polymerization and pH‐Responsive Hydrolysis †
Author(s) -
Zhou Peng,
Li Zixian,
Lu Yanzhi,
Kong Jie,
Ling Jun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chinese journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1614-7065
pISSN - 1001-604X
DOI - 10.1002/cjoc.202100319
Subject(s) - copolymer , chemistry , polymer chemistry , dispersity , polymerization , hydrolysis , micelle , amphiphile , acrylic acid , polymer , organic chemistry , aqueous solution
Main observation and conclusion Block copolymers not only combine properties of different segments but also generate new application prospects. Poly(α‐amino acid)‐ b ‐poly(tetrahydrofuran)‐ b ‐poly(α‐amino acid) (PAA‐PTHF‐PAA) is one of the copolymers. In this contribution, di‐hydroxyl‐ended HO‐PTHF‐OH is transferred into di‐oxyamino‐ended H 2 NO‐PTHF‐ONH 2 quantitatively, which is used as a macroinitiator to polymerize sarcosine N ‐thiocarboxyanhydride (Sar‐NTA) and N ‐phenyoxycarbonyl N ‐ε‐carbobenzyloxy‐ D ‐lysine (ZDL‐NPC). Well‐defined triblock PAA‐NHO‐PTHF‐ONH‐PAA is produced with high molecular weight (up to 25.3 kg/mol) and narrow dispersity. The amphiphilic PSar‐NHO‐PTHF‐ONH‐PSar (STS) self‐assembles into micelles with uniform diameters of 30—40 nm according to DLS. Owing to oxygen amide groups inside the backbone of these copolymers, the polyether‐poly(amino acid)s block copolymers are cleavable under an acidic environment and therefore have potential applications in smart biomedicine and engineering.