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Postpolymerization Modifications of Alkene‐Functional Polycarbonates for the Development of Advanced Materials Biomaterials
Author(s) -
Thomas Anthony W.,
Dove Andrew P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201600310
Subject(s) - alkene , materials science , polymer , polymerization , functional polymers , biocompatible material , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , polymer science , chemistry , organic chemistry , biomedical engineering , catalysis , composite material , medicine
Functional aliphatic polycarbonates have attracted significant attention as materials for use as biomedical polymers in recent years. The incorporation of pendent functionality offers a facile method of modifying materials postpolymerization, thus enabling functionalities not compatible with ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) to be introduced into the polymer. In particular, polycarbonates bearing alkene‐terminated functional groups have generated considerable interest as a result of their ease of synthesis, and the wide range of materials that can be obtained by performing simple postpolymerization modifications on this functionality, for example, through radical thiol‐ene addition, Michael addition, and epoxidation reactions. This review presents an in‐depth appraisal of the methods used to modify alkene‐functional polycarbonates postpolymerization, and the diversity of practical applications for which these materials and their derivatives have been used.