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Coumarin‐Caged Polyphosphazenes with a Visible‐Light Driven On‐Demand Degradation
Author(s) -
Iturmendi Aitziber,
Theis Sabrina,
Maderegger Dominik,
Monkowius Uwe,
Teasdale Ian
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201800377
Subject(s) - polyphosphazene , polymer , macromolecule , hydrolysis , photochemistry , chemistry , polymer chemistry , degradation (telecommunications) , cleavage (geology) , molecule , coumarin , visible spectrum , materials science , organic chemistry , telecommunications , biochemistry , optoelectronics , fracture (geology) , computer science , composite material
Abstract Polymers that, upon photochemical activation with visible light, undergo rapid degradation to small molecules are described. Through functionalization of a polyphosphazene backbone with pendant coumarin groups sensitive to light, polymers which are stable in the dark could be prepared. Upon irradiation, cleavage of the coumarin moieties exposes carboxylic acid moieties along the polymer backbone. The subsequent macromolecular photoacid is found to catalyze the rapid hydrolytic degradation of the polyphosphazene backbone. Water‐soluble and non‐water‐soluble polymers are reported, which due to their sensitivity toward light in the visible region could be significant as photocleavable materials in biological applications.