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Mathematical Modeling of Hyperbranched Water‐soluble Polymers with Applications in Drug Delivery
Author(s) -
Zargar Amin,
Chang Kai,
Taite Lakeshia J.,
Schork F. Joseph
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
macromolecular reaction engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1862-8338
pISSN - 1862-832X
DOI - 10.1002/mren.201100006
Subject(s) - branching (polymer chemistry) , copolymer , dispersity , raft , polymer , materials science , polymer chemistry , polymerization , dendrimer , drug delivery , methacrylic acid , reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer polymerization , polymer science , radical polymerization , nanotechnology , composite material
Although the method of moments has been used to determine the properties of copolymerizations, accounting for branching has either been ignored or required multiple dimensions to simulate. In this work, we extend our previous modeling efforts to account for hyperbranching, a form of polymerization that is particularly useful in the synthesis of targeted delivery vehicles capable of encapsulating drugs for localized therapeutics, without invoking higher dimension moment treatments. Specifically, the case of RAFT polymerization with a polymerizable double bond incorporated into the RAFT agent is modeled. This gives a very highly‐branched material without the complexity of dendrimer synthesis. The model is then used to simulate three copolymerizations that illustrate the power of this model to accurately predict the copolymer properties and illustrate the polydispersity of the individual segments of the hyperbranched polymer, and the overall hyperbranched polymer. This paper models three different hyperbranched copolymer blends: acrylamide–acrylic acid, acrylonitrile–methacrylic acid, and ethylene–styrene. The first case is of specific interest in the development of hyperbranched polymers for drug delivery. The other two are included in order to explore the effects of specific kinetics on branching.