Amide polymer, crosslinked

Finally, a new water-soluble polyphosphazene was recently synthesized that has the structure shown in 36 (46). This polymer has two attributes as a biomedical macromolecule. First, the pendent carboxylic acid groups are potential sites for condensation reactions with amines, alcohols, phenols, or other carboxylic acid units to generate amide, ester, or anhydride links to polypeptides or bioactive small molecules. Second, polymer forms ionic crosslinks when brought into contact with di- or trivalent cations such as Ca or Ai3+. The crosslinking process converts the water-soluble polymer to a hydrogel, a process that can be reversed when the system... 

The structural versatility of pseudopoly (amino acids) can be increased further by considering dipeptides as monomeric starting materials as well. In this case polymerizations can be designed that involve one of the amino acid side chains and the C terminus, one of the amino acid side chains and the N terminus, or both of the amino acid side chains as reactive groups. The use of dipeptides as monomers in the manner described above results in the formation of copolymers in which amide bonds and nonamide linkages strictly alternate (Fig. 3). It is noteworthy that these polymers have both an amino function and a carboxylic acid function as pendant chains. This feature should facilitate the attachment of drug molecules or crosslinkers,... 

Chromium(III) is a commonly-used crosslinker for preparing profile control gels with polymers having carboxylate and amide functionalities (la,b). Cr(III) is applied in many forms. For example, it can be used in the form of simple chromic salts of chloride and sulfate, or as complexed Cr(III) used in leather tanning (2), or as in situ generated Cr(III) from the redox reaction of dichromate and bisulfite or thiourea. The gelation rate and gel quality depend on which form of Cr(III) is used. 

This suggests that not all the original amide groups were converted to amino or carboxylate groups probably some scission occurred. Crosslinking the grafted polymer with methylenebis-acrylamide did not prevent scission (H12). 

We realized, however, that if the polyesteramides merely acted as multi 2-hy-droxypropyl-amide functional polymers, they could never provide good flow and optical appearance of the coatings. From the mathematical theory of network formation [24] it is known that a binder formulation with a 2-functional resin and a crosslinker bearing many (> 5) functional groups reaches its gel-point at low chemical conversion, as shown in Fig. 21. 

Honomer Selection. In practice the amide/blocked aldehyde precursor 1 (ADDA) proved more readily accessible than 2. The two forms were completely Interconvertible and equally useful as self-and substrate reactive crosslinkers (6). In our addition polymer systems, the acrylamide derivative 1 (R=CH3) provided a good blend of accessibility, physical properties, and ready copolymerizablllty with most commercially Important monomers. Structure/property relationships for other related monomers will be reported elsewhere. 

Post-crosslinkable and substrate reactive polymers are widely used to Improve water and solvent resistance, strength, substrate adhesion and block resistance In binders, adhesives and coatings. The surprisingly rich chemistry of a new class of functional monomers (eg. 1 and 2) related to standard amide/aldehyde (amlnoplast) condensates, but which eliminate aldehyde emissions, was elucidated by monomeric model and mechanistic studies and discussed In the preceeding paper (1). Results with these monomers In copolymer systems are reported here. 

Table I shows a comparison of free film swell Index results as a function of crosslinker at a constant comonomer level (0.3 moles/kg of polymer). ABDA and AEP gave crosslinking performance Identical to a conventional crosslinker, BNMA. However, derivatives which cannot cycllze, either because the amide has an additional substituent, as In 13, or the chain connecting the amide to the blocked aldehyde Is too short, as In 14, did not exhibit efficient crosslinking. They also showed significant discoloration, presumably due to Increased aldol condensation relative to 1, 2, or BNMA.

Thermal stability as measured by these ramped TGA experiments of the sort previously described are not the definitive test of a polymer s utility at elevated temperature. Rather, for a polymer to be useful at elevated temperatures, it must exhibit some significant retention of useful mechanical properties over a predetermined lifetime at the maximum temperature that will be encountered in its final end use application. While many of the bisbenzocyclobutene polymers have been reported in the literature, only a few have been studied in detail with regards to their thermal and mechanical performance at both room and elevated temperatures. Tables 7-10 show some of the preliminary mechanical data as well as some other physical properties of molded samples of polymers derived from amide monomer 32, ester monomer 40, diketone monomer 14 and polysiloxane monomer 13. The use of the term polyamide, ester etc. with these materials is not meant to imply that they are to be regarded as merely modified linear thermoplastics. Rather, these polymers are for the most part highly crosslinked thermosets. 

There are also several reactive diluents that do not contain epoxy groups. These are represented by triphenyl phosphite and y-butyrolactone (Fig. 6.7). The phosphite is a low-viscosity colorless liquid, which is sensitive to moisture. It reacts with hydroxyl groups in the resin. The y-butyrolactone is a very effective viscosity reducer. It can reduce the viscosity of a liquid DGEBA from about 15,000 to 2000 cP with only 10 pph. In the curing reaction with amines (Fig. 6.8), the lactone forms an amide, which can then crosslink with the polymer via the hydroxyl groups. 

The rate of reversion, or hydrolytic instability, depends on the chemical structure of the base polymer, its degree of crosslinking, and the permeability of the adhesive or sealant. Certain chemical linkages such as ester, urethane, amide, and urea can be hydrolyzed. The rate of attack is fastest for ester-based linkages. Ester linkages are present in certain types of polyurethanes and anhydride cured epoxies. Generally, amine cured epoxies offer better hydrolytic stability than anhydride cured types. 

Wool. Wool fibers are comprised mainly of proteins the polypeptide polymers in wool are produced from some 20 alpha-amino acids. The major chemical features of the polypeptide polymer are the amide links, which occur between the amino acids along the polymer chain, and the cystine (sulfur to sulfur) crosslinks, which occur in a random spacing between the polymer chains. The polymer contains many amine, carboxylic acid, and amide groups, which contribute in part to the water-absorbent nature of the fiber. 

---