Cyclic esters, ring-opening polymerization

Penczek, S. and S. Slomkowski, Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization Cyclic Esters, Chap. 50 in Comprehensive Polymer Science, Vol. 3, G. C. Eastmond, A. Ledwith, S. Russo, and P. Sigwalt, eds., Pergamon Press, London, 1989a. 

This scheme is remarkably close to the coordination insertion mechanism believed to operate in the metal alkoxide-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters (see Section 2.3.6). It shares many features with the mechanism proposed above for the metal alkoxide-catalyzed direct polyesterification (Scheme 2.18), including the difficulty of defining reaction orders. 

Polyesters from the Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclic Esters... 

Cyclic esters, ring-opening polymerization of, 85-87 Cyclic lactams, 174 Cyclic oligoesters, 31 Cyclic oligomers, 63, 542 formation of, 39... 

Various cyclic esters have been subjected to hpase-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization. Lipase catalyzed the ring-opening polymerization of 4- to 17-membered non-substituted lactones.In 1993, it was first demonstrated that medium-size lactones, 8-valerolactone (8-VL, six-membered) and e-caprolactone (e-CL, seven-membered), were polymerized by lipases derived from Candida cylindracea, Burkholderia cepacia (lipase BC), Pseudomonas fluorescens (lipase PF), and porcine pancreas (PPL). °... 

Polyester syntheses have been achieved by enzymatic ring-opening polymerization of lactide and lactones with various ring-sizes. Here, we focus not only on these cyclic esters but also other cyclic monomers for lipase-catalyzed ringopening polymerizations. Figure 8 summarizes cyclic monomers for providing polyesters via lipase catalysis. 

RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF CYCLIC ESTERS 9.1.6.1 Introduction... 

The high level of interest in the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic esters (lactones) stems from the biocompatibility and biodegradability of their polymers. Resorbable aliphatic... 

Brunelle, D. J. and Serth-Guzzo, J. Titanate-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of cyclic phthalate ester oligomers, Polym. Prep., 40(1), 566 (1999). 

This indicates the possibility of making addition polymers biodegradable by the introduction of ester linkages in to the backbone. Since the free radical ring-opening polymerization of cyclic ketene acetals, such as 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (1, Scheme I), made possible the introduction of ester groups into the backbone of addition polymers, this appeared to be an attractive method for the synthesis of biodegradable addition polymers. 

Zhong Z, Dijkstra PJ, Birg C, Westerhausen M, Feijen J (2001) A novel and versatile calcium-based initiator system for the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters. Macromolecules 34 3863-3868... 

Connor EE, Nyce GW, Myers M, Mock A, Hedrick JL (2002) First example of N-heterocyclic carbenes as catalysts for living polymerization organocatalytic ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters. J Am Chem Soc 124 914-915... 

Trollsas M, Lee VY, Mecerreyes D, Ldwenhiehn P, Moller M, Miller RD, Hedrick JL (2000) Hydrophilic aliphatic polyesters design, synthesis, and ring-opening polymerization of functional cyclic esters. Macromolecules 33 4619-4627... 

In addition to step and chain polymerizations, another mode of polymerization is of importance. This is the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic monomers such as cyclic ethers, acetals, amides (lactams), esters (lactones), and siloxanes. Ring-opening polymerization is of commercial interest in a number of systems, including the polymerizations of ethylene oxide... 

The ring-opening polymerization of dilactide (dimeric cyclic ester of lactic acid) allows the preparation of high molecular weight, optically active polyesters of lactic acid. The configuration of the asymmetric carbon atoms of the monomer is retained when the polymerization is initiated with SnCl4 or Et2Zn, for example ... 

Cyano compounds liquid crystals, 12, 278 in silver(III) complexes, 2, 241 Cyanocuprates, with copper, 2, 186 Cyano derivatives, a-arylation, 1, 361 Cyanosilanes, applications, 9, 322 Cyclic acetals, and Grignard reagent reactivity, 9, 53 Cyclic alkenes, asymmetric hydrosilylation, 10, 830 Cyclic alkynes, strained, with platinum, 8, 644 Cyclic allyl boronates, preparation, 9, 196 Cyclic allylic esters, alkylation, 11, 91 Cyclic amides, ring-opening polymerization, via lanthanide catalysis, 4, 145... 

Cyclic amino-carbenes, in molybdenum carbonyls, 5, 457 Cyclic bis(phosphine) dichlorides, with iron carbonyls, 6, 48 Cyclic carbenes, as gold atom ligands, 2, 289 Cyclic carbometallation, zirconium complexes, 10, 276 Cyclic carbozirconation characteristics, 10, 276 intermolecular reactions, 10, 278 intramolecular reactions, 10, 278 Cyclic dinuclear ylides, and gold , 2, 276 Cyclic 1,2-diols, intramolecular coupling to, 11, 51 Cyclic enones, diastereoselective cuprate additions, 9, 515 Cyclic esters, ring-opening polymerization, via lanthanide catalysis, 4, 145 Cyclic ethers... 

Conventional ring-opening polymerization of cyclic anhydrides, carbonates, lactones, and lactides require extremely pure monomers and anhydrous conditions as well as metallic catalysts, which must be completely removed before use, particularly for medical applications. To avoid these difficult restrictions, an enzymatic polymerization may be one of the more feasible methods to obtain the polyesters. This method was first reported by two independent groups (Kobayashi [152] and Gutman [153]) who showed that lipases, enzymes capable of catalyzing the hydrolysis of fatty acid esters, can polymerize various medium-sized lactones. 

For selectiveness of initiation of graft reactions, the use of a tin octoate (SnOct2) (or tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate) catalyst is convenient for preparing this type of copolymers, polysaccharide-gra/f-PHAs, because the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters such as lactides and e-caprolactone (CL) can be initiated efficiently by hydroxo-initiators (i.e. based on hydroxyl groups) in the presence of SnOct2 [12-16], as exemplified in Scheme la. 

Scheme 1 a Ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters in the presence of SnOct2 and hydroxo-initiator, and b its application to the synthesis of polysaccharide-gra/t-aliphatic polyesters (or poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s)... 

---