Side chain reactive polymers

Functional polymers which can take part in electron transfer reactions on the electrode surface (i.e. electroactive polymers) are of potential interest for the study of electrochemical phenomena and electroc talytic applications [74-76], Main chain aromatic structures (e.g. polypyroles) are the most obvious candidates for the development of electroactive polymers, but a varfety of side chain reactive polymers have also been studied for this purpose. Examples of such polymer obtained by active ester synthesis are iUustrated in Fig. 20 [16]. 

New porphyrin-containing Group IVB polymers were made using ricinoleic acid215 or hematoporphine IX.210,217,218 Polymer 93 is a representative example that was used as a selective chelating agent. Macrocyclic tetrapyrrole has four methyl, two ethanolic, and two propionic acid side chains. The polymers are cross-linked because of the four reactive functions (two acid and two alcohol groups). The adsorption of Ni+2 by porphyrin moieties was observed for the titanium polymer. 

This review introduces the method of active ester mtheris, and discusses its application to the preparation of a variety erf specialty polymers, including amphiphilic gels, graft copolymers, and side chain reactive and liquid crystalline polymers. The polymerization and copolymerization of activated acrylates by solution and suspension techniques are discussed, and polymer properties such as comonomer distribution, molecular weights, C-NMR spectra and gel morphology are reviewed. Potential applications of these polymers are also highlighted, and the versatility of active ester synthesis as a new dimension of creativity in macromolecular chemistry is emphasized. 

Catechol is a unique and versatile adhesive molecule capable of forming reversible physical interactions and irreversible covalent bonds (Figure 10.2). In this section, various catechol chemical interactions are introduced. Additionally, various chemical modifications used to modulate catechol side chain reactivity and in the preparation of catechol-functionalized polymers are reviewed. 

This was accomplished by inducing a cross-linking reaction between the reactive pendant groups of a side-chain NLO polymer and the reactive end groups of the chro-mophore. Stable NLO response at 90°C for more than 2000 h was demonstrated after a small initial decay [92]. 

Remember from Sec. 1.3 that graft copolymers have polymeric side chains which differ in the nature of the repeat unit from the backbone. These can be prepared by introducing a prepolymerized sample of the backbone polymer into a reactive mixture—i.e., one containing a source of free radicals—of the side-chain monomer. As an example, consider introducing polybutadiene into a reactive mixture of styrene ... 

This compound is soluble in most organic solvents and may be easily copolymerized with other vinyl monomers to introduce reactive side groups on the polymer chain (18). Such reactive polymer chains may then be used to modify other polymers including other amino resins. It may be desirable to produce the cross-links first. Thus, A/-methylolacrylamide can react with more acrylamide to produce methylenebisacrylamide, a tetrafunctional vinyl monomer. 

Much of protein engineering concerns attempts to explore the relationship between protein stmcture and function. Proteins are polymers of amino acids (qv), which have general stmcture +H3N—CHR—COO , where R, the amino acid side chain, determines the unique identity and hence the stmcture and reactivity of the amino acid (Fig. 1, Table 1). Formation of a polypeptide or protein from the constituent amino acids involves the condensation of the amino-nitrogen of one residue to the carboxylate-carbon of another residue to form an amide, also called peptide, bond and water. The linear order in which amino acids are linked in the protein is called the primary stmcture of the protein or, more commonly, the amino acid sequence. Only 20 amino acid stmctures are used commonly in the cellular biosynthesis of proteins (qv). 

Polymer-supported esters are widely used in solid-phase peptide synthesis, and extensive information on this specialized protection is reported annually. Some activated esters that have been used as macrolide precursors and some that have been used in peptide synthesis are also described in this chapter the many activated esters that are used in peptide synthesis are discussed elsewhere. A useful list, with references, of many protected amino acids (e.g., -NH2, COOH, and side-chain-protected compounds) has been compiled/ Some general methods for the preparation of esters are provided at the beginning of this chapter conditions that are unique to a protective group are described with that group/ Some esters that have been used as protective groups are included in Reactivity Chart 6. 

It is clear from the preceding discussion that organometallic photoinitiators (metal carbonyl or chelate derivatives) can provide a convenient route for synthesizing vinyl polymers with a variety of different reactive end group or photoreactive pendant groups or side chains through the polymer chain. 

Structurally, plastomers straddle the property range between elastomers and plastics. Plastomers inherently contain some level of crystallinity due to the predominant monomer in a crystalline sequence within the polymer chains. The most common type of this residual crystallinity is ethylene (for ethylene-predominant plastomers or E-plastomers) or isotactic propylene in meso (or m) sequences (for propylene-predominant plastomers or P-plastomers). Uninterrupted sequences of these monomers crystallize into periodic strucmres, which form crystalline lamellae. Plastomers contain in addition at least one monomer, which interrupts this sequencing of crystalline mers. This may be a monomer too large to fit into the crystal lattice. An example is the incorporation of 1-octene into a polyethylene chain. The residual hexyl side chain provides a site for the dislocation of the periodic structure required for crystals to be formed. Another example would be the incorporation of a stereo error in the insertion of propylene. Thus, a propylene insertion with an r dyad leads similarly to a dislocation in the periodic structure required for the formation of an iPP crystal. In uniformly back-mixed polymerization processes, with a single discrete polymerization catalyst, the incorporation of these intermptions is statistical and controlled by the kinetics of the polymerization process. These statistics are known as reactivity ratios. 

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,... 

The authors concluded that the side reactions normally observed in amine-initiated NCA polymerizations are simply a consequence of impurities. Since the main side reactions in these polymerizations do not involve reaction with adventitious impurities such as water, but instead reactions with monomer, solvent, or polymer (i.e., termination by reaction of the amine-end with an ester side chain, attack of DMF by the amine-end, or chain transfer to monomer) [11, 12], this conclusion does not seem to be well justified. It is likely that the role of impurities (e.g., water) in these polymerizations is very complex. A possible explanation for the polymerization control observed under high vacuum is that the impurities act to catalyze side reactions with monomer, polymer, or solvent. In this scenario, it is reasonable to speculate that polar species such as water can bind to monomers or the propagating chain-end and thus influence their reactivity. 

Within the past several years, we have examined the synthesis and reactions of several classes of polymers related to PECH. We have adopted three simple approaches to the preparation of polymeric substrates more reactive than PECH toward nucleophilic substitution. We have i). removed the 8-branch point by extension of the side chain, ii). replaced the chloride leaving group by a more reactive bromide and iii). replaced the backbone oxygen atom by a sulfur atom that offers substantial anchimeric assistance to nucleophilic... 

Reactions of organoboron polymer electrolytes with aryllithium reagents suffered low conversion due to relatively low reactivity of the mesitylborane unit. Moreover, incorporation of aryl substituent in side chains resulted in higher glass-polymer electrolyte-transition temperatures. 

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