Stereocomplex

Iso tactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (it-PMMA) can form a stereocomplex with st-PMMA. Recent X-ray studies 179) of this material indicate that the two polymer chains probably interact to form a double helical structure. The it-PMMA chain forms the inner helix and is surrounded by the st-PMMA helical chain which winds around it. If subsequent work confirms this model, this material would constitute a most unusual inclusion compound involving only one monomeric substance. 

By studying mixtures of L- and D-LA of varying composition, Spassky et al. have demonstrated that (256) yields PLA containing long isotactic sequences, with a ratio of homo cross propagation of 2.8.796 Hence, an 80/20 L D mixture when polymerized to 70% conversion displayed an optical purity of 87%. Even at the relatively low optical purity of 65/35 L D, isotactic block lengths of >12 repeat units were reported. Achiral (259) converts rac-LA into highly isotactic PLA a Tm of 192 °C indicates that the chains of P(L-LA) and P(D-LA) form a stereocomplex.792 797-799... 

Kang N, Perron ME, Prudhomme RE et al (2005) Stereocomplex block copolymer micelles core-shell nanostructures with enhanced stability. Nano Lett 5 315-319... 

Usual PLAs have two enatiomeric forms, PLLA and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA), which are synthesized from LLA and the D,D-isomer of lactide (DLA), respectively. It is well known that 1 1 mixture of PLLA and PDLA can form a stable stereocomplex (SC), which has a higher Tm and higher mechanical strength than either of homopolymers [261], We reported on the utility of SC formation to enhance the stability of nanogels. Monodisperse SC nanogels were obtained through the self-assembly of an equimolar mixture of Dex-g-OLLA and Dex-g-ODLA in a dilute aqueous solution. 

Poly(lactic acid)-based Stereocomplex formation pH [21-25]... 

Watanabe J, Eriguchi T, Ishihara K (2002) Stereocomplex formation by enantiomeric poly (lactic acid) graft-type phospholipid polymers for tissue engineering. Biomacromolecules 3 1109-1114... 

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has also been added to poly(SA) via melt polycondensation to produce the triblock copolymers poly(lactic acid-Wock-sebacic acid-Wock-lactic acid) (P(LA-block-SA-block-LA)) by Slivniak and Domb (2002). The PLA (d-, l-, and dl-) was incorporated by acetylation and addition to the PSA synthesis. They showed the formation of stable stereocomplexed particles with increased melting points and reduced solubility, and studied the degradation and drug release characteristics of the same (Slivniak and Domb, 2002). The stereocomplexes self-assemble as a consequence of the chirality in the PLA portions of the chains (Slivniak and Domb, 2002). 

Since there was no pathway towards syndiotactic PHB or unnatural isotactic (5)-PHB available for a long time, a more detailed investigation on material properties with regards to tacticity and stereocomplex formation is stiU missing. To date, it is not known whether syndiotactic PHBs crystallize in a similar manner to isotactic stereoisomers and therefore possesses similar properties nor how they are influenced by blending of polymers with different stereochemistry. 

Acknowledgement Special thanks to Urs J. Haenggi (Biomer) for information about biotechnological PHB synthesis and literature on stereocomplex formation of poly(lactide). We are also grateful to Dr. Carly Anderson and Dr. Sergei Vagin for their help with this article, as well as Benedikt Simon Soller and Simon Meister for their extensive help with the literature research. 

Many radical polymerization systems were examined hy Challa at a/. A number of papers were devoted to polymerization of methyl methacrylate, MM, in the presence of poly(methyl methacrylate). The role of tacticity of template was stressed. Isotactic PMM forms stereocomplex with syndiotactic PMM. Polymerizations of MM in the presence of isotactic PMM were carried out and the product (template + daughter polymer) was analyzed by NMR. When MM is polymerized in the polar solvent in the presence... 

E. Schomaker in The Process of Stereocomplexation between it- and st- PMMA, Thesis, State University Groningen, 1988. 

Stereocomplexes are a special group of compounds which can be obtained as a result of template polymerization and stereocomplex formation, described many years... 

In connection with the aforementioned study on polymerization mechanism of MMA77,78), Miyamoto et al. developed a preparatory method of separating blends of isotactic and syndiotactic PMMA82 The principle was based on a competitive adsorption of these different stereoisomeric polymers from a nonpolar solution (chloroform) onto an adsorbent surface (silica gel). The procedure was quite simple, as described below A given polymer blend was dissolved in chloroform, in which no stereocomplex formation usually occurs, and silica gel was then dispersed in this solution for adsorptive equilibration with the polymer species. The isotactic species could be isolated as the adsorbed component. In practice, its purity was ca. 80—90%, which depended on the added amount of silica gel. By repeating the same procedure, the purity could be enhanced. 

The tacticity of PLA influences the physical properties of the polymer, including the degree of crystallinity which impacts both thermo-mechanical performance and degradation properties. Heterotactic PLA is amorphous, whereas isotactic PLA (poly(AA-lactide) or poly (55-lac tide)) is crystalline with a melting point of 170-180°C [26]. The co-crystallization of poly (RR-lactide) and poly(55-lactide) results in the formation of a stereocomplex of PLA, which actually shows an elevated, and highly desirable, melting point at 220-230°C. Another interesting possibility is the formation of stereoblock PLA, by polymerization of rac-lactide, which can show enhanced properties compared to isotactic PLA and is more easily prepared than stereocomplex PLA [21]. 

Stereoblock PLA has short isotactic blocks (sequences) within the same polymer it can also undergo co-crystallization, although not to the same extent as stereocomplex PLA. Consequently, lower melting points are obtained for stereoblock PLA compared to stereocomplex PLA however, they exceed those of isotactic PLA. The melting points of stereocomplex PLA are dependent on the block length. 

Metal complexes which initiate rac-LA ROP with a high degree of stereocontrol are currently an area of major research interest and have the potential to produce a spectrum of different materials [19, 21], Much attention focuses on iso-selectivity as this can enable production of PLA of good thermal resistance (isotactic, stereoblock or even stereocomplex PLA). There are two mechanisms by which an initiator can exert iso-selectivity in rac-LA ROP (1) an enantiomorphic site control mechanism or (2) a chain end control mechanism. Enantiomorphic site control occurs using chiral initiators (Fig. 6) it is the chirality of the metal complex which... 

Ryan and Fleischer, Jr. (21) found that if isotactic and syndiotactic poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) are mixed, they form a stereocomplex. It might have been supposed that the course of polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of preformed stereoisomers of... 

PMMA added previously would depend on their structure. Indeed, when polymerization was carried out in the presence of isotactic PMMA, it influenced the formation of new macromolecules, affecting the rate of polymerization, the molecular weights of the polymer formed, and the structure of its molecules. It is natural to assume that these effects are caused by the appearance of a stereocomplex during polymerization between the polymer added beforehand and the growing macroradical. It is also characteristic that the ratio of polymerization rates in the presence and in the absence of the polymer is independent of the concentrations of monomer and polymer added, depending only on their ratio. Viscosity investigations revealed that these solutions are highly crosslinked. 

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