posted on 2005-01-11, 00:00authored bySharmila Muthukrishnan, Günter Jutz, Xavier André,, Hideharu Mori, Axel H. E. Müller
Hyperbranched glycopolymers were synthesized by self-condensing vinyl copolymerization
(SCVCP) of an acrylic AB* inimer, 2-(2-bromopropionyloxy)ethyl acrylate (BPEA), with 3-O-acryloyl-1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-α-d-glucofuranoside (AIGlc) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP),
followed by deprotection of the isopropylidene protecting groups. Homopolymerization of AIGlc with the
CuBr/pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) catalyst system in solution resulted in linear poly(AIGlc)
having controlled molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distribution, which were characterized
using GPC, GPC/viscosity, and MALDI−TOF mass spectrometry. The catalyst system could be applied
for SCVCP to synthesize hyperbranched poly(AIGlc)s, in which the molecular weights, the composition
of AIGlc segment, and the branched structures can be adjusted by an appropriate choice of the comonomer
ratio, γ. Deprotection of the isopropylidene protecting groups of the branched poly(AIGlc)s resulted in
water-soluble glycopolymers with randomly branched architectures.