Masato Mizutani

Sequence-regulated vinyl copolymers by metal-catalysed step-growth radical polymerization.

Proteins and nucleic acids are sequence-regulated macromolecules with various properties originating from their perfectly sequenced primary structures. However, the sequence regulation of synthetic polymers, particularly vinyl polymers, has not been achieved and is one of the ultimate goals in polymer chemistry. In this study, we report a strategy to obtain sequence-regulated vinyl copolymers consisting of styrene, acrylate and vinyl chloride units using metal-catalysed step-growth radical polyaddition of designed monomers prepared from common vinyl monomer building blocks. Unprecedented ABCC-sequence-regulated copolymers with perfect vinyl chloride-styrene-acrylate-acrylate sequences were obtained by copper-catalysed step-growth radical polymerization of designed monomers possessing unconjugated C=C and reactive C-Cl bonds. This strategy may open a new route in the study of sequence-regulated synthetic polymers.

Immobilization of Amphiphilic Polycations by Catechol Functionality for Antimicrobial Coatings

A new strategy for preparing antimicrobial surfaces by a simple dip-coating procedure is reported. Amphiphilic polycations with different mole ratios of monomers containing dodecyl quaternary ammonium, methoxyethyl, and catechol groups were synthesized by free-radical polymerization. The polymer coatings were prepared by immersing glass slides into a polymer solution and subsequent drying and heating. The quaternary ammonium side chains endow the coatings with potent antibacterial activity, the methoxyethyl side chains enable tuning the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance, and the catachol groups promote immobilization of the polymers into films. The polymer-coated surfaces displayed bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in a dynamic contact assay and prevented the accumulation of viable E. coli, S. aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii for up to 96 h. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of coating surfaces indicated that the surfaces exhibit virtually the same smoothness for all polymers except the most hydrophobic. The hydrophobic polymer without methoxyethyl side chains showed clear structuring into polymer domains, causing high surface roughness. Sum-frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy characterization of the surface structures demonstrated that the dodecyl chains are predominantly localized at the surface-air interface of the coatings. SFG also showed that the phenyl groups of the catechols are oriented on the substrate surface. These results support our hypothesis that the adhesive or cross-linking functionality of catechol groups discourages polymer leaching, allowing the tuning of the amphiphilic balance by incorporating hydrophilic components into the polymer chains to gain potent biocidal activity.

Metal-catalyzed simultaneous chain- and step-growth radical polymerization: marriage of vinyl polymers and polyesters.

All polymerization reactions are categorized into two large different families, chain- and step-growth polymerizations, which are typically incompatible. Here, we report the simultaneous chain- and step-growth polymerization via the metal-catalyzed radical copolymerization of conjugated vinyl monomers and designed monomers possessing unconjugated C horizontal lineC and active C-Cl bonds. Especially, almost ideal linear random copolymers containing both vinyl polymer and polyester units in a single polymer chain were formed by the CuCl/1,1,4,7,10,10-hexamethyltriethylenetetramine- or RuCp*Cl(PPh(3))(2)-catalyzed copolymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) for the chain-growth polymerization and 3-butenyl 2-chloropropionate (1) for the step-growth polymerization. In contrast, other transition metal catalysts, such as CuCl with tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine or N,N,N,N,N-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine and FeCl(2)/PnBu(3), resulted in branched structures via the concomitant chain-growth copolymerization of 1 with MA. The polymerization mechanism was studied in detail by NMR and MALDI-TOF-MS analyses of the polymerizations as well as the model reactions. Furthermore, a series of copolymers changing from random to multiblock polymer structures were obtained by varying the feed ratios of the two monomers. These copolymers can be easily degraded into lower molecular weight oligomers or polymers via methanolysis of the ester-linkages in the main chain using sodium carbonate.

Design and synthesis of self-degradable antibacterial polymers by simultaneous chain- and step-growth radical copolymerization

Self-degradable antimicrobial copolymers bearing cationic side chains and main-chain ester linkages were synthesized using the simultaneous chain- and step-growth radical polymerization of t-butyl acrylate and 3-butenyl 2-chloropropionate, followed by the transformation of t-butyl groups into primary ammonium salts. We prepared a series of copolymers with different structural features in terms of molecular weight, monomer composition, amine functionality, and side chain structures to examine the effect of polymer properties on their antimicrobial and hemolytic activities. The acrylate copolymers containing primary amine side chains displayed moderate antimicrobial activity against E. coli but were relatively hemolytic. The acrylate copolymer with quaternary ammonium groups and the acrylamide copolymers showed low or no antimicrobial and hemolytic activities. An acrylate copolymer with primary amine side chains degraded to lower molecular weight oligomers with lower antimicrobial activity in aqueous solution. This degradation was due to amidation of the ester groups of the polymer chains by the nucleophilic addition of primary amine groups in the side chains resulting in cleavage of the polymer main chain. The degradation mechanism was studied in detail by model reactions between amine compounds and precursor copolymers.

Construction of Vinyl Polymer and Polyester or Polyamide Units in a Single Polymer Chain via Metal-catalyzed Simultaneous Chain- and Step-growth Radical Polymerization of Various Monomers

Metal-catalyzed simultaneous chain- and step-growth radical polymerization was examined to combine common conjugated vinyl monomers, such as various acrylates and styrene, as chain-growth monomers and various ester- or amide-linked monomers bearing both an unconjugated C=C bond and an active C–Cl bond as step-growth monomers. The CuCl/1,1,4,7,10,10-hexamethyltriethylenetetramine-catalyzed copolymerization of alkyl acrylates and various step-growth monomers at a 1u2009:u20091-monomer feed ratio resulted in almost linear random copolymers that consisted of vinyl polymer and polyester units. Additional functional groups, such as oxyethylene and disulfide units, can be introduced into the main chain using a step-growth monomer that possesses the functional units between the unconjugated C=C bond and the active C–Cl bond. Copolymerization at a higher feed ratio of chain-growth monomers, such as alkyl acrylates and styrene, can provide multiblock vinyl polymers connected to the functionalized step-growth monomer units.

Metal-catalyzed radical polyaddition as a novel polymer synthetic route

A new class of polymerizations was developed via metal-catalyzed C-C bond forming radical polyaddition; the monomers were designed to have a reactive C-Cl bond, which can be activated by the metal catalysts to generate a carbon radical species, along with a C=C double bond, to which the carbon radical generated from another molecule adds to form a C-C backbone polymer with an inactive C-Cl pendant.

Metal-catalyzed living radical polymerization and radical polyaddition for precision polymer synthesis

The metal-catalyzed radical addition reaction can be evolved into two different polymerization mechanisms, i.e.; chain- and step-growth polymerizations, while both the polymerizations are based on the same metal-catalyzed radical formation reaction. The former is a widely employed metal-catalyzed living radical polymerization or atom transfer radical polymerization of common vinyl monomers, and the latter is a novel metal-catalyzed radical polyaddition of designed monomer with an unconjugated C=C double bond and a reactive C-Cl bond in one molecule. The simultaneous ruthenium-catalyzed living radical polymerization of methyl acrylate and radical polyaddition of 3-butenyl 2-chloropropionate was achieved with Ru(Cp*)Cl(PPh3)2 to afford the controlled polymers, in which the homopolymer segments with the controlled chain length were connected by the ester linkage.

Synthesis of Adamantane Derivatives. Xxiii. Facile Photo-Ring-Cleavage of 4-Homoadamantanone to Bicyclo[3.3.1] -Nonan-3 -Endo-Acetate

Abstract Type I (α-) and II cleavages are two of the best known photochemical processes of alkanone.2 Extensive and intensive investigations have been done on both types of reactions in order to clarify the influence of structural changes on the reactivity, specificity, and efficiency of photoreactions of alkanones.3 The type I cleavage of medium-ring alkanones is believed to produce a radical pair, the fate of which will be determined by the ready formation of transition states for transfer of Ha, Hb, and recyclization. We now wish to report