Mathias Glassner

Post-Functionalization of Polymers via Orthogonal Ligation Chemistry†

The establishment of advanced living/controlled polymerization protocols allows for engineering synthetic polymers in a precise fashion. Combining advanced living/controlled polymerization techniques with highly efficient coupling chemistries facilitates quantitative, modular, and orthogonal functionalization of synthetic polymer strands at their chain termini as well as side-chain functionalization. The review highlights the current status of selected post-functionalization techniques of polymers via orthogonal ligation chemistries, major characteristics of the specific transformation chemistry, as well as the characterization of the products.

Rapid UV light-triggered macromolecular click conjugations via the use of o-quinodimethanes.

Shining a light on click chemistry: The use of UV-radiation as trigger signal provides a facile means to obtain spatial and temporal control over polymer conjugation reactions in addition to providing a further means of achieving orthogonality in click transformations. In the current contribution, UV-radiation was employed to induce a highly efficient Diels-Alder conjugation of polymeric building blocks via the photo-induced in situ formation of highly reactive cis-dienes from a 2-methylbenzophenone precursor.

Diels–Alder Reactions as an Efficient Route to High Purity Cyclic Polymers

A simple and efficient route for the synthesis of cyclic polymer systems is presented. Linear furan protected α-maleimide-ω-cyclopentadienyl functionalized precursors (poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(tert-butyl acrylate)) were synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and subsequent substitution of the bromine end-group with cyclopentadiene. Upon heating at high dilution, deprotection of the dieneophile occurs followed by an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction yielding a high purity cyclic product.

Light-Induced Modular Ligation of Conventional RAFT Polymers†

Making light work of RAFT conjugation: a non-activated RAFT agent at the end of RAFT polymers can readily be coupled with ortho-quinodimethanes (photoenols) in a photo-triggered Diels-Alder reaction under mild conditions without catalyst. The method is universal and opens the door for the conjugation of a large number of RAFT-prepared polymers with photoenol-functionalized (macro)molecules. (RAFT=reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer.).

Facile conversion of RAFT polymers into hydroxyl functional polymers: a detailed investigation of variable monomer and RAFT agent combinations

We report the systematic investigation of a recently introduced one-pot radical transformation of methacrylate and acrylate-type polymers prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization into hydroxyl functional polymers. The simple reaction procedure involves stirring a solution of the RAFT functional polymer and an azo-initiator in tetrahydrofuran at elevated temperatures (T = 60 °C) in the presence of ambient air. Subsequent reduction of the formed hydroperoxide functional polymers to hydroxyl functional polymers is achieved in a one-pot procedure using triphenylphosphine. Polymers investigated in the current study are poly(methyl acrylate) (pMA), poly(butyl acrylate) (pBA), poly(isobornyl acrylate) (piBoA) and poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (ptBA) carrying a dithiobenzoate or phenyldithioacetate end terminius as well as a symmetrical trithiocarbonate mid chain function. Quantitative conversion into the hydroperoxyl and hydroxyl terminated product is observed when trithiocarbonate functional polymers are employed. In the case of dithiobenzoate and phenyldithioacetate functional acrylic polymers, some minor side products due to the oxidation of the RAFT end-group are generated. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and size exclusion chromatography–electrospray mass spectrometry (SEC-ESI-MS) were employed to monitor the progress of the reaction and to investigate the proposed reaction mechanism for the model polymers. When trithiocarbonate functional polymers are employed in the transformation reaction, the SEC analysis shows a bisection of the initial Mn. Collision induced dissociation (CID) MS experiments of the intermediate reaction products were conducted to gain in-depth information about the chemical structure. The new backbone linked hydroxyl group provides a versatile anchor for chemical end-group conversions and conjugation reactions with RAFT prepared polymers, alleviating problems with the rather limited ability of the dithioester end-group to undergo non-radical transformations.

(Ultra)fast catalyst-free macromolecular conjugation in aqueous environment at ambient temperature.

Tailor-made water-soluble macromolecules, including a glycopolymer, obtained by living/controlled RAFT-mediated polymerization are demonstrated to react in water with diene-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol)s without pre- or post-functionalization steps or the need for a catalyst at ambient temperature. As previously observed in organic solvents, hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) conjugations reached quantitative conversion within minutes when cyclopentadienyl moieties were involved. However, while catalysts and elevated temperatures were previously necessary for open-chain diene conjugation, additive-free HDA cycloadditions occur in water within a few hours at ambient temperature. Experimental evidence for efficient conjugations is provided via unambiguous ESI-MS, UV/vis, NMR, and SEC data.

Formation of nanoporous materials via mild retro-Diels–Alder chemistry

Poly(styrene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymers synthesized via the combination of reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and hetero Diels–Alder (HDA) cycloaddition can be cleaved in the solid state by a retro-HDA reaction occurring at 90 °C. Nanoporous films can be prepared from these polymers using a simple heating and washing procedure.

μPET imaging of the pharmacokinetic behavior of medium and high molar mass (89)Zr-labeled poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) in comparison to poly(ethylene glycol).

Poly(2-oxazoline)s are a promising class of polymers for biomedical applications and a versatile alternative to poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEG). In this work, the pharmacokinetic behavior of well defined (89)Zr-labeled poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)s (PEtOx) was evaluated and compared to that of (89)Zr-labeled PEG, both with varying molar mass. Amine-terminated PEtOx of low dispersity in a molar mass range of 20 to 110kDa and PEG of 20 and 40kDa were functionalized with a desferrioxamine chelator and radiolabeled with (89)Zr. The tissue distribution of both radiolabeled PEtOx and PEG polymers was studied by means of micro Positron Emission Tomography (μPET) molecular imaging in mice longitudinally up to 1week post injection, followed by ex vivo biodistribution. As previously described for other classes of non-ionic polymers, the blood clearance of PEtOx decreased with molar mass. The cut off for glomerular filtration of PEtOx is likely to be around 40kDa. The head to head comparison of PEG and PEtOx revealed that the biodistribution is mostly dominated by polymer chain length and not polymer molar mass. This study constitutes an important addition to further establishing PEtOx as a promising polymer in biomedical applications.

One-pot synthesis of cyclopentadienyl endcapped poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and subsequent ambient temperature Diels–Alder conjugations

An efficient method for the preparation of cyclopentadienyl endcapped poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx-Cp) via cationic ring-opening polymerization utilizing sodium cyclopentadienide as a termination agent is presented. Subsequent Diels-Alder reactions with N-substituted maleimides proceed quantitatively at ambient temperature. A block copolymer (PEtOx-b-PEG) is prepared employing maleimide terminated poly(ethylene glycol).

Macromolecular surface design: photopatterning of functional stable nitrile oxides.

The efficient trapping of photogenerated thioaldehydes with functional shelf-stable nitrile oxides in a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is a novel and versatile photochemical strategy for polymer end-group functionalization and surface modification under mild and equimolar conditions. The modular ligation in solution was followed in detail by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to analyze the functionalized surfaces, whereas time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) confirmed the spatial control of the surface functionalization using a micropatterned shadow mask. Polymer brushes were grown from the surface in a spatially confined regime by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) as confirmed by TOF-SIMS, XPS as well as ellipsometry.