Polysulfobetaines are zwitterionic polymers that contain a positively charged quaternary ammonium and a negatively charged sulfonate group within one constitutional repeat unit. [1] [2] In recent years, polysulfobetaines have received increasing attention owing to their good biotolerance and ultralow-fouling behavior towards surfaces. These properties are mainly referred to a tightly bound hydration layer around each zwitterionic group, which effectively suppresses protein adsorption and thus, improves anti-fouling behavior. [3] [4] Therefore, polysulfobetaines have been typically employed as ultrafiltration membranes, [4] blood-contacting devices, [5] and drug delivery materials. [3]
The chemical structure of polysulfobetaines can be divided in several subgroups. Most widespread are amides of (meth)acrylic acid ('PSPP') or quaternary esters ('PSPE'). Also, compounds from poly(vinylpyridinium), poly(vinylimidazolium), or quaternary poly(pyrrolidinium) as well as zwitterionic ionenes, are often found. [2] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Polysulfobetaines are generally synthesized via free radical polymerization. [6] [11] However, the synthesis of polysulfobetaines is often limited by their poor solubility in most solvents and at present, only few sulfobetaine monomers that are suited for free radical polymerization, are commercially available. The most popular ones are SPE and SPP, which provide a good combination of hydrophilicity and polymerizability. [11]
Almost all polysulfobetaines are insoluble in water at low temperatures, however many polysulfobetaines feature an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in aqueous solution. This means they undergo a coil-to-globule collapse transition upon cooling. [12] [13] Such a behavior is highly unusual, since other zwitterionic polymers, e.g., poly(phosphatidylcholines) and poly(carboxybetaines) do generally not feature a responsive behavior towards a temperature stimulus. [14] [15] [16]
The reason for the UCST-type behavior of polysulfobetaines in solution is based on their electrically neutral behavior, i.e., the overall charge is zero, over a large pH range (approximately 2 – 14). Due to the neutralization of the charges, repulsive and attractive interactions are present between the individual polymer chains and inner salt are formed. The balance of this complex interplay of interactions between numerous charged groups with water and with themselves, strongly affects the solubility of polysulfobetaines in water and eventually, results in an UCST-type transition. The temperature of this phase transition, often called clearing point, is very sensitive to molar mass, polymer architecture, solvent isotopes, e.g., H2O/D2O, and especially to the addition of salts to the solution. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]
The presence of salt additives in aqueous solution leads to an altered balance of the attractive and repulsive interactions and therefore, also to an altered solubility. Especially, the nature of the salt anion has a strong effect on the solubility of the polysulfobetaines. While chaotropic anions cause an improved dissolution (salting-in effect), kosmotropic anions result in precipitation of the polysulfobetaines (salting-out effect). [23] [24] [25]
Thin films made from polysulfobetaines also feature a thermo-responsiveness, however, the phase transition is strongly shifted, which is mainly addressed to the increased polymer concentration and the altered polymer-polymer and polymer-water interactions. [12] [26] [27] Furthermore, and analogously to aqueous solutions, different water isotopes (H2O/D2O) and salt additives were found to affect the phase transition as well. [20] [28] Interestingly, polysulfobetaine thin films feature a cononsolvency effect in mixed water/methanol vapors, which is not found in water/methanol solution. Apparently, polysulfobetaines feature a miscibility with lower alcohols at the substance-rich side of their phase diagrams. [29] [30]
In polymer chemistry, a copolymer is a polymer derived from more than one species of monomer. The polymerization of monomers into copolymers is called copolymerization. Copolymers obtained from the copolymerization of two monomer species are sometimes called bipolymers. Those obtained from three and four monomers are called terpolymers and quaterpolymers, respectively. Copolymers can be characterized by a variety of techniques such as NMR spectroscopy and size-exclusion chromatography to determine the molecular size, weight, properties, and composition of the material.
Strain crystallization is a phenomenon in which an initially amorphous solid material undergoes a phase transformation due to the application of strain. Strain crystallization occurs in natural rubber, as well as other elastomers and polymers. The phenomenon has important effects on strength and fatigue properties.
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a small-angle scattering technique by which nanoscale density differences in a sample can be quantified. This means that it can determine nanoparticle size distributions, resolve the size and shape of (monodisperse) macromolecules, determine pore sizes, characteristic distances of partially ordered materials, and much more. This is achieved by analyzing the elastic scattering behaviour of X-rays when travelling through the material, recording their scattering at small angles. It belongs to the family of small-angle scattering (SAS) techniques along with small-angle neutron scattering, and is typically done using hard X-rays with a wavelength of 0.07 – 0.2 nm. Depending on the angular range in which a clear scattering signal can be recorded, SAXS is capable of delivering structural information of dimensions between 1 and 100 nm, and of repeat distances in partially ordered systems of up to 150 nm. USAXS can resolve even larger dimensions, as the smaller the recorded angle, the larger the object dimensions that are probed.
Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA; trade name Carbomer) is a polymer with the formula (CH2-CHCO2H)n. It is a derivative of acrylic acid (CH2=CHCO2H). In addition to the homopolymers, a variety of copolymers and crosslinked polymers, and partially deprotonated derivatives thereof are known and of commercial value. In a water solution at neutral pH, PAA is an anionic polymer, i.e., many of the side chains of PAA lose their protons and acquire a negative charge. Partially or wholly deprotonated PAAs are polyelectrolytes, with the ability to absorb and retain water and swell to many times their original volume. These properties – acid-base and water-attracting – are the bases of many applications.
Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (variously abbreviated PNIPA, PNIPAM, PNIPAAm, NIPA, PNIPAA or PNIPAm) is a temperature-responsive polymer that was first synthesized in the 1950s. It can be synthesized from N-isopropylacrylamide which is commercially available. It is synthesized via free-radical polymerization and is readily functionalized making it useful in a variety of applications.
Temperature-responsive polymers or thermoresponsive polymers are polymers that exhibit drastic and discontinuous changes in their physical properties with temperature. The term is commonly used when the property concerned is solubility in a given solvent, but it may also be used when other properties are affected. Thermoresponsive polymers belong to the class of stimuli-responsive materials, in contrast to temperature-sensitive materials, which change their properties continuously with environmental conditions. In a stricter sense, thermoresponsive polymers display a miscibility gap in their temperature-composition diagram. Depending on whether the miscibility gap is found at high or low temperatures, either an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) or a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) exists.
The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) or lower consolute temperature is the critical temperature below which the components of a mixture are miscible in all proportions. The word lower indicates that the LCST is a lower bound to a temperature interval of partial miscibility, or miscibility for certain compositions only.
N,N′-Methylenebisacrylamide (MBAm or MBAA, colloquially "bis") is the organic compound with the formula CH2[NHC(O)CH=CH2]2. A colorless solid, this compound is a crosslinking agent in polyacrylamides, e.g., as used for SDS-PAGE.
The upper critical solution temperature (UCST) or upper consolute temperature is the critical temperature above which the components of a mixture are miscible in all proportions. The word upper indicates that the UCST is an upper bound to a temperature range of partial miscibility, or miscibility for certain compositions only. For example, hexane-nitrobenzene mixtures have a UCST of 19 °C (66 °F), so that these two substances are miscible in all proportions above 19 °C (66 °F) but not at lower temperatures. Examples at higher temperatures are the aniline-water system at 168 °C (334 °F), and the lead-zinc system at 798 °C (1,468 °F).
Poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) is a polymer made from methacrylic acid (preferred IUPAC name, 2-methylprop-2-enoic acid), which is a carboxylic acid. It is often available as its sodium salt, poly(methacrylic acid) sodium salt. The monomer is a viscous liquid with a pungent odour. The first polymeric form of methacrylic acid was described in 1880 by Engelhorn and Fittig. The use of high purity monomers is required for proper polymerization conditions and therefore it is necessary to remove any inhibitors by extraction (phenolic inhibitors) or via distillation. To prevent inhibition by dissolved oxygen, monomers should be carefully degassed prior to the start of the polymerization.
A sequence-controlled polymer is a macromolecule, in which the sequence of monomers is controlled to some degree. This control can be absolute but not necessarily. In other words, a sequence-controlled polymer can be uniform or non-uniform (Ð>1). For example, an alternating copolymer synthesized by radical polymerization is a sequence-controlled polymer, even if it is also a non-uniform polymer, in which chains have different chain-lengths and slightly different compositions. A biopolymer with a perfectly-defined primary structure is also a sequence-controlled polymer. However, in the case of uniform macromolecules, the term sequence-defined polymer can also be used.
In polymer chemistry, graft polymers are segmented copolymers with a linear backbone of one composite and randomly distributed branches of another composite. The picture labeled "graft polymer" shows how grafted chains of species B are covalently bonded to polymer species A. Although the side chains are structurally distinct from the main chain, the individual grafted chains may be homopolymers or copolymers. Graft polymers have been synthesized for many decades and are especially used as impact resistant materials, thermoplastic elastomers, compatibilizers, or emulsifiers for the preparation of stable blends or alloys. One of the better-known examples of a graft polymer is a component used in high impact polystyrene, consisting of a polystyrene backbone with polybutadiene grafted chains.
Timothy P. Lodge is an American polymer scientist.
Depolymerizable polymers or Low-Ceiling Temperature Polymers refer to polymeric materials that can undergo depolymerization to revert the materials to their monomers at relatively low temperatures, such as room temperature. For example, the ceiling temperature Tc for formaldehyde is 119 °C, and that for acetaldehyde is -39 °C.
Frank Steven Bates is an American chemical engineer and materials scientist. Bates is a Regent's Professor (2007–present), a Distinguished McKnight University Professor (1996–present), and department head (1999-2014) in the department of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Minnesota, where he has been a faculty member since 1989. Prior to his appointment at the University of Minnesota, Bates was a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1982-1989.
Eilaf Egap is an assistant professor of Materials Science at Rice University. She works on imaging techniques and biomaterials for early diagnostics and drug delivery. She was a Massachusetts Institute of Technology MLK Visiting Scholar in 2011.
Amalie L. Frischknecht is an American theoretical polymer physicist at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2012 for "her outstanding contributions to the theory of ionomers and nanocomposites including the development and application of density functional theory to polymers". Her research focuses on understanding the structure, phase behavior, and self-assembly of polymer systems, such as complex fluids polymer nanocomposites, lipid bilayer assemblies, and ionomers.
Cononsolvency is a phenomenon where two solvents that can typically readily dissolve a polymer, when mixed, at certain ratios of these two solvents, are no longer able to dissolve the polymer. This phenomenon is in contrast to cosolvency where two solvents that are both poor at dissolving a material, but when the two poor solvents admixed, can form a mixed solvent capable of dissolving the material.
Poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) is an aliphatic polycarbonate synthesized from the 6-membered cyclic carbonate, trimethylene carbonate (1,3-propylene carbonate or 1,3-Dioxan-2-one). Trimethylene carbonate (TMC) is a colorless crystalline solid with melting point ranging between 45°C and 48 °C and boiling point at 255°C (at 760 mmHg). TMC is originally synthesized from 1,3-propanediol with phosgene or carbon monoxide, which are highly poisonous gases. Another route is from the transesterification of 1,3-propanediol and dialkylcarbonates. This route is considered "greener" compared to the other one, since precursors can be obtained from renewable resources and carbon dioxide.
Hydroxyethyl acrylate is an organic chemical and a aliphatic compound. It has the formula C5H8O3 and the CAS Registry Number 818-61-1. It is REACH registered with an EU number of 212-454-9. It has dual functionality containing a polymerizable acrylic group and a terminal hydroxy group. It is used to make emulsion polymers along with other monomers and the resultant resins are used in coatings, sealants, adhesives and elastomers and other applications.