Abstract
The first orthogonal ferrocene monomer, vinyl ferrocenyl glycidyl ether (VfcGE), for both anionic and radical polymerization-without the need of a protection group-is presented. Anionic ring-opening copolymerization of VfcGE and ethylene oxide (EO) generates stimuli-responsive, multifunctional poly[(vinyl ferrocenyl glycidyl ether)-co-(ethylene oxide)] (P[VfcGE-co-EO]) copolymers (molecular weights of ca. 7500 g mol-1 and low molecular weight dispersities (D ≤ 1.14)). The amount of the equimolar ferrocenyl and vinyl groups are controlled by the comonomer ratio up to 15.4 mol% VfcGE. The pendant vinyl groups of P[VfcGE-co-EO] were post-modified with 3-mercaptopropionic acid via thiol-ene chemistry. The EO copolymers exhibit temperature-, redox-, and pH-responsive behavior in water depending on the polymers' microstructure. Free radical polymerization of VfcGE leads to polyalkylene:(vinyl ferrocenyl glycidyl ether) with pendant epoxide side chains at each ferrocene unit. The resulting polymer was used to generate redox-responsive protein nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin (BSA) by nucleophilic ring-opening of the pendant epoxides.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3617-3624 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Polymer chemistry |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 19 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 May 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |