Synthesis and Characterization of Termosensitive Polymers

Abstract

New thermo-responsive graft copolymer s and hydrogelswere synthetized. The graft copolymer were synthesized bythe cationic ring-opening polymerizatio n of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline (MeOXA) , or 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline (EtOXA), respectively, initiated by the random copolymer s ofchloromethylstyren e (CMS) and N-isopropylacrylamide(NIPAAm) using the “grafting from” method with a yield of 66to 94%1. The polymers were characterized by NMR, GPC andDSC and the conformational transition (Lower Critical SolutionTemperature-LCST) of macroinitiators and graft copolymerswas determined by the turbidity and DSC measurements. Thetransition temperature of the graft copolymers could be finetunedthrough the composition of the macroinitiator and the graft copolymer. An increasing quantity of the hydrophobiccomonomer chloromethylstyrene in the macroinitiator lowered its LCST, while in the graft copolymer an increasing content of the hydrophilic segment of poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) orpoly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) raised the transition temperature. Forgraft copolymers with a high content of long poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline) grafts, stabilized aggregates or micelles with athermo-responsive core can be formed at LCST instead of precipitation of the material. Hydrogels were synthetized by the free radical copolymerization of a bismacromonomer of polymethyloxazolineand N-isopropilacrylamide. The yield was 60%. The hydrogelwere characterized by the NMR spectrometry (MAS-NMR) andits conformationa l transition was determined by NMRspectrometry and the degree of transmission of laser helioneonthrough the swelled hydrogel in water helium-neon.