The molecular brush architecture consists of a backbone polymer to which a side chain grafted polymer is attached at each repeat unit. The recently-developed synthetic approach, <i>i.e.</i>, “grafting through” of pre-synthesized macromonomers bearing polymerizable chain-end functionalities, realizes high degree of control over the synthetic chemistry to tune chemical composition, function, and relative concentric and lengthwise dimensions, throughout macromolecular framework. This presentation will highlight our recent work on investigations of block brush copolymers as building blocks for constructions of discrete and complex nanostructures, with an emphasis on developing synthetic delivery vehicles for therapeutic agents. The syntheses of well-defined concentric triblock brushes comprising of a hydrophilic and stealth graft segment, a reactive graft segment that allows for orthogonal post-assembly crosslinking to enhance structural stability, and a delivery-addressable functional segment, through sequential ring-opening metathesis polymerizations (ROMPs) of corresponding macromonomers, will be described in detail. Core-shell assembly in water will be followed by covalent crosslinking in the mid-region of the brush, followed by degradation of the hydrophobic core. The size, internal morphology and stability of these nanocages are expected to be of greater diversity than those templated from a similar core-shell micellar structure generated from linear polymers or those derived from a single brush. Moreover, with combinations of the sequential and concentric molecular brushes, it is anticipated that degradation of a central core plus internal regions of the brush block domains concentrically will allow for the definition of an overall core dimension and porosity throughout the cage framework.

Functional triblock bottlebrush polymers: From synthesis toward biomedical applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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