Ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of strained alkenes is a powerful method to prepare polymeric scaffolds for applications in biology. A common limitation of these materials, however, has been their all-carbon backbone, which significantly limits their biodegradability. To address this issue, laboratories have developed a variety of strained-alkene monomers bearing heteroatoms that can degrade under acidic conditions. These monomers, however, typically require complex synthetic sequences and degrade only under forcing conditions. Here, we present an alternative solution to develop backbone degradable brush polymers prepared via graft-through ROMP, enabling precise control over degradation kinetics under mild aqueous conditions. With these polymers in hand, we describe our efforts to use these backbone degradable polymers for applications in biology and biomedicine.

Backbone-degradable brush polymers: Synthesis and biological applications

256th National Meeting (2018)

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