Synthesis and characterization of functionalized triblock polymer: The prepared polymer is cholesteryl terminated and chain-extended PCL
✍ Scribed by Jinbao Guo; Jie Sun; Hui Cao; Dongyu Zhao; Huai Yang
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2007
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 363 KB
- Volume
- 105
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-8995
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
The functionalized triblock polymer for the preparation of self‐assembly biomaterials, Chol‐(CL)~n~‐Chol, was synthesized through ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone (ε‐CL) following by chain‐extension reaction. The chemical structure of functionalized triblock polymer was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and ^1^H‐NMR. The molecular weight of the functionalized polymer increased with decreasing feed ratio of the initiator cholesterol (Chol) to the monomer ε‐CL. Liquid crystalline properties and the self‐assembly behavior of the functionalized polymer were validated by Wide angle X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and polarizing light microscope. The results showed that Chol‐(CL)~n~‐Chol (n ≤ 40) exhibited liquid crystallinity in particular temperature ranges because of the incorporation of the cholesteryl moiety. In addition, the functionalized triblock polymer can be homogeneously blended with high molecular weight poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), which offers the possibility to modify the properties of biomaterials based on PCL. Mixing a small amount of a Chol‐(CL)~n~‐Chol functionalized polymer with PCL, or coating a thin layer of the functionalized polymer on the surface of a PCL‐based implant may modify cell response. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007