Synthesis of poly[(decanoic where science meets business acid)-block-styrene] diblock copolymers and their self-assembly behavior in aqueous medium

Diblock copolymers, poly[ (10-hydroxydecanoic acid) -block-styrene] (PHDA-b-PSt), were synthesized by combining enzymatic condensation polymerization of HDA and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) as of St PHDA was first obtained via enzymatic condensation polymerization catalyzed by Novozyme-435. Subsequently, one terminus of the PHDA chains was modified by reaction with alpha-bromopropionyl bromide and the other terminus was protected by chlorotrimethylsilane. The resulting monofunctional macroinitiator was used subsequently in ATRP of St using CuCl/2,2'-bipyridine as the catalyst system to afford diblock copolymers including biodegradable PHDA blocks and well-defined PSt blocks. Polymeric nanospheres were prepared by self-assembly of the PHDA-b-PSt diblock copolymers in aqueous medium. (c) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry.