CYCLODEXTRIN-POLY(VINYLAMINE) SYSTEMS .1. SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND CONFORMATIONAL PROPERTIES

Poly(vinylamine) (2) was synthesized and functionalized with beta-cyclodextrin (CD) using the monotosyl derivative of CD as reagent, yielding poly(vinylamine) containing covalently bound cyclodextrin (3). Reaction time, composition of the solvent and relative amounts of the reactants were varied in order to obtain polymers with various degrees of substitution. A characterization was carried out using various methods as viscosimetry, potentiometry and photoluminescence. The results indicated that despite the low DS obtained, the polymer takes a folded conformation attributed to a dense H bonding network between amine groups and hydroxyl groups of CD. The fluorescence measurements show the formation of 2-1 complexes between 2 CD residues of 3 and potassium 2-p-toluidinylnaphthalene sulfonate (TNS). This is a further indication that, in the folded conformation, the CD residues of 3 are much closer to each other than in a stretched conformation.