Biodegradable amphiphilic graft polymer synthesized via the combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)

The biodegradability of polyacrylate derivatives is of great importance to their applications in medical and biological science. Here we design a six-membered carbonate monomer 2-(2-bromoisobutyrylamido)trimethylene carbonate (BrTMC) with an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiating group 2-bromoisobutyryl. Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of BrTMC and 2,2-dimethyltrimethylene carbonate (DTC) was carried out to synthesize copolycarbonate P(BrTMC-DTC), which further initiated ATRP of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) to prepare biodegradable amphiphilic graft polymer P(BrTMC-DTC)-g-PHEMA. P(BrTMC-DTC)-g-PHEMA was able to form the micelles by self-assembly.