Linear dendritic polymeric amphiphiles with intrinsic biocompatibility: synthesis and characterization to fabrication of micelles and honeycomb membranes

Linear dendritic hybrid materials enable a range of architectural variations which offers novel possibilities in the tailoring of polymeric materials. In this study dendrons based on the 2,2-bis(methylol) propionic acid (bis-MPA) building block, bearing click chemistry moieties in the core and peripheral hydroxyl functionalities, have been used as macroinitiators for ring opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone. A library of star branched polymers with poly(epsilon-caprolactone) chains was initially constructed using dendrons up to 4(th) generation. In a second step, the popular CuAAC or thiol-ene click reaction was efficiently used to attach poly(ethylene glycol) chains of different lengths to the core. Potential applications of the resulted amphiphilic linear dendritic hybrids were investigated. Both self-assembled micelles loaded with doxorubicin anticancer drug and ordered honeycomb membranes with enhanced surface area were successfully fabricated and characterized.