Spontaneous zwitterionic copolymerisation: An undervalued and efficacious technique for the synthesis of functional degradable oligomers and polymers

The spontaneous zwitterionic copolymerisation (SZWIP) of compatible nucleophilic and electrophilic monomers is a relatively unknown and unexplored method for the synthesis of (predominantly alternating) degradable co- and terpolymers. A wide range of monomers allows for the synthesis of different polymer classes with various functionalities, including poly(aminoester)s, poly(ester amide)s and poly(phosphoester)s. In this review, we discuss this undervalued copolymerisation method and its potential for the facile preparation of functional polymeric systems. In this context, the polymers synthesised to date by SZWIP as well as recent insights into this polymerisation technique are highlighted. Post-polymerisation modifications and applications of polymers obtained by SZWIP are also discussed. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.