Poly(N-allyl acrylamide) as a Reactive Platform toward Functional Hydrogels

The synthesis of poly(N-allyl acrylamide) (PNAl-lAm) as a platform for the preparation of functional hydrogels is described. The PNAllAm was synthesized via organocatalyzed amidation of poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) with allylamine and characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatog-raphy (SEC), and turbidimetry, which allowed an estimation of the lower critical solution temperature of similar to 26 degrees C in water. The PNAllAm was then used to make functional hydrogels via photoinitiated thiol-ene chemistry, where dithiothreitol (DTT) was used to cross-link the polymer chains. In addition, mercaptoethanol (ME) was added as a functional thiol to modulate the hydrogel properties. A decrease of the volume-phase transition temperature of the resulting hydrogels was observed with increasing ME content. Altogether this work introduces a straightforward way for the preparation of PNAllAm from PMA and demonstrates its value as a reactive polymer platform for the generation of functional hydrogels.

Automated summary

This article describes the synthesis of poly(N-allyl acrylamide) (PNAllAm) as a platform for the preparation of functional hydrogels. PNAllAm was synthesized by organocatalyzed amidation of poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) with allylamine, and its properties were characterized using 1H NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and turbidimetry. The resulting PNAllAm was used to make functional hydrogels via photoinitiated thiol-ene chemistry, with dithiothreitol (DTT) as the cross-linking agent and mercaptoethanol (ME) as a functional thiol to modulate the properties of the hydrogels. The study demonstrates the value of PNAllAm as a reactive polymer platform for the generation of functional hydrogels.