Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Amphiphilic graft copolymer »

Abstract This paper reports on the surface modification of a nanofiltration polyethersulfon membrane, Microdyn Nadir NP030P, aiming at improved water-ethanol separation. To achieve this, three types of poly(vinyl alcohol) copolymers of varied hydrophilic-lipophilic balance were synthesized and tested as modifiers: double hydrophilic graft copolymer with poly(N,N-dimethyl acrylamide) side chains, amphiphilic copolymer of partially acetalized PVA, as well as amphiphilic copolymer with grafted hydrophobic poly(methyl methacrylate) chains. Copolymers’ chemical structure, composition and properties were evaluated by conventional analytical techniques. Thin film deposition via spin-coating of copolymer solution was applied as a method for membrane modification. Alteration of the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance at the membrane surface was studied by contact angle measurements whereas the surface microstructure was characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy as well as optical and scanning electron microscopy. The feasibility of tailoring membrane surface to specific requirements by using PVA-based copolymer was assessed and the influence of copolymer structure and composition on the membrane properties was considered.

An amphiphilic graft copolymer comprising poly(ethylene oxide) (PEG) grafts was synthesised and characterised. It was used to stabilise the emulsion polymerisation of St or BuA. The effectiveness of this PEG-containing graft copolymer in stabilising St/BuA emulsion polymerisation was studied. Finally, stable dispersions of polystyrene microspheres were used as templates, and polystyrene microspheres were coated with Fe3O4 by in situ reaction of Fe3+ and Fe2+ in the presence of OH−. No additional treatments were needed in the process.

Self-stabilizing biodegradable microcarriers were produced via an oil/water solvent evaporation technique using amphiphilic chitosan-g-polyester copolymers as a core material in oil phase without the addition of any emulsifier in aqueous phase. The total yield of the copolymer-based microparticles reached up to 79 wt. %, which is comparable to a yield achievable using traditional emulsifiers. The kinetics of microparticle self-stabilization, monitored during their process, were correlated to the migration of hydrophilic copolymer’s moieties to the oil/water interface. With a favorable surface/volume ratio and the presence of bioadhesive natural fragments anchored to their surface, the performance of these novel microcarriers has been highlighted by evaluating cell morphology and proliferation within a week of cell cultivation in vitro.

Graphene conductive inks have attracted significant attention in recent years due to their high conductivity, corrosion resistance, and environmentally friendly nature. However, the dispersion of graphene in aqueous solution is still challenging. In this work, we synthesized an amphiphilic graft copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol-g-polyaniline (PVA-g-PANI), and studied the graphene dispersion prepared with the graft copolymer by high-speed shear dispersion. The amphiphilic graft copolymer can be used as a stabilizer and adhesive agent in graphene dispersion. Given the steric hindrance of the graft copolymer, the stability of graphene dispersion is improved by decreasing the probability of π–π stacking. PVA-g-PANI has a better stability on graphene dispersion than carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na) and a mixture of PVA and PANI. The graft copolymer has only a slight effect on the conductivity of graphene dispersion due to the existence of conductive PANI, which is beneficial for preparing the graphene dispersion with good conductivity and adhesion. Graphene dispersion is well-adapted to screen printing and is very stable with regard to the sheet resistance bending cycle.

A new optically active amphiphilic graft copolymer bearing quinine pendants poly[3,3-bis(triazolyl-L-quinine) methyl oxetane]-g-poly(ethylene oxide) (PBTQMO-g-MPEO) was synthesized by ‘‘click’’ reaction of azido-modified PBAMO-g-MPEO diblock copolymer and 10,11-didehydro quinine. The fourier transform infrared spectrum(FTIR) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HNMR) were used to confirm its structure and composition.

An amphiphilic carboxymethylcellulose-graft-histidine/methoxypolyethylene glycol (CMP) copolymer was firstly synthesized to modify nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for effective delivery of docetaxel.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2010.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-106).
The throughput and efficiency of membrane separations make polymer filtration membranes an important resource for the pharmaceutical, food and wastewater treatment industries. Nanofiltration (NF) membranes fill an important niche between nonporous reverse osmosis membranes, which have comprehensive solute rejection and low solvent permeability, and porous sieving ultrafiltration membranes. However, challenges in NF membrane design remain outstanding. At the effective pore size of NF membranes (~0.5 nm-2 nm), both electrostatic and steric factors determine membrane selectivity. Most NF membranes are charged under a wide range of environmental conditions and thus preferentially exclude charged solutes. This charge selectivity precludes separation of molecules based solely on size. An additional limitation of NF membranes is the tendency to foul by adsorption of feed components. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate control of membrane selectivity in fouling resistant membranes via manipulation of the chemistry of a specific copolymer system, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) graft polymers. Previous work with amphiphilic graft copolymers as membrane materials has included PANg- PEO with an average graft length of 9 (PAN-g-PEO9). PAN-g-PEO9 was shown to have excellent fouling resistance as an antifouling additive in porous ultrafiltration membranes and as a dense selective layer coated onto a support base membrane-a thin-film composite (TFC) NF membrane. The comb morphology of the polymer imposes high interfacial area on the microphase-separated domains, resulting in a bicontinuous structure consisting of a glassy PAN matrix interpenetrated by PEO-filled "nanochannels" that can act as vias for water and small solutes (with a size cutoff of ~0.8 nm). It also presents a PEO brush on the comb surface which acts as a steric barrier to resist irreversible fouling of the membranes. The understanding from previous work on PEO comb NF membranes is that the pore size is determined by the nanochannel's size, i.e. the PEO domain size. Because the graft characteristics (spacing and length) of comb copolymers determine the domain size, it was expected that varying the graft length would allow broad, precise control of the size cutoff of the TFC membranes, a concept demonstrated previously with amphiphilic graft copolymer NF membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride)-graft-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PVDF-g-POEM). The first aim of this thesis was to tailor the retention properties of PAN-g-PEO TFC NF membranes by modifying the chemistry to tune the electrostatic and steric properties sufficiently to enable complex separations, particularly of solutes with high fouling potential. Comb copolymers incorporating ~40 weight % PEO with side chains varying from 5-40 EO units were synthesized by free radical methods and compared as selective-layer coatings on PAN UF membranes. 3 Membranes incorporating combs with 9 EO units or more were shown to resist irreversible fouling when challenged by a model protein feed solution (bovine serum albumin) for 24 hours. Fouling resistance was found to be compromised, however, upon exposure to acid (pH 2) solution, used to simulate chemical cleaning procedures in industry. Thickness-normalized permeabilities of these PAN-g-PEOn NF membranes exceeded those of commercially available NF membranes by approximately an order of magnitude. A systematic effect of side chain length on permeability was seen when varying temperature, ionic strength, and pressure. Contrary to expectations, the membrane size cutoff (~0.8 nm) for charged rigid molecular probes in deionized water was independent of the comb side chain length. This new finding can be explained by modeling the hydrophilic domains as opposing swollen polymer brushes of uniform density acting as a physical gel. The gel mesh size (distance between chains) is independent of side chain length, and controls the size cutoff in good solvent conditions matching those in which the membrane was equilibrated during fabrication. In poorer solvent conditions, a decrease in the brush height, progressing to complete collapse of the PEO gel, can be expected to create differentiation based on domain size (i.e. side chain length). This is consistent with the finding that retentions of dyes increased with decreasing side chain length in saline solution, as salt is known to reduce PEO-water miscibility. Fluorescently labeled peptides germane to proteomics research were filtered and both chromatographic and size-selective membrane behavior was observed-the first demonstration of size-based nanofiltration of peptides. Based on this finding, two different peptides of molecular weights 1.3kDa and 1.5kDa were fractionated to achieve a six-fold increase in the concentration of the larger peptide relative to the smaller peptide in two filtration steps. The electrostatic selectivity of the PEO comb membranes could also be varied. Terpolymers consisting of PAN-g-PEO with 1-2% charged sulfopropyl acrylate (SPA) or 5% N,Ndimethyl- N-(2-methacryloyloxyethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium betaine (SPE) were synthesized and coated onto PAN base membrane. The divalent salt (Na2SO4) retention of the resulting TFC membranes increased from ~20% for the PAN-g-PEO copolymer to ~45% and 82% for the SPE and SPA terpolymers, respectively. Retention of monovalent NaCl was substantially lower, characteristic of commercial NF membranes. The charged comb membranes did not completely resist fouling by a 1 g/L BSA solution, losing 2% of the initial flux after 24 h exposure. Forming a trilayer TFC, with a layer of PAN-g-PEO coated over a charged terpolymer, reduced membrane fouling compared to the charged layer alone. In summary, the goal of this study was to demonstrate control of membrane selectivity in fouling-resistant PAN-g-PEO NF membranes. An important finding was that the PEO gel created in the hydrophilic domains leads to similar size cutoffs over a wide range of side chain length. To access the desired spectrum of size cutoffs, the quality of solvent for the swollen PEO brush must be reduced. In spite of these limitations, the membrane was shown to have useful fractionating properties as demonstrated with labeled peptides of varying molecular weight. The retention of salts was enhanced by incorporating small amounts of charged monomer into the comb backbone, but at the expense of fouling resistance.
by Nathan Gary Lovell.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references.
Amphiphilic comb-type graft copolymers comprising a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) backbone and short, polyethylene oxide (PEO) side chains, PMMA-g-PEO, are proposed to self-organize at the polymer/water interface, resulting in quasi-2D confinement of the backbone at the immediate surface. The branched architecture and amphiphilic chemistry of these polymers results in a dense PEO brush that resists cell adhesion. To facilitate specific cell-surface interactions, small biological molecules such as adhesion peptides can be selectively tethered to PEO chain ends. Quasi-2D confinement of the polymer backbone results in clustering of tethered epitopes on a length scale dictated by the backbone. The present work investigates two aspects of this polymer architecture on organization of tethered ligands: nanometer length-scale clustering through backbone 2D confinement, and tether length effects on the availability of tethered peptides for cell adhesion.
(cont.) To directly probe 2D confined polymer conformations, combs at the film/water interface were labeled with gold nanoparticles and observed by transmission electron microscopy. A 2D radius of gyration (Rg) was calculated by reconstructing nanoparticle-decorated chain trajectories, and compared with Monte Carlo simulations of a 2D melt of similarly broad length distribution. The 2D Rg calculated from observed conformations scaled with the number of backbone segments (N) as Rg - N.69-0.02 Monte Carlo simulations yielded a scaling exponent v = 0.67 + 0.03, suggesting that the deviation from classical 2D melt behavior (v= 0.5) arose from polydispersity. Tether length effects on cell adhesion to comb copolymer films functionalized with the adhesion peptide PHSRNGGGK(GGC)GGRGDSPY were further investigated by observing cell attachment and spreading on combs with long (22 EO unit) and short (10 EO unit) tethers. Lofiger tethers increased the rate of spreading and reduced the time required to form focal adhesions. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements suggest that the added mobility afforded by longer tethers allowed cells to reorganize tethered peptides.
(cont.) In addition, adhesion peptides were selectively coupled to short or long PEO tethers within a bimodal brush. Short peptide tethers in a bed of long inert chains did not promote cell attachment. Long peptide tethers with short inert chains resulted in cell attachment comparable to a monomodal brush of long chains. These findings may be of value in designing protein-resistant bioactive surfaces, where nanometer length-scale organization of ligands plays an important role in cell-surface interactions.
by William A. Kuhlman.
Ph.D.

Les gels d'alginate de calcium sont utilises en biotechnologie pour encapsuler divers biomatériaux. Les espèces séquestrées sont cependant insuffisamment retenues et tendent à fuir hors de leur support. L'objectif de notre travail a consiste à immobiliser sur l'alginate des chaines latérales a caractère hydrophobe doux des polyoxyalkylenes susceptibles de s'associer aux biosystèmes confinés et de minimiser ainsi ce relargage parasite. Deux stratégies de synthèse ont été adoptées: 1) d'une part, le polysaccharide a été oxydé par le periodate et un polyéther aminé modèle le -benzyloxy, -aminotetraethyleneglycol a été couplé par une réaction d'amination réductrice aux fonctions aldéhydes générées. Ce mode de synthèse conduit à des dérives fortement dégradés ne présentant plus de transition sol/gel; 2) d'autre part, le polyéther modèle a été greffe a l'alginate par l'intermédiaire d'une liaison amide. Les dérivés résultants, en dépit d'une modification profonde de leur comportement viscosimetrique, conservent leur capacité de gélification. Un polyoxyalkylene à caractère hydrophobe plus marque a ensuite été fixé. Les études physicochimiques des dérivés amphiphiles obtenus ainsi que les tests de gélification nous ont montré que les polyoxyalkylenes n'ont pas un caractère hydrophobe suffisamment prononcé pour permettre d'obtenir des dérivés à caractère associatif qui soient susceptibles d'améliorer les capacités de rétention des biomatériaux encapsulés

L’objectif de ce travail était de contrôler les propriétés rhéologiques de solutions aqueuses de copolymères amphiphiles. Dans l’eau, ces copolymères s’auto-associent et leurs propriétés peuvent être contrôlées en partie par leur dynamique d’échange. Il avait précédemment était montré que cette dynamique pouvait être contrôlée par le pH et la quantité d’unités acide acrylique dans des triblocs BAB (THx) où le bloc A est du poly(acide acrylique) (PAA) et les blocs B sont des copolymères statistiques (MHx) d’acrylate de n-butyle (nBA) et d’acide acrylique (AA). Tout d’abord, l’étude de l’auto-association en solution des blocs B seuls (MHx) a montré un lien fort entre leur agrégation et celle des diblocs de type BA (DHx). Cette agrégation est contrôlée par la quantité de charge des blocs B. Par la suite, des mélanges de triblocs (BAB) THx contenant différentes proportions (x) d’unités AA ont permis la formation de réseaux hybrides dont les propriétés rhéologiques sont maîtrisées par formulation plutôt que via la chimie. Des propriétés rhéologiques similaires aux triblocs BAB (THx) ont été obtenues avec des copolymères greffés possédant un squelette hydrophile PAA et des greffons B. Leurs propriétés rhéologiques sont principalement contrôlées par la structure chimique des blocs B, mais aussi par le taux de greffage. Ces copolymères greffés devraient être plus simples à obtenir à l’échelle industrielle que des triblocs. Pour finir, l’approche consistant à incorporer des unités hydrophiles dans les blocs hydrophobes de copolymères amphiphiles pour en contrôler la dynamique d’échange a été appliquée avec succès à des copolymères à base de méthacrylate de diméthylaminoéthyle et de méthacrylate de n-butyle. Leurs propriétés rhéologiques peuvent être contrôlées à nouveau par le pH, mais dans une gamme différente des polymères à base d’acide acrylique, et aussi dans une certaine mesure par la température
The aim of this work was to control the rheological properties of aqueous solutions of amphiphilic copolymers. In water, these copolymers self-assemble and part of their properties can be controlled by their dynamic of exchange. As previously reported, the exchange dynamics can be controlled by the pH and the acrylic acid (AA) content for BAB triblock copolymers (THx) consisting of a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) A block and two statistical B blocks (MHx) of n-butyl acryle (nBA) and AA.First, the study of the self-association of B blocks (MHx) alone showed a strong relationship between their aggregation and the one of BA diblocks (DHx). This aggregation was mainly controlled by the amount of charges within the B blocks.Then, mixtures of BAB triblocks (THx) with different contents of AA units, x, formed hybrid networks the rheological properties of which were controlled by formulation rather than chemistry.Similar rheological properties were obtained using graft copolymers consisting of a PAA hydrophilic backbone and B grafts. Their rheological properties were mainly controlled by the chemical structure of the B grafts and by the grafting density. Such graft copolymers should be easier to produce at an industrial scale than triblock copolymers.To finish, the strategy consisting of incorporating hydrophilic units inside the hydrophobic blocks of amphiphilic copolymers to control their exchange dynamics was successfully applied to copolymers made of dimethylaminoethyl methacraylate and n-butyl methacrylate. Their rheological properties were controlled by the pH on a different pH-range than the AA based polymers, and, to some extent, by the temperature

1.Polymérisation par ouverture de cycle anionique contrôlée de carbamates cycliques à 5 chaînons en polyuréthanes. 2.Synthèse et auto-assemblage de copolymères diblocs linéaires amphiphiles à base de polyuréthane. 3.Synthèse et auto-assemblage de copolymères greffés amphiphiles à base de polyuréthane
1.Controlled anionic ring opening polymerization of 5-membered cyclic carbamates to polyurethanes. 2.Synthesis and self-assembly of polyurethane-based amphiphilic linear diblock copolymers. 3.Synthesis and self-assembly of polyurethane-based amphiphilic graft copolymers

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Novel silicone nanocomposites were prepared using poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) based reinforcing fibres as well as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Compatibility of the fibre fillers with the silicone matrix required the synthesis of novel amphiphilic, organic–inorganic graft copolymers of PAN and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PAN-g-PDMS). These fibre precursor materials were synthesised via the “grafting through” technique using conventional free radical copolymerisation. The PDMS macromonomer content in the feed was varied from 5 wt% to 25 wt% and the molecular weights of the macromonomer were 1000 g.mol-1 and 5000 g.mol-1. The solvent medium of the precipitation reaction was optimised at a volume ratio of 98% benzene to 2% dimethylformamide (DMF). Successful incorporation of PDMS yielded graft copolymer blend materials of PAN-g-PDMS, blended with PAN homopolymer and unreacted PDMS macromonomer. A gradient elution profile was developed to track the successful removal of the PDMS macromonomer via hexane extraction. The gradient profile showed that as the PDMS content in the feed increased, the number of graft molecules in the blend increased relative to the number of PAN homopolymer molecules. The crystallisability of the PAN segments was shown to decrease as the PDMS content increased. The synthesised polymer was used as precursor material for the electrospinning of fibre fillers. The electrospinning of the precursor material was successfully achieved using 100% DMF as electrospinning solution medium. The amphiphilic nature of the precursor material in DMF resulted in self-assembled aggregate structures in the electrospinning solution. An increasing PDMS content was shown to affect the aggregation of the precursor material, and resulted in an increase in the solution viscosity. The “gel-like” solutions limited the achievable fibre morphological control when altering conventional electrospinning parameters such as voltage, tip-to-collector distance, and solution concentrations. The rapid evaporation and stretching of the solution during electrospinning, combined with the phase segregated amphiphilic molecules in solution and the crystallisation of the PAN segments resulted in (non-equilibrium morphology) fully porous fibres. The crystallinity was shown to decrease after electrospinning of the fibre precursor materials. Successful incorporation of surface oxidised MWCNTs into the electrospun fibres was achieved. The content of nanotubes was varied from 2 wt% to 32 wt%. The MWCNTs reduced the mean fibre diameters by acting as cross-linkers between the PAN segments and increasing the solution conductivity. The nanotubes dispersed well throughout the porous structure of the fibres and aligned in the direction of the fibre axis. Fabrication of silicone composites containing nonwoven and aligned fibre mats (with 8 wt% MWCNTs in the fibres, and without) was successfully achieved. The compatibilisation of the PDMS surface segregated domains allowed excellent dispersion and interaction of the PAN based fibre fillers with the silicone matrix. Mechanical analysis showed improved properties as the PDMS content in the fibre increased. The highest PDMS content fibres did, however, exhibit decreased properties. This was ascribed to increased PDMS (soft and weak) content, decreased crystallinity and increased fibre diameter (lower interfacial area). Dramatic improvements in strength, stiffness, strain and toughness were achieved. The most significant result was an increase in strain of 470%. The mechanical results correlated with results of SEM analysis of the fracture surfaces. The dramatic improvements in properties were a result of the fibre strength and ductility, as well as the mechanism of composite failure.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nuwe silikonnanosamestellings is berei deur gebruik te maak van poli(akrilonitriel) (PAN) gebaseerde versterkende vesels wat multi-ommuurde koolstof nanobuisies bevat het. Versoenbaarheid van die vesels met die silikonmatriks het die sintese van nuwe amfifiliese, organies–anorganiese ent-kopolimere van PAN en poli(dimetielsiloksaan) (PAN-g-PDMS) benodig. Die vesel voorlopermateriaal is deur middel van ‘n “ent-deur” vryeradikaalkopolimerisasie gesintetiseer. Die inhoud van die PDMS makromonomeer in die reaksie het gewissel vanaf 5% tot 25%. Die gebruik van twee verskillende molekulêre massas makromonomere is bestudeer (1000 en 5000 g.mol-1). Die optimale oplosmiddelmengsel vir die neerslagreaksie was 'n volume verhouding van 98% benseen tot 2% dimetielformamied (DMF). Suksesvolle insluiting van PDMS het versnitmateriale van PAN-g-PDMS kopolimere gemeng met PAN homopolimere en ongereageerde PDMS makromonomere gelewer. 'n Gradiënteluering- chromatografiese profiel is ontwikkel om die suksesvolle verwydering van die PDMS makromonomere via heksaanekstraksie te bepaal. Die gradiëntprofiel het aangetoon dat indien die PDMS inhoud in die reagense verhoog is, die aantal entmolekules relatief tot PAN homopolimeermolekules ook verhoog het. 'n Toename in PDMS inhoud het egter 'n afname in kristallisasie van die PAN segmente tot gevolg gehad. Die gesintetiseerde polimeer is gebruik as die beginmateriaal vir die elektrospin van veselvullers. Die elektrospin van die beginmateriaal was suksesvol wanneer 100% DMF as elektrospinoplosmiddel gebruik is. Die amfifiliese aard van die beginmateriaal in DMF lei tot outokonstruksie van aggregaatstrukture in die elektrospinoplossing. Toenemende PDMS inhoud beïnvloed die outokonstruksie van die molekules in oplossing en het gelei tot 'n toename in die oplossings se viskositeit. Die "gelagtige" oplossings beperk die haalbare vesel se morfologiese beheerbaarheid wanneer konvensionele elektrospin parameters soos elektriese spanning, punt-tot-versamelaar afstand, en oplossingkonsentrasies gewysig word. Die vinnige verdamping en strek van die oplossing tydens elektrospin, gekombineer met die fase-geskeide amfifiliese molekules in oplossing en die kristallisasie van die PAN segmente, het gelei tot (nie-ewewig morfologie) volledige poreuse vesels. Die kristalliniteit van die veselbeginmaterial het afgeneem nadat elektrospin toegepas is. Die insluiting van die oppervlak-geoksideerde multi-ommuurde koolstof nanobuisies in die elektrogespinde vesels was suksesvol. Die inhoud van die nanobuisies het gewissel van 2 wt% tot 32 wt%. Die MWCNTs het die gemiddelde veseldeursnit verminder deur op te tree as kruisbinders tussen die PAN segmente van die molekules. Die nanobuisies was goed versprei deur die poreuse struktuur van die vesels en dit was gerig in die rigting van die vesel-as. Bereiding van die silikonsamestellings bestaande uit nie-geweefde en gerigte veseloppervlakke (met en sonder 8 wt% multi-ommuurde koolstof nanobuisies in die vesel) was suksesvol. Die versoenbaarheid tussen die oppervlak van die PDMS-geskeide gebiede en die silikonmatriks laat uitstekende verspreiding en interaksie van die PAN-gebaseerde veselvullers met die silikonmatriks toe. Meganiese analise het aangetoon dat die fisiese eienskappe verbeter het namate die PDMS inhoud in die vesel vermeerder het. Die vesels met die hoogste PDMS inhoud het egter verswakte eienskappe getoon. Dit is toegeskryf aan ‘n verhoogde PDMS inhoud (sag en swak), ‘n afname in kristalliniteit en ‘n verhoogde veseldeursnit (laer grensoppervlakke). Dramatiese verbeterings in sterkte, styfheid, verlengbaarheid, vervorming en taaiheid is bereik. Die mees betekenisvolle gevolg was 'n toename in die verrekking van 470%. Die meganiese resultate is gekorreleer met SEM ontleding van die brekingsoppervlakke. Die veselkrag en vervormbaarheid, sowel as die meganisme van die splyting van die samestellings, het tot die dramatiese verbeterings in die meganiese eienskappe gelei.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Novel poly(methacrylic acid)-graft-poly(dimethylsiloxane) copolymers were synthesised by conventional free radical reactions using a poly(dimethylsiloxane) macromonomer. The polymers were electrospun to investigate how the fibre morphology can be modified by manipulating the electrospinning solution parameters, and to determine the possibility of using the polymers as new materials for the production of polymer nanofibre hydrogels. The electrospinning solution parameters were varied by electrospinning the highly amphiphilic copolymers in solvents with variable solvent qualities. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE–SEM) was used to investigate the fibre morphology. Internal morphology was studied using a freeze fracture technique prior to FE-SEM imaging. It is revealed that the polymers in this study does not form any fine structure or pores even when self-assembled structures are present in the solution. Attempts were made to visualise any self-assembled structures of films produced from dilute solutions using TEM. Further studies included investigating the fibres properties, primarily with regards to their rate and extent of moisture and water uptake. The fibres showed hydrogel behaviour and the PDMS content were found to have an impact on the hydrogel stability. Post electrospinning crosslinking of the nanofibres was also explored.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Unieke ent-kopolimere wat bestaan uit poli(metielakrielsuur) (PMAS) en poli(dimetielsiloksaan) (PDMS) is gesintetiseer deur middel van 'n “ent-deur” vryeradikaalkopolimerisasie. 'n PDMS makromonomeer is vir hierdie doel gebruik. Die polimere is geëlektrospin om vesels te vorm. Die doel was om die invloed van verkillende strukture in oplossing op die veselmorfologie te bepaal. Die moontlikheid om hierdie nanovesels as gels te gebruik is ook ondersoek. Die amfifiliese kopolimere is geëlektrospin uit die oplossing waarin dit wisselende oplosbaarheid toon. Skandeer elektron mikroskopie (SEM) is gebruik om die morfologie te ondersoek. Die interne morfologie van die vesels is ondersoek deur die vesels te vries en in die gevriesde toestand te breek. Die studie het getoon dat geen strukture op, of binne, die vesels vorm nie, selfs al moes daar assosiasie tussen segmente van die polimere gewees het. Hierdie tipe assosiasies sou strukture in die oplossing tot gevolg gehad het. 'n Poging is aangewend om die strukture in oplossing te visualiseer deur transmissie elektron mikroskopie (TEM) van dun films te ondersoek. Films is vanaf verdunde oplossings gevorm. Ander studies het ingesluit om die eienskappe van die vesels te ondersoek, met die fokus op hoeveel en hoe vinnig die vesels waterdamp en water kon absorbeer. Die vesels het soos 'n gel reageer. Hierdie gedrag is beïnvloed deur die hoeveelheid PDMS wat 'n definitiewe invloed op die stabiliteit van die gel gehad het. Kruisverbindings van die vesels, nadat dit geëlektrospin is, is ook ondersoek.

Ce travail présente la synthèse de copolymères amphiphiles biocompatibles et biodégradables pour la formation de systèmes de libération d’agents anticancéreux. Ces copolymères sont composés d’une chaîne de poly-(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), un polyester hydrophobe biocompatible et biodégradable, sur laquelle sont greffés des chaînes hydrophiles d’oligomères de dextrane ou de chitosane. Ces nouvelles structures copolymères sont dites « inverses », les structures « classiques » étant constituées d’une chaîne polysaccharide avec des greffons PCL. La chaîne de PCL a été propargylée via une méthode anionique développée par notre équipe, tandis que les oligosaccharides ont été azoturés en extrémité de chaîne sur le dextrane, mais le long de sa chaîne sur le chitosane grâce à la présence de ses fonctions amines. Les copolymères ont été obtenus par couplage « clic » CuAAC entre PCL propargylée et oligosaccharides azoturés. Dans le cas du chitosane, les amines de la chaîne permettent i) le couplage de mannose squarate, un agent de ciblage de cellules cancéreuses et ii) une fonctionnalisation sous forme de thiol qui permet un couplage par réaction thiol-yne sur la PCL propargylée. Ces copolymères donnent des nano- objets en milieu aqueux qui, dans le cas du PCL-g-dextrane, sont sous forme de micelles qui encapsulent de la doxorubicine dont la libération est pH dépendante. Des études biologiques ont montré que ces micelles chargées sont toxiques essentiellement pour les cellules cancéreuses et qu’elles sont préférentiellement internalisées par les cellules cancéreuses. Ces résultats démontrent une grande sélectivité d’action vis-à-vis des cellules tumorales
This work presents the synthesis of biocompatible and biodegradable amphiphilic copolymers for the formation of anticancer drug delivery systems. These copolymers consist of a poly-(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) chain, a biocompatible and biodegradable hydrophobic polyester, on which hydrophilic oligomers of dextrane or chitosane are grafted. These new copolymer structures are called “reverse” structures, the “classic” ones being made of a polysaccharide chain with PCL grafts. The PCL chain was propargylated via an anionic method developed by our team, while azide functions were grafted on oligosaccharides at a chain end of dextrane, but along the chain in chitosan, thanks to its amine functions. Copolymers were obtained by CuAAC click coupling between the activated PCL and oligosaccharides. In the case of chitosan, the amines of the chain allowed the coupling of mannose squarate, a cancer cell targeting agent, as well as a functionalization in the form of thiols which allow coupling by thiol-yne reaction on propargylated PCL. These copolymers form nano objects in aqueous media which, in the case of the PCL-g-dextrane structure, are forming micelles that encapsulate doxorubicin, which is further released in a pH- dependent way. Biological studies have shown that these charged micelles are toxic to cancer cells and not to healthy cells and are preferentially internalized by cancer cells. These results demonstrate a high degree of selectivity of action against tumor cells

In this thesis I have dealt with the synthesis of different macromolecular structures in order to create innovative devices. The heart of the process of synthesis has been the RAFT polymerization, a recent polymerization technique which allows the compatibilization of various chemical systems. The aim of this work is the improvement of innovative devices already on the market with good performance, but that possess limitations both as what regards specific technical properties and commercial exploitation. The aspect which has to be improved isn’t related to the device’s functional materials, rather to the compatibilization between them. Often, materials with remarkable absolute performances are used in a device, but these state-of-the-art components suffer from a partial quenching of their properties when incorporated in the final device. For this reason, in recent years, many studies have focused on materials that compatibilize different chemicals structures. For example polymeric composite materials combine the various functional properties of inorganic materials (metals and metal oxides) with mechanical properties of structural polymers. The different chemical nature of these two classes of materials leads to incompatibility, un-mixing and then to the worsening of the final performance in the operating conditions of the device. So it is essential to find materials that allow the different structures to chemically recognize each other through their surfaces. The materials used in this context are the surfactants, namely compounds that possess both polar and non-polar moieties. The same mechanism is at the base of the natural world in which, for example, liposomes form cell membranes which are fundamental for life itself. With this in mind, I focused to the synthesis of amphiphilic materials that possess hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts, therefore affinity with inorganic materials, or water based, and organic materials. This type of structure can be found in macromolecular materials. Access to such complex polymer structures - and concomitantly access to carefully tunable polymer properties - has been greatly enhanced with the advent of living free radical polymerization (LFRP) protocols that allow for the synthesis of multifunctional “chain transfer” agents that can serve as molecular machinery for obtaining polymers with complex architecture. The most prominent among LFRP techniques are Reversible Addition–Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT), Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) , and Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization (NMP). , In particular, the strength of RAFT chemistry lies in its high tolerance to functional monomers and the non-demanding reaction conditions (e.g. tolerance to oxygen and low temperatures) under which the polymerizations can be carried out. In addition, a wide range of monomers with varying reactivity can be used. RAFT polymerization offers substantial versatility when it comes to the synthesis of block copolymers, star polymers, polymer brushes, and other complex polymer systems. The critical key to their synthesis is the presence of chain transfer agent (RAFT agent or CTA) with a thiocarbonylthio end group. Undesired bimolecular termination reactions, high initiator concentrations, or chain transfer to monomer or solvent can reduce the amount of RAFT end capped polymer chains. If carefully designed, RAFT polymerization opens the door to a range of polymer architectures by variable approaches. Similar to other living radical polymerization techniques, block copolymers, star and comb polymers, as well as graft polymers are accessible by attaching the controlling moiety to a (multi)functional core linking moiety. In addition, block structures are obtained by chain extension of the RAFT moiety capped block. Unique to the RAFT process are the possible modes of attaching the RAFT group covalently to the (multi)functional moiety. The first aspect analyzed was the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers into complex architectures. As known block copolymers in the solid state have a separation of phases in the order of nanometers . In addition, by varying the chemical composition of the blocks and their relationship, it is possible to generate a variety of morphologies (spherical, cylindrical, lamellar or gyroidal). This behavior is described by the diagram of Matsen and Schick (see Figure 1) and relates to polymers in their thermodynamic minimum. The introduction of a solvent in the system can be interpreted as a third dimension in the diagram. Thus, in addition to the variation of χN (Flory-Huggins interaction parameter times total number of monomer units) and fx (fraction of the monomeric units x), we can introduce the quantity of solvent. The interaction between the solvent and the chemistry of the block copolymer is a key parameter to determine in what way the self assembly occurs. In the case of complete solubility the polymer will be completely dissolved while selective (or partial) solubility occurs if a single block is dissolved. The latter leads to the formation of particular structures that depend on all previous parameters in addition to temperature and the environmental conditions. Therefore, amphiphilic block copolymers can self-assemble into structures such as micelles, spheres, worm-like assemblies, toroids and polymer gels, depending on the ratio of the selective solvent. With RAFT technique, I have synthesized diblock copolymers constituted by polystyrene and polydimethylacrylamide with different total block length and studied their self-assembly in different solvents and concentrations, with the aim of introducing functional molecules in incompatible matrices (Chapter 4). Also, I produced the triblock copolymer polystyrene-polyethylene oxide and used as a polymer gel for electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells (Chapter 5). The advantage of this technique is that the polymer is free from the contamination of metal catalyst. The second topic has been the functionalization of nanoparticles of metal oxides with different polymers. The surface chemistry has been modified by making it more similar to the host matrix, in this way a polymer nanocomposite is created with high performance limiting the de-mixing of the different components. Polymer grafting techniques provide a very versatile tool to tailor the surface of nanoparticles and thus the interfaces between nanoparticles and the matrix polymers. The RAFT technique provides control over the type of polymer to be grafted onto the particle surface, surface densities, and chain lengths at the nanometer scale. The technique of covalently grafting polymer chains onto particles can be categorized into “grafting from” and “grafting to”. The grafting to technique involves reacting the polymer, bearing an appropriate functional group, with the particles to chemically attach the polymer chains. Because of the steric hindrance imposed by the already grafted chains, it becomes increasingly difficult for the incoming polymer chains to diffuse to the surface against the concentration gradient of the existing grafted polymers, which intrinsically results in low graft densities. In contrast, the grafting from technique uses initiators that have been initially anchored to the particle surface, followed by the polymerization from the surface. Since the existing grafted polymers will not hinder the diffusion of the small-sized monomers, significantly higher graft densities can be achieved with this technique. In this study, I was involved in the growth of the polymer to the surface (grafting from) to ensure a high coating density. I have synthesized a polymer shell of polystyrene on nanoparticles of titania to create a nanocomposite TiO2/PS (Chapter 6), which has been tested as a material with high dielectric properties. I also polymerized isoprene on commercial SiO2 in order to introduce it in the production of compounds for tyres and thereby increase the dispersion and improve the dispersion of filler in the rubber matrix (Chapter 7).