Pectin is an anionic, water-soluble polymer predominantly consisting of covalently 1,4-linked α-D-galacturonic acid units. This naturally occurring, renewable and biodegradable polymer is underutilized in polymer science due to its insolubility in organic solvents, which renders conventional polymerization methods impractical. To circumvent this problem, cerium-initiated radical polymerization ...

We have used a very large scale integration process to generate well-defined patterns of polymerized 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) on patterned Si(100) surfaces. An atom transfer radical polymerization initiator covalently bonded to the patterned surface was employed for the graft polymerization of HEMA to prepare the poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) brushes. After immersing wafer...

This paper describes the effects of graft architecture of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) brush surfaces on thermoresponsive aqueous wettability changes and the temperature-dependent hydrophobic interaction of steroids in silica capillaries (I.D.: 50 μm). PIPAAm brushes were grafted onto glass substrates by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) that is one of the li...

Three critical aspects of searching for and understanding how to find highly resistant surfaces to protein adhesion are addressed here with specific application to synthetic membrane filtration. They include the (i) discovery of a series of previously unreported monomers from a large library of monomers with high protein resistance and subsequent low fouling characteristics for membrane ultrafi...

Designer particles synthesized by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization were adsorbed successfully on the sapphire discs. The particles carried a thin layer of an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator on the surface and were subsequently successfully used to graft PNIPAAM brushes from the surface. The surface coverage of the discs by these particles could be improved by heat t...

A novel approach is presented for manipulating the size and chemistry of nanoscopic features using a combination of contact molding and living free radical polymerization. In this approach a highly cross-linked photopolymer, based on a methacrylate/acrylate mixture, was patterned into submicrometer-sized features on a silicon wafer using a contact-molding technique. A critical component of the ...

The preparation, characterization, and in vitro release of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) from methacrylic acid (MAA)/perlite composites (APC) prepared via a sol-gel route are reported. The free-radical graft polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) onto perlite particles was studied experimentally. The grafting procedure consisted of surface activation with 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacryla...

Much research has been done on means to minimize harmful side effects and to maintain drug levels in a therapeutically desirable range by employing porous structures as an inert matrix to provide controlled drug release.1-3) We have studied the employment of porous microspheres in the preparation of capsules containing a drug, and the drug release profiles from such porous microspheres. In prev...

In the presence of a small molecular protic initiator, immortal ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide (LA) is a highly efficient strategy to synthesize polylactide in a controllable manner, while using polymeric alcohol as an initiator has been less investigated. A series of polymeric alcohols (PS–OH) composed of styrene and 4.3%–18% hydroxyl functional styrene (diethyl(hydroxy(4-vinylph...

Polymer brushes and hydrogels are sensitive to the environment, which can cause uncontrolled variations on their performance. Herein, for the first time, we report a non-swelling "PEG molecular net-cloth" on a solid surface, fabricated using a novel "visible light induced surface controlled graft cross-linking polymerization" (VSCGCP) technique. Via this method, we show that 1) the 3D-network s...