Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The incorporation of heteroatom-containing weak bonds along polymer backbones has become a popular tool to accelerate degradation. Many methods have already been reported for the synthesis of degradable heteroatom-containing polymers based mainly on conventional step-growth polymerization and chain-growth ring-opening polymerization (ROP). In recent years, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) has evolved as an emerging approach for the synthesis of various types of degradable polymers, from carbocyclic norbornene derivatives to heterocyclic olefin monomers. Classic ruthenium (Ru)-based catalysts exhibit not only high reactivity to C=C double bonds but also high tolerance to polar functional groups. Hence, a rich range of functional groups can be incorporated into cyclic olefin monomers and then transferred to the polymer backbones. This review covers the synthesis of the various heteroatom-containing degradable (co)polymers via ROMP, including poly(thio)acetals/polyketals, polyorthoesters, polyesters, polycarbonates, polyphosphoesters/polyphosphoamidates, poly(enol ether)s, poly(silyl ether)s, polydisulfides, polyketones, polyacylsilanes, polyamides, and polyureas, as well as their degradable mechanisms under different conditions. The review also highlights applications in tissue engineering and medicine.
Xu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.