One-Pot Syntheses of Amphiphilic Centipede-like Brush Copolymers via Combination of Ring-Opening Polymerization and “Click” Chemistry

Amphiphilic centipede-like brush copolymers with biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate) side segments were prepared by a one-pot syntheses strategy. The syntheses combined ring-opening polymerization of 2-ethoxy-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane through a “grafting from” strategy and “click” reaction with α-propargyl-ω-acetyl-poly(ε-caprolactone) through a “grafting to” strategy, using multifunctional poly( tert -butyl methacrylate)- co -poly(2-hydroxy-3-azidopropyl methacrylate) that bears hydroxyl and azide groups from junction points. The reactions are controllable, and the structure of obtained centipede-like brush copolymer is well characterized. These brush copolymers are amphiphilic and self-assemble into spherical micellar structure in aqueous solution with critical aggregation concentration around 10 −3 mg mL −1 and average diameters of 50−90 nm. Such micelles formed from centipede-like brush copolymers can be used as drug carriers for biomedical applications.