Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Synthesis And Characterization Of Degradable Polymers, Christopher Collins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A degradable polymer with proposed applications in drug delivery was synthesized and characterized. This polymer was grown from a difunctional initiator, a "core" that is able to grow two polymer chains and able to degrade in the presence of oxidizing agents such as peroxides. During the first part of this project, poly(methyl methacrylate) was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization using commercially-available reagents in order to develop an optimal synthesis technique. This technique was then used to synthesize the degradable polymer. After introducing hydrogen peroxide, the molecular weight of the degradable polymer decreased in two different experiments, confirming its hypothesized …