Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Synthesis Of Functional Copolymers Via Aqueous Raft Polymerization For Bioconjugation And Targeted Delivery Of Small Interfering Rna, Adam Wesley York

Dissertations

The versatility of reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization has moved this controlled radical technique to the forefront of copolymer construction for bioapplications including polymeric drug/gene delivery vehicles. Strengths of the RAFT process include the capacity to control the polymerization of a wide variety of vinyl monomers under mild conditions, its tolerance to numerous chemical groups that allow the preparation of functional copolymers for facile modification, and the range of copolymer architectures with predetermined end group functionalities which may be synthesized. Given these strengths, RAFT polymerization was utilized in this research to synthesize functional/reactive copolymers for bioconjugation and targeted delivery …

Rational Design Of Self-Assembled Nanostructures Based On Polymers Synthesized Via Aqueous Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization, Stacey Kirkland York

Dissertations

Recent advances in reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization have allowed the rational, bottom-up design of biorelevant assemblies. Utilizing foresight, polymers can be tailored to self-assemble into nano-, micro-, and macroscopic structures. Given the size scale on which rationally-designed polymers can be tailored, they hold significant promise in the biomedical field. For example, nanoscale materials can be designed to carry small-molecule and gene therapeutics while macroscopic structures can be tailored for cell growth scaffolds. The design process begins by selecting monomers, chain transfer agents, and reaction conditions which will yield the desired polymer architecture and composition.

The work herein builds …

Aqueous Raft Synthesis Of Stimuli-Responsive, Amphiphilic Block Copolymers And Self-Assembly Behavior In Solution And Incorporation Into Lbl Films, Matthew Grady Kellum

Dissertations

Of all the living radical polymerization techniques, reversible addition– fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization is arguably the most versatile in terms of the reaction conditions (e.g. temperature and solvent selection), monomer selection (e.g. neutral, anionic, cationic, and zwitterionic), and purification. Since the introduction of RAFT in 1998, the McCormick research group and others including the Lowe, Sumerlin, and Davis research groups have synthesized a wide range of (co)polymers with predetermined molecular weights, low polydispersities, and advanced architectures utilizing aqueous RAFT (ARAFT) polymerization. These research groups have also studied how various block copolymers exhibit stimuli-responsive behavior due to a change in …