Copolyesters of glycolic acid combined with adipic acid and 1,4 butanediol were synthesized, their in vitro hydrolytic degradation was studied and correlated with their structure. The hydrolytic degradation of the copolyesters was directly related with the degree of crystallinity and the diameter of the crystallites. It was found that glycolate units disturb the ordering of the butylene adipate units, which results in a decrease of the crystallinity. By comparing the hydrolysis parameters of synthesized copolyesters with those of similar aliphatic copolyesters a hydrolysis mechanism was proposed. According to this mechanism, the degradation takes place not only by the loss of end units, but also through the removal of larger segments. MALDI-TOF MS data showed that the possibility of a copolyester macromolecule forming cyclic structures correlates with the arrangement of ester groups in the macromolecules and the structure of the linear segments.
A recently introduced procedure involving a mechanistic switch from reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to ring-opening polymerization (ROP) to form diblock copolymers is applied to synthesize ABA (star) block copolymers. The synthetic steps include the polymerization of styrene with R-group designed RAFT agents, the transformation of the thiocarbonyl thio end groups into OH functionalities, and their subsequent chain extension by ROP. The obtained linear ABA poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(styrene)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (pCL-b-pS-b-pCL) (12 500 g mol1 ≤ Mn ≤ 33 000 g mol1) and the star-shaped poly(styrene)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (Mn = 36 000 g mol1) copolymers were analyzed by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The focus of the current study is on the detailed characterization of the ABA (star) block polymers via multidimensional chromatographic techniques specifically high performance liquid chromatography coupled to size exclusion chromatography (HPLC-SEC). In particular, we demonstrate the first time separation of poly(ε-caprolactone) (pCL) homopolymer and additionally poly(styrene) (pS) from the ABA poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-poly(styrene)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) and star-shaped poly(styrene)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) block copolymer utilizing critical conditions (CC) for pCL with concomitant gradient elution liquid chromatography (GELC).
Hyphenated techniques
(2012)
The MALDI-TOF MS analysis of copolymers very often results in complex spectra. A chromatographic separation/fractionation prior to the MALDI investigation can be advantageous since the MALDI mass spectra of fractions very often reveal well-resolved peaks of distinguishable copolymer series. For this purpose, different modes of chromatography have been applied. Chromatographic runs were transferred to MALDI targets utilizing a combined air/electrospray deposition device. Using the new MassChrom2D software, fraction-dependent 2D copolymer compositions plots were obtained providing additional information on the chromatographic mode, and enabling fast modification of conditions to increase separation.