Water-Soluble Metallocene-Containing Polymers

Metallocenes are organometallic compounds with reversible redox profiles and tunable oxidation and reduction potentials, depending on the metal and substituents at the cyclopentadienyl rings. Metallocenes have been introduced in macromolecules to combine the redox-activity with polymer properties. There are many examples of such hydrophobic polymer materials, but much fewer water-soluble examples are found scattered across the polymer literature. However, in terms of drug delivery and other biological applications, water solubility is essential. For this very reason, all the synthetic routes to water-soluble metallocene containing polymers are collected and discussed here. The focus is on neutral ferrocene- and ruthenocene-containing and charged cobaltocenium-containing macromolecules (i.e., symmetrical sandwich complexes). The synthetic protocols, self-assembly behavior, and other benefits of the obtained materials are discussed.