Poly(vinyl diaminotriazine): From Molecular Recognition to High-Strength Hydrogels

Poly(2-vinyl-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine), (PVDT) with diaminotriazine residues is found to form not only intramolecular hydrogen bonds, but also three robust, complementary hydrogen bonds with nucleobases such as thymine and uracil. Taking advantage of the three complementary hydrogen bonds, molecular recognition of a nucleic acid base has been investigated in previous work. Over the past few years, the use of PVDT has been extended to the construction of gene delivery vectors and nonswellable, high-strength hydrogels by copolymerization with a hydrophilic monomer and/or crosslinker. In particular, many fascinating properties, such as excellent mechanical properties, stimuli responsiveness, the shape memory effect, and biodegradability, have emerged in PVDT-based hydrogels. In this article, the molecular recognition and self-assembly of diaminotriazine are introduced first, and then a particular focus is placed on the development of PVDT-based high performance hydrogels, especially their biorelated applications.