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Published on: June 7, 2024
Quaternized Sodium Alginate-g-Ethyl-Oxazoline Copolymer Brushes and Their Supramolecular Networks via Hydrogen
Yu-Zhuang Gao1, Ang Li1, Jun-Cai Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 15 North 3th-Ring East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
Abstract:
Novel copolymer brushes of quaternized sodium alginate-g-(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) are achieved by the grafting reaction of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline (EOX) from benzyl bromide groups in quaternized sodium alginate (QSA). The average number of (EOX) structural units is mediated from 1 to 5 by changing the molar ratio of the EOX monomer to benzyl bromide side groups. There exists obvious microphase separation between the QSA backbone and (EOX) segments in the copolymer brushes due to their thermodynamic incompatibility. The strong hydrogen-bonding interaction between -OH groups in the backbone and N─C═O groups in (EOX) segments is helpful for the construction of reversible supramolecular networks. The copolymer brushes show low cytotoxicity for HeLa cells and good antibacterial properties for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus for the contribution of hydrophilic (EOX) segments and antibacterial activity of the quaternary ammonium. The antiprotein behavior of polymer surfaces is improved after rearrangement of (EOX) segments by tetrahydrofuran (THF) vapor induction. These copolymer brushes have good prospects for biomedical applications.
