Ring Opening Functionalization of Thiolactone Homopolymers for ROS Scavenging

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomaterials Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS).
• Developing effective treatments for TBI-induced oxidative stress is crucial.
• Polymers offer potential for targeted ROS scavenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize thiolactone acrylamide (TLA) polymers for ROS neutralization.
• To investigate the modification of TLA polymers for tunable antioxidant properties.
• To evaluate the efficacy of modified TLA polymers in neutralizing ROS relevant to TBI.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of TLA polymers via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization.
• Modification of TLA polymers through ring-opening and thiol-ene reactions.
• Characterization of polymer properties, including molar mass and dispersity.
• Assessment of ROS neutralization capacity of modified polymers.

Main Results:

• Well-defined TLA polymers with controlled molar masses were synthesized using RAFT polymerization.
• Polymer modification yielded copolymers with varying thiol and thioether ratios.
• Polymers with higher thiol content showed rapid ROS neutralization.
• Thioether residues provided sustained ROS neutralization activity.

Conclusions:

• TLA polymers can be synthesized with controlled characteristics for biomedical applications.
• Post-polymerization modification allows for tuning of ROS scavenging kinetics.
• These functionalized polymers show promise as therapeutic agents for TBI by neutralizing ROS.