Facile preparation of polyester–polyglutamate diblock copolymers through regioselective polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride

Abstract

Polyester–polypeptide block copolymers have shown great potential as biomaterials by combining the properties and advantages of both polymers. The preparation of the hybrid materials, however, is limited by the tedious protection/deprotection of chain-ends. Herein, we report the facile preparation of polyester–polyglutamate from bifunctional aminoalkyl alcohols, which regioselectively initiate the polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) from the amino groups with negligible interference from the hydroxyl groups. Hydroxyl-capped polypeptide macroinitiators were then used for the preparation of diblock copolymers by skipping the conventional protection/deprotection steps. We believe that this work provides new insights into NCA stability against hydroxyl molecules, allowing for the preparation of well-defined polyester–polyglutamate copolymers in an efficient manner.