SBIR Phase I: Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic Graft Copolymers for Utility as Thermoplastic Hydrogels

拟议项目的智力价值是什么？这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将建立生产一类新型两亲性接枝共聚物作为热塑性水凝胶共聚物的可行性。热塑性水凝胶是不可商购的，并且会引起极大的兴趣，因为与常规的交联水凝胶材料不同，它们可以通过溶剂浇铸、挤出、热成型或热熔注射从溶液或热加工成任何形式/形状。所提出的技术创新将通过设计一系列具有明确定义的、可调节的大分子结构的两亲性接枝共聚物来实现，所述大分子结构沿着链具有和不具有抗微生物侧基。该项目将探索一系列的化学成分与疏水接枝的化学性质和浓度的变化。基础聚合物聚（2-乙基-2-恶唑啉）是一种市售聚合物，其是热稳定的、无定形的、水溶性的、可挤出的聚合物。物理交联将通过微相分离实现。在水的存在下，亲水性主链将溶胀。膨胀程度和机械性能将通过调整大分子结构来控制，以满足所需的应用要求。拟议项目的更广泛/商业影响是什么？该项目的更广泛/商业影响将是开发针对伤口护理、水净化膜、印刷用喷墨接收层和热成型隐形眼镜的特定应用而定制的可加工水凝胶。通过使用活性聚合方法的受控合成方法来定制这些材料的性能的能力将大大提高它们服务于这些不同行业的实用性。热塑性水凝胶可以被加工，而交联水凝胶是不溶的和不熔的。低成本的加工方法，如热成型，注塑或挤出提供了显着的经济优势，超过目前市场上的许多水凝胶产品。此外，调节组合物和定制亲水/疏水性质和微相分离（其控制溶胀度）的能力将使得能够优化广泛的潜在应用的性能。沿链沿着引入非浸出抗微生物基团将增强它们在伤口护理和水净化膜中的效用。与物理和热机械数据相关的表面和本体形态的研究将有助于更好地理解两亲性接枝共聚物作为组成和观察到的形态的函数的结构-性能关系。

What is the intellectual merit of the proposed project?This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility of producing a novel class of amphiphilic graft copolymers to serve as thermoplastic hydrogel copolymers. Thermoplastic hydrogels are not available commercially and would be of great interest because, unlike conventional cross-linked hydrogel materials, they can be processed from solution or thermally into any form/shape via solvent casting, extrusion, thermoforming or hot melt injection. The proposed technology innovation will be achieved by the design of a series of amphiphilic graft copolymers with well-defined, adjustable macromolecular architectures with and without antimicrobial pendant groups along the chain. The project will explore a range of chemical compositions with variations in the chemical nature and concentration of hydrophobic grafts. The base polymer, poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline), is a commercially available polymer that is thermally stable, amorphous, water soluble, extrudable polymer. Physical crosslinks will be achieved by microphase separation. In the presence of water the hydrophilic backbone will swell. The degree of swelling and mechanical properties will be controlled by adjusting the macromolecular architecture tailored to the desired application requirements.What are the broader/commercial impacts of the proposed project?The broader/commercial impact of this project will be to develop processible hydrogels tailored for specific applications for wound care, water purification membranes, ink jet receptive layers for printing and thermoform contact lenses. The ability to tailor the properties of these materials by controlled synthetic methods using living polymerization methods will greatly enhance their utility to serve these diverse industries. Thermoplastic hydrogels can be processed, whereas cross-linked hydrogels are insoluble and infusible. Low cost processing methods such as thermoforming, injection molding or extrusion offer significant economic advantage over many current hydrogel products on the market. Moreover, the ability to adjust the composition and tailor the hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature and microphase separation, which controls the degree of swelling, will enable the optimization of performance for a wide range of potential applications. The incorporation of non-leaching antimicrobial groups along the chain will enhance their utility in wound care and water purification membranes. Investigation of the surface and bulk morphology correlated to physical and thermo-mechanical data will help to obtain a better understanding of structure-property relationship of amphiphilic graft copolymers as a function of composition and observed morphology.