APPLICATION OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE SYNTHESIS OF HYDROPHILIC POLY(CARBONATE)S AS NOVEL BIODEGRADABLE HYDROGEL MATERIALS

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This proposal examines the synthesis and application of polymers derived from carbon dioxide as novel biodegradable hydrogel materials. Hydrogels are an important class of material that find numerous applications including tissue engineering and drug-delivery. The application of mechanically strong yet degradable materials such as poly(carbonate)s will provide improved materials in this arena. In addition to the importance of the final products resulting from this work, the proposal also deals with the development of new technology for the utilization of carbon dioxide as a chemical feedstock. The synthesis of hydrophilic poly(carbonate)s remains a significant challenge. Recent advances in catalyst technology have seen the realization of extremely active metal complexes for the alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide with propylene oxide and this proposal will study the optimization of these systems for a range of new substituted hydrophilic and latent hydrophilic monomer feedstocks. In addition this proposal will, for the first time, examine the synthesis of multi-functional and responsive poly(carbonate)s by this methodology. The combination of these fundamental studies will result in the application of several novel copolymers in hydrogel synthesis allowing the production, characterization and evaluation of the properties of these highly novel materials as a function of polymer functionality and structure.