Coumarin‐Caged Polyphosphazenes with a Visible‐Light Driven On‐Demand Degradation

Polymers that, upon photochemical activation with visible light, undergo rapid degradation to small molecules are described. Through functionalization of a polyphosphazene backbone with pendant coumarin groups sensitive to light, polymers which are stable in the dark could be prepared. Upon irradiat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Macromolecular rapid communications. 2018-09, Vol.39 (18), p.e1800377-n/a
Main Authors: Iturmendi, Aitziber, Theis, Sabrina, Maderegger, Dominik, Monkowius, Uwe, Teasdale, Ian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Backbone
Biological materials
Carboxylic acids
Coumarin
Degradation
Irradiation
Macromolecules
on‐demand degradation
photocages
Photochemicals
photodegradable
Photodegradation
Polymers
Polyphosphazenes
Radiation
visible light
Water soluble polymers
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Summary:Polymers that, upon photochemical activation with visible light, undergo rapid degradation to small molecules are described. Through functionalization of a polyphosphazene backbone with pendant coumarin groups sensitive to light, polymers which are stable in the dark could be prepared. Upon irradiation, cleavage of the coumarin moieties exposes carboxylic acid moieties along the polymer backbone. The subsequent macromolecular photoacid is found to catalyze the rapid hydrolytic degradation of the polyphosphazene backbone. Water‐soluble and non‐water‐soluble polymers are reported, which due to their sensitivity toward light in the visible region could be significant as photocleavable materials in biological applications. Photodegradable polyphosphazenes are prepared through the functionalization of the polymer backbone with photolabile coumarin moieties. The photocleavage with visible light produces a macromolecular photoacid which self‐catalyzes the rapid hydrolytic degradation of the polymers.
ISSN:1022-1336
1521-3927
DOI:10.1002/marc.201800377