KR-102961793-B1 - Polymer gels in the formation of polymer brushes

Abstract

The present invention relates to the use of polymer gels in the manufacture of polymer brushes. In particular, the present invention relates to polymer gels that swell within a polymerization medium. The present invention also relates to the use of polymer gels in the formation of polymer brushes on surfaces. The present invention provides improved methods for forming polymer brushes on surfaces and enables easy large-scale production of polymer brush-coated surfaces. In particular, the present invention enables the application of the polymerization medium to surfaces of all geometric structures.

Inventors

• 파그흐 니콜라이센, 자콥
• 안데르센, 아만다
• 릴레토룹, 미에
• 스코르키에르 콩스펠트, 미켈

Assignees

• 라디서프, 인크.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20201009

Priority Date

20191015

Claims (15)

1. A method for forming polymer brushes on a surface, wherein the surface having polymerization initiators fixed on top comes into contact with a polymer gel swollen in a polymerization medium, and the polymer gel can be removed from the surface after the formation of the polymer brushes.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the polymer gel is swollen in water, in a mixture of water and alcohol, in a mixture of water and an aprotic solvent, or in an aprotic solvent.
3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross-linking of the polymer gel is reversible.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the polymer gel is a polyallylamine (PAH)/tannic acid (TA)/Fe(III), chitosan/TA/Fe(III), collagen/TA/Fe(III), polyvinyl imidazole, poly(phosphoric acid 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate ester), or a polysaccharide such as sodium alginate, xanthan gum, and cyclodextrin.
5. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the polymer gel has metal chelating sites.
6. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the swollen polymer gel can be removed by adjusting the pH or temperature, by light exposure, or by sonication.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the use of a polymer gel that can be swollen and removed in the formation of the polymer brushes further comprises the step of uniformly distributing a polymerization medium on a surface having polymerization initiators fixed on top.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the polymer gel is a polyallylamine (PAH)/tannic acid (TA)/Fe(III), chitosan/TA/Fe(III), collagen/TA/Fe(III), polyvinyl imidazole, poly(phosphoric acid 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate ester), or a polysaccharide such as sodium alginate, xanthan gum, and cyclodextrin.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the polymerization medium comprises a combination of a solvent or solvents, monomers, ligands, a catalyst, and an activator.
10. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the polymer brushes are synthesized by surface-initiated polymerization (SIP).
11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the surface having polymerization initiators fixed on the upper surface is formed by fixing the polymerization initiators to the surface.
12. A method for forming polymer brushes on a surface, A step of immobilizing polymerization initiators on a surface; and The method includes the step of contacting the surface with a polymer gel swollen in a polymerization medium to form polymer brushes on the surface. A method characterized in that the polymer gel can be removed from the surface after the formation of the polymer brushes on the surface.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the polymerization medium comprises a combination of a solvent or solvents, monomers, ligands, a catalyst, and an activator.
14. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that, after the formation of the polymer brushes, the polymer gel is removed from the surface.
15. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the swollen polymer gel can be removed by adjusting the pH or temperature, by light exposure, or by sonication.

Description

Polymer gels in the formation of polymer brushes The present invention relates to the use of polymer gels in the formation of polymer brushes. In particular, the present invention relates to polymer gels that swell within a polymerization medium, said swollen polymer gels applied to the formation of polymer brushes. The present invention also relates to the use of polymer gels in the formation of polymer brushes on a surface. In particular, the polymer gels used in the present invention may swell within said polymerization medium and may be removed after the formation of said polymer brushes on the surface. The present invention provides improved methods for forming polymer brushes on a surface, thereby enabling the easy large-scale production of polymer brush-coated surfaces as well as the formation of specific polymer brushes. In particular, the present invention enables the application of said polymerization medium to surfaces of all geometric structures. The formation of polymer brushes is well known. Polymer brushes are polymer structures in which one end is connected to a substrate, such as metal, plastic, or ceramic materials. By utilizing specific manufacturing techniques and specific monomers, it is possible to design and synthesize polymer brushes with specific properties, such as chemical composition, thickness, implant density, and architecture. In particular, polymer brushes are used to bond otherwise incompatible materials, namely materials that may not be easily bonded by glue or conventional interconnection methods. A strong feature of the polymer brushes is that these materials can be bonded in a virtually invisible manner. Several methods for forming polymer brushes on a surface are known. When forming polymer brushes, polymerization initiators are first formed on the surface on which the polymer brushes are formed. Secondly, the surface comes into contact with suitable monomers, catalysts, ligands, and optionally a solvent, or suitable monomers, catalysts, ligands, a scavenger, and optionally a solvent, thereby allowing the polymer brushes to be formed using specific reaction conditions. The polymerization initiators and monomers are selected to suit the purposes and properties of the resulting polymer brushes. Additionally, polymer brushes can be formed as layers of polymer brushes by repeating the polymer brush formation process, for example, using different starting monomers. This can be achieved due to the controlled nature of the polymerization, which leaves initiation sites at the ends of the polymer brushes. To this day, the manufacture of the aforementioned polymer brushes and the handling of the reagents remain a task for experts. Furthermore, the production of large-scale polymer brush-coated surfaces presents various challenges, such as achieving an even distribution of reactants on the surface where the polymer brushes are formed, avoiding the formation of concave areas on the surface, or even regions where the reactants are absent. Another challenge is managing the evaporation of the solvent during the formation process, which inevitably leads to products with a non-uniform distribution of polymer brushes. Similarly, regions completely devoid of polymer brushes can be problematic and result in low-quality polymer brush products. To ensure the complete formation of polymer brushes on the surface, the surface can be completely immersed in the reactants; however, this approach may not be feasible for larger surfaces or substrates. Accordingly, there is a need to improve and ensure a uniform distribution of reactants for forming polymer brushes. Polymer gels are well-known materials. Polymer gels are found in many applications ranging from diapers to contact lenses and implants, as well as in tissue engineering. Polymer gels are three-dimensional polymer networks capable of absorbing large amounts of water (hydrogels) or organic solvents (organogels) up to 500 times their own weight. Polymer gels are formed by crosslinking polymers into a crosslinked polymer matrix. These crosslinking sites can be divided into reversible and irreversible crosslinks. Reversibly crosslinked polymer gels can be formed from other interactions or bonds, including ionic attraction, H-bonds, or metal coordination. Exposing the reversible polymer gels to specific stimuli results in the breakdown of these crosslinks. Irreversibly crosslinked polymer gels possess a network of covalent bonds and form a permanent gel network. Polymer gels possess numerous valuable characteristics, particularly viscoelastic responses to mechanical deformation. In particular, polymer gels have been proposed for various applications such as artificial muscles, purification or separation systems, regenerative medicine, biosensors, shape memory materials, transport systems, and molecular recognition systems. Therefore, polymer gels can absorb other compounds or react with other compounds. Recently, hydrogels (polymer gels swollen