polymerguru

Caltech scientists have developed a new kind of polymer that can carry a chemical payload as part of its molecular structure and release it in response to mechanical stress. The chemical system they have developed could one day be used to create medical implants that can release drugs into the body when triggered by something like ultrasound waves, they say. Set of Polymer Chains Bonded to the Payload System The new material consists of a set of polymer chains bonded to the payload system, creating a mechanically sensitive unit called a mechanophore. A so-called cascade reaction ejects the payload from the polymer. In simple terms, force applied to the polymer causes weak bonds in the mechanophore to rupture, spitting out an unstable intermediate molecule that promptly breaks down to release the attached payload. Release of Coumarin Dye In their paper, the authors demonstrate the release of a coumarin dye, an organic molecule with useful properties, but they say the polymer ...

Using this fiber as a support layer could lighten advanced membranes used in greenhouse gas separation and hydrogen production and make them more compact, thereby enhancing performance. The company will keep pushing ahead with R&D for this new material to foster carbon recycling, collaborating with other entities in developing applications to sustainably tap hydrogen energy and shrink environmental footprints. Absorption- and adsorption-based facilities conventionally separate carbon dioxide, biogas, hydrogen, and other gases. The issue with such setups, however, is that they are large and consume a lot of energy, resulting in heavy carbon dioxide emissions. Gas separation methods employing membranes have thus attracted considerable attention. But despite ongoing research, no membranes have yet combined satisfactory gas separation performance and durability. Toray’s new material is chemically stable because it comprises carbon, and offers outstanding gas permea...

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MIT chemists have devised a way to synthesize polymers that can break down more readily in the body and in the environment. Ring-opening Metathesis Polymerization A chemical reaction called ring-opening metathesis polymerization, or ROMP, is handy for building novel polymers for various uses such as nanofabrication, high-performance resins, and delivering drugs or imaging agents. However, one downside to this synthesis method is that the resulting polymers do not naturally break down in natural environments, such as inside the body. Making Polymers More Degradable The MIT research team has come up with a way to make those polymers more degradable by adding a novel type of building block to the backbone of the polymer. This new building block, or monomer, forms chemical bonds that can be broken down by weak acids, bases, and ions such as fluoride. “ We believe that this is the first general way to produce ROMP polymers with facile degradability under biologically relevant...