Disulfide-containing monomers in chain-growth polymerization

Abstract

Due to the significance of disulfide bonds within modern material and medicinal sciences, much attention has been paid to the synthesis of disulfide-containing polymers. Within this review article, we attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the diversity of disulfide-containing polymers that can be obtained by the chain-growth polymerization of disulfide-containing monomers. This article covers the synthesis of polymers by free radical polymerization (FRP), i.e., vinyl monomers having side-chains incorporating disulfide bonds, and also the polymerization of disulfide containing heterocyclic monomers by ring-opening polymerization (ROP/rROP/ROMP). In addition, polymerization where disulfide-containing heterocycles undergo a ring-opening process that directly involves the disulfide bond are discussed. The article summarizes the state-of-the-art in polymer synthesis, and also outlines various post-polymerization modifications and biological application studies that demonstrate the importance of disulfide containing macromolecules in polymer science.