Design strategies for functionalized poly(2-oxazoline)s and derived materials

Abstract

The polymer class of poly(2-oxazoline)s currently is under intensive investigation due to the versatile properties that can be tailor-made by thevariation and manipulation of the functional groups they bear. In particular their utilization in the biomedic(in)al field is the subject of numerous studies. Given the mechanism of the cationic ring-opening polymerization, aplethora of synthetic strategies exists for the preparation of poly(2-oxazoline)s with dedicated functionality patterns, comprising among others the functionalization by telechelic end-groups, the incorporation of substitutedmonomers into (co)poly(2-oxazoline)s, and polymeranalogous reactions. This review summarizes the current state-of-the-art of poly(2-oxazoline) preparation and showcases prominent examples of poly(2-oxazoline)-based materials,which are retraced to the desktop-planned synthetic strategy and the variability of their properties for dedicated applications. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.