title: Hybrid molecular brushes with chitosan backbone: facile synthesis and surface grafting.
abstract: We developed a facile route toward amphiphilic hybrid molecular brushes (HMB) with chitosan backbone and concurrently grafted chains of poly(acrylamide) and polystyrene. The grafting occurs through amino groups of chitosan; no extra modification of chitosan is required. The kinetic and molecular weight characteristics of the primary molecular brush CHI-graft-PAAm are studied. The second step is grafting of PS by emulsion polymerization. The resulting HMB CHI-graft-PAAm-graft-PS form very stable emulsions. We attached the HMB on solid substrates using chitosan backbone by the "grafting to" approach. Thin films of the immobilized HMB of 3-11 nm thickness completely cover the surface. Being amphiphilic by nature, the immobilized HMB reveal the ability to adapt to the medium, which results in shifting of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance over a wide range.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of the Sciences , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Desirae L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hall-Edgefield
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Kimmy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sidorenko
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D058105:Polymerization; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties; D000099166:Polyacrylamides
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D048271:Chitosan; D011137:Polystyrenes; D000099166:Polyacrylamides
keywords: chitosan; comb copolymers; emulsion polymerization; graft copolymers; molecular bottlebrush; switchable surfaces