title: Plants to Polyelectrolytes: Theophylline Polymers and Their Microsphere Synthesis.
abstract: To extend fossil oil supplies, sustainable feed stocks for the production of useful reagents and polymers should be harnessed. In this regard, chemicals derived from plants are excellent candidates. While the vast majority of plant sources used for polymer science only contain CxHyOz, alkaloids such as caffeine, nicotine, and theophylline possess nitrogen functionality that can provide new functions for bioderived polymers and their synthesis. In this context, the chemistry of theophylline, a natural product found in chocolate and tea, is exploited to create a cationic "poly(theophylline)" in a straightforward fashion for the first time. This work demonstrates how this new polymer can be synthesized and used for the creation of narrowly disperse cationic microspheres.
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1 OT Golm, D-14476, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guterman
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1 OT Golm, D-14476, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antonietti
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1 OT Golm, D-14476, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Jiayin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010316:Particle Size; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013806:Theophylline / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000071228:Polyelectrolytes; D011108:Polymers; D013806:Theophylline
keywords: alkaloid; ionic liquid; poly(ionic liquid); polyelectrolyte; polymer