Polymer- and Colloid-Functionalization Using a Combination Of ATRP and Click Chemistry

A straightforward click reaction (i.e. copper catalyzed 1,3 dipolar Huisgen cycloaddition of azides and terminal alkynes) was used as a complementary tool for functionalizing well-defined polymers prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The bromine chain-ends of polystyrene or poly(acrylate) backbones were first transformed into azide end-groups via nucleophilic substitution and subsequently involved in “click” cycloaddition reactions with various functional alkynes. This efficient ATRP/“click” dual synthetic strategy was employed for preparing a wide variety of tailor-made functional materials such as telechelics, polymer-bioconjugates or shell-functionalized polymeric micelles.