Environmentally Benign CO2-Based Copolymers: Degradable Polycarbonates Derived from Dihydroxybutyric Acid and Their Platinum–Polymer Conjugates

(S)-3,4-Dihydroxybutyric acid ((S)-3,4-DHBA), an endogenous straight chain fatty acid, is a normal human urinary metabolite and can be obtained as a valuable chiral biomass for synthesizing statin-class drugs. Hence, its epoxide derivatives should serve as promising monomers for producing biocompatible polymers via alternating copolymerization with carbon dioxide. In this report, we demonstrate the production of poly(tert-butyl 3,4-dihydroxybutanoate carbonate) from racemic-tert-butyl 3,4-epoxybutanoate (rac-tBu 3,4-EB) and CO2 using bifunctional cobalt(III) salen catalysts. The copolymer exhibited greater than 99% carbonate linkages, 100% head-to-tail regioselectivity, and a glass-transition temperature (Tg) of 37 °C. By way of comparison, the similarly derived polycarbonate from the sterically less congested monomer, methyl 3,4-epoxybutanoate, displayed 91.8% head-to-tail content and a lower Tg of 18 °C. The tert-butyl protecting group of the pendant carboxylate group was removed using trifluoroacetic a...