A new type of hybrid polymer may offer new opportunities for drug delivery, self-repair, and responsiveness.
The polymer combines covalent components and noncovalently bonded supramolecular components. The covalent pieces form a backbone with spoke-like projections. Tucked between those projections are the supramolecular parts. The result, says Samuel Stupp, a professor of chemistry at Northwestern Univ., is a material that combines the strength of traditional, covalently bonded materials with the flexible mechanical properties of supramolecular polymers.
“Once people realize that this type of hybrid material can be developed, I think there will be lots of ideas to create interesting forms of them,” Stupp says.
Stupp and his team were interested in developing materials that might mimic biological components, like the structural skeleton of a cell, which is strong, yet dynamic. While the weak, noncovalent bonds of supramolecular polymers give these materials the ability to reversibly change, it is difficult to make these materials strong and tough, Stupp says.
▲ Researchers at Northwestern Univ. have developed a new hybrid polymer with removable supramolecular compartments. The polymer consists of a covalent polymer backbone — a hard core of phenyl groups (yellow)...
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