Study of sulfonation of hydrogenated styrene/isoprene block copolymer and evaluation of its biocompatibility

Abstract

In this study triblock copolymer tSIS has been successfully polymerized by anionic polymerization The hard segment of tSIS will be made up with specific ratios of styrene and tert-butyl styrene for the purpose of controlling the degree of sulfonation Functionalization with sulfonic groups in block copolymer allows this polymer to achieve an excellent balance among various applications mainly thanks to its block molecular structure and functionalization with sulfonic hydrophilicity and mechanical stability After the hydrogenation of tSIS selective sulfonation process was conducted introducing the hydrophilic sulfonic functional groups into the tSEPS triblock copolymer Besides thinner SBC films for a variety of useful applications such as membrane materials antimicrobial films was also difficult because the films obtained after heat treatment do not maintain their forms and immediately shrink and deform Therefore SBC thin films were prepared as a composite by using PP and wax to improve its flexibility In this research sulfonated tSEPS and sulfonated tSEPS/PP films demonstrated promising balance of hydrophilicity and structural integrity Sulfonated tSEPS films remained physical intact in aqueous solution Finally platelet adhesion assay and cytotoxicity tests suggested that sulfonated tSEPS exhibits great potential in being future candidates for wound dressing or in tissue engineering applications

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English
Supervisor	Jui-Che Lin (Supervisor)