Controlled radical polymerization and click chemistry as a route to complex macromolecular architectures for nanomedical applications

In the present thesis, well-defined complex polymeric architectures are realized via a combination of controlled radical polymerization (CRP) and click chemistry techniques. Reversible-addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization is predominantly used to generate well-defined polymers which are then conjugated to other polymers or functionalized by the click techniques to attain varied morphologies such as stars, dendrimers and combs via a modular approach. The click techniques used are the copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), the hetero-Diels Alder (HDA) cycloaddition and the thiol-alkyne addition. These techniques allow access to architectures and compositions that were either not possible or difficult to synthesize previously, and thus enabling the fine-tuning of the macromolecules to an unprecedented degree. The potential of these polymers in nanomedical applications is then shown with the functionalization of the polymers with saccharides for protein recognition systems, or oxoplatin, an analogue of cisplatin, a common chemotherapy drug. The high level of control over macromolecular architecture allows a very well targeted design of polymer based on the requirements of the specific application