Synthesis and Characterization of Functional Polymers Based on Trimethylolpropane Trimethacrylate and Glycidyl Methacrylate

Copolymers of trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) were prepared with various monomer-to-solvent ratios, GMA to TRIM ratios and with various types of porogens. These parameters affected the inner morphology of the polymers and various pore surface areas (100-500 m2/g) and pore size distributions were obtained. Small particles (10-30 mm) were obtained by using an ethylhydroxyethyl cellulose derivative (EHEC) as stabilizer and by homogenization of the suspension prior to polymerization. The mechanical stability derived from compression measurements was at least as good as for styrene-divinyl-benzene resins. The BET pore surface areas ranged from zero to about 470 m2/g. High performance size exclusion chromatography of polystyrene, with toluene as the mobile phase, showed that gels prepared with 25 vol.% of monomers in the feed could separate molecules ranging from 1 000 000 > Mn > 1800 (g/mole). The gels lost separation ability in the high molecular weight range as the monomer content in the feed increased. The gels were functionalized with various amines and chelators. Small reagents were preferably attached due to less steric hindrance. The reaction conditions were also important for the improvement of the yield of attached functional groups. The adsorption of copper ions to the polymer-supported chelating ligands (iminodiacetate, tris(2-aminoethyl)amine and tetraethylenepentamine) was proportional to the number of attached chelators. Promising results of the separation of proteins by immobilized metal ion chromatography (IMAC) were obtained, but will have to be investigated further