Investigation of factors influencing the chemoenzymatic synthesis of block copolymers

The chemoenzymatic synthesis of block copolymers from a bifunctional initiator using enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (eROP) and ATRP in two consecutive steps was investigated. First, a polycaprolactone (PCL) macroinitiator was obtained via an enzymatic ring-opening polymerization initiated by the bifunctional initiator. By carefully managing the water activity in the system, the amount of PCL not initiated by the bifunctional initiator was reduced t