Synthesis of poly(butadiene-alt-maleic anhydride) copolymer and its adsorption to silicon wafer surfaces

POLY 296

Jung Ah Lee, jungah@polysci.umass.edu and T. McCarthy, tmccarthy@polysci.umass.edu. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, 120 Governors Dr, Conte A533, Amherst, MA 01003
Over the past two decades there has been increased interest in bioadhesive polymers. Bioadhesion involves the attachment of a natural or synthetic polymer to a biological substrate. Bioadhesion research has investigated the adhesion of thin films and microparticles based on hydrophilic polymers like polyanhydrides and poly(acrylic acid) polymers. However, the adhesion mechanism of polymer systems has not been well characterized. In this study, we synthesized butadiene maleic anhydride copolymer (BMA), which shows superior bioadhesive properties and enables the design of controlled release drug delivery systems. Many copolymers of maleic anhydride and other monomers have been reported and alternating polymerization is the general rule, although there are exceptions with other electron-withdrawing substituted olefins. We also studied the adsorption behavior of BMA and its reactivity with nucleophiles on Si wafers to elucidate general mechanism for modification of anhydride containing polymers.