A convenient way to synthesize comb-shaped chitosan-graft-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymer.

Comb-shaped copolymers comprised of hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks are self-assembled in aqueous solution, which results that they are suitable for delivery of hydrophobic drug molecules. Chitosan (CS) is an important biomaterial used widely in medical applications. Herein, a comb-shaped cationic copolymer composed of long biocompatible CS main chains and short PNIPAAm side chains was prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) by attaching an ATRP initiating group to N-phthaloyl chitosan. By subsequent removal of the protective groups on N-phthaloyl chitosan-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PHCS-g-PNIPAAm) copolymer with N(2)H(4)·H(2)O lead to the polymer pendant amino groups, this study attempted to synthesize a pH/temperature multi-responsive material. This chitosan-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (CS-g-PNIPAAm) copolymer is self-assembled in aqueous solution into stimuli-responsive core-shell micelles with hydrodynamic diameters of about 170 nm. Structural organization and solution behavior were then investigated utilizing (1)H NMR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS).