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Authors
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Mehner, F.; Bukane, A. R.; Keddie, D. J.; Geisler, M.; Lederer, A.; Voit, B.; Gaitzsch, J.
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Title
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RAFT enables controlled radical ring-opening polymerisation of cyclic ketene acetals for degradable nanoparticles
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Date
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09.04.2026
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Number
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0
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Abstract
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Following the demand for biodegradable polymers in biomedicine and cosmetics, the radical ring-opening polymerisation (RROP) of cyclic ketene acetals (CKAs) offers a robust synthesis approach to prepare a wide range of polyesters. Here we demonstrate a method to control the RROP of 2-methylene-1,3,6-trioxocane (MTC) in terms of molar mass, dispersity, end-group control and kinetics using the reversible addition and fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation (RAFT) methodology. Fine-tuning the ratio between the reactants allows for a better understanding of the interplay of RAFT and RROP. With so optimised reaction conditions, a well-defined PMTC-macroinitiator was obtained and a chain extension with MTC and 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (MDO) was applied to form P(CKA-b-CKA) block copolymers. These were then formulated into fully biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles with tuneable degradation time. This work hence pushes the boundaries of RROP towards a whole expanded range of defined homopolymers and fully CKA-based block-copolymers as well as their completely biodegradable nanoparticles. This controlled RROP opens more areas of application for RROP-based polyesters.
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Publisher
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Springer Nature
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Wikidata
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Citation
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Communications Chemistry 9 (2026) 156
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DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-026-01997-6
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