Curing of Bioinspired co-Polymers based on Vinyl Benzyl Thymine and vinylsulfonic acid

KM THISTLE; A. MCLAUGHLIN,; R. GURNEY; D. M. MARTINO

Bahia Blanca

Simposio; IX Simposio Argentino de Polímeros; 2011

Photo-crosslinkable water-soluble polymers based on vinylbenzylthymine (VBT) with anionic monomer vinyl phenilsulfonic acid sodium salt (VPS) having different co-polymer ratios were used for this study. When polymers are illuminated with UV light (~280nm), a photocyclization reaction between adjacent thymines is taking place, rendering it water-insoluble (Cheng et al. 1995). The crosslinking chemistry is derived from a photochemical transformation that occurs in nature: the photodimerization reaction 2π-2π of thymine in DNA when exposed to UV light (Blackburn, Davies, 1966; Lamola, Mittal, 1966). The final properties of the material depend greatly upon the crosslinking degree.