Functional porous membranes from amorphous linear dendritic polyester hybrids

Abstract

By combining ATRP, dendrimer chemistry and ‘click’ reactions, a library of novel linear dendritic block copolymers (hybrids) was successfully synthesized. The isolated polymers displayed hydrophilic alkyne groups and T_g's ranging from 14 °C to 67 °C. A T_g threshold of 39 °C was found necessary for straightforward porous membrane fabrication via the breath figure method. Exploiting the copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction, a robust and benign protocol was identified enabling surface functionalization under aqueous conditions. Such manipulations included the introduction of fluorescent rhodamine for thorough assessment by confocal fluorescence microscopy as well as polyethylene glycol chains or perfluorinated groups for tuning the membrane wettability. Finally, with the initial indication of being nontoxic to human dermal fibroblasts (hDF) and osteoblast-like MG63, the porous membranes can potentially find use in the field of controlled cell culture such as patterning of cell growth.