Abstract
New amphiphilic graft copolymers that have a poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) biodegradable hydrophobic backbone and poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) or poly(2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) hydrophilic side chains have been prepared by anionic polymerization of the corresponding 4VP and DMAEMA monomers using a PCL-based macropolycarbanion as initiator. The water solubility of these amphiphilic copolymers is improved by quaternization, which leads to fully water-soluble cationic copolymers that give micellar aggregates in deionized water with diameters ranging from 65 to 125 nm. In addition, to improve the hydrophilicity of PCL-g-P4VP, grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments has been carried out to give a water-soluble double grafted PCL-g-(P4VP;PEG) terpolymer.