Tri-Block Copolymers Obtained by RAFT Polymerization: A Promising Material for Drug-Delivery Systems

Abstract

Tri-block copolymer with pH- and thermo-responsive consisting of poly(t-butylacrylate) and poly(vinylcaprolactam), (PtBA/PVCL) were prepared by RAFT polymerization and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and 1H NMR. PtBA and PVCL were used as macro chain-transfer agents (MCTA) to synthesize PtBA-b-PVCL-b-PtBA and/or PVCL-b-PtBA-b-PVCL, which after partial hydrolysis led to amphiphilic tri-block copolymers P(tBA-co-AA)-b-PVCL-b-P(tBA-co-AA) and/or PVCL-b-P(tBA-co-AA)-b-PVCL.