Talk as part of a colloquium in Polymer chemistry and technology.

Summary: The living cationic ring-opening polymerization of 2-oxazolines was discovered in 1966. The versatility of this polymerization method allows copolymerization of a variety of 2-oxazoline monomers to give a range of tunable polymer properties that enable, for example, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, fluorophilic, as well as hard and soft materials. In this lecture, I will illustrate how advances in the fundamental understanding of poly(2-oxazoline) synthesis, monomer reactivity, and polymerization kinetics drive the rational design of advanced polymer structures, ultimately leading to opportunities in functional biomaterials.
The lecture will start with a general introduction on poly(2-oxazoline)s. Next, I will discuss fundamental studies to expand the monomer scope, via the synthesis of well-defined high-molar-mass polymers to functional polymers, enabling their use as pharmaceutical excipients for oral dosage forms, polymer therapeutics, hydrogels, and medical devices, including the approved Ethizia hemostatic patch.