A copolymer includes a repeating unit represented by Formula (I); and a repeating unit represented by Formula (II), in Formula (I), R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; R.sup.2 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms and having at least one fluorine atom as a substituent, or a group including Si(R.sup.a3)(R.sup.a4)O; L represents a divalent linking group as defined herein; and R.sup.a3 and R.sup.a4 each independently represent an alkyl group as defined herein, in Formula (II), R.sup.10 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; R.sup.11 and R.sup.12 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl group; R.sup.11 and R.sup.12 may be linked to each other; and X.sup.1 represents a divalent linking group.

The object of the invention is polymer compositions comprising cross-linked polymer comprising boronic ester functions enabling exchange reactions, as well as free monofunctional boronic esters. The compositions are obtained from the modification of a polymer by a functionalised boronic ester additive. This polymer can be pre-functionalised boronic ester or functionalised on addition of the said additive. In particular, the invention relates to a process enabling the behaviour of a polymer to be modified by addition of a functional additive, enabling a cross-linked network containing exchangeable boronic ester links to be formed.

The object of the invention is polymer compositions comprising cross-linked polymer comprising boronic ester functions enabling exchange reactions, as well as free monofunctional boronic esters. The compositions are obtained from the modification of a polymer by a functionalised boronic ester additive. This polymer can be pre-functionalised boronic ester or functionalised on addition of the said additive. In particular, the invention relates to a process enabling the behaviour of a polymer to be modified by addition of a functional additive, enabling a cross-linked network containing exchangeable boronic ester links to be formed.

The present invention provides a nanoparticle including at least one polyvinyl alcohol) (PVA) having a molecular weight of from about 10 kDa to about 200 kDa, substituted with one or more moieties selected from: a therapeutic agent having a boronic acid moiety, wherein the therapeutic agent is covalently linked to the PVA via a boronate ester bond; a crosslinking group having a disulfide moiety, wherein the crosslinking group is covalently linked to the PVA, and a porphyrin, wherein the porphyrin is covalently linked to the PVA. Use of the nanoparticles for tumor detection and the treatment of diseases, including methods for photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy, are also described.

The object of the invention is a polymer composition including cross-linked polymers, which contain boronic ester functions enabling exchange reactions, as well as free monofunctional boronic esters. This composition originates from the polymerization of precursor monomers to thermoplastic polymers including at least one pending boronic ester group, the pending boronic ester group not containing any polymerizable groups, and cross-linking agent comprising at least one boronic ester group. This enables the formation of a network of cross-linked polymers containing pending functions and cross-links that are exchangeable by boronic ester metathesis reactions. Another object of the invention is processes for preparing this composition and materials and formulations comprising this composition.

The object of the invention is a polymer composition including cross-linked polymers, which contain boronic ester functions enabling exchange reactions, as well as free monofunctional boronic esters. This composition originates from the polymerization of precursor monomers to thermoplastic polymers including at least one pending boronic ester group, the pending boronic ester group not containing any polymerizable groups, and cross-linking agent comprising at least one boronic ester group. This enables the formation of a network of cross-linked polymers containing pending functions and cross-links that are exchangeable by boronic ester metathesis reactions. Another object of the invention is processes for preparing this composition and materials and formulations comprising this composition.

The object of the invention is a polymer compositions comprising cross-linked polymer comprising boronic ester functions enabling exchange reactions, as well as free monofunctional boronic esters. The compositions are obtained from the modification of a polymer by a functionalized boronic ester additive. This polymer can be pre-functionalized boronic ester or functionalized on addition of the said additive. In particular, the invention relates to a process enabling the behavior of a polymer to be modified by addition of a functional additive, enabling a cross-linked network containing exchangeable boronic ester links to be formed.

The object of the invention is a polymer compositions comprising cross-linked polymer comprising boronic ester functions enabling exchange reactions, as well as free monofunctional boronic esters. The compositions are obtained from the modification of a polymer by a functionalized boronic ester additive. This polymer can be pre-functionalized boronic ester or functionalized on addition of the said additive. In particular, the invention relates to a process enabling the behavior of a polymer to be modified by addition of a functional additive, enabling a cross-linked network containing exchangeable boronic ester links to be formed.

The present invention discloses a freezing-illumination method for preparing porous gels, comprising the steps of: (a) synthesizing the gels containing dynamic exchangeable bonds; (b) illuminating the gels under frozen state by certain wavelength light source; (c) elevating the temperature and melt the ice crystals within the gels to get the porous structure. The dynamic exchangeable bonds existing in the gels include double/multi-sulfur bond, hydrazine bond, boronic ester bond. Catalyst is also included in the gel composition to activate the bond exchange reactions under illumination. This new method for preparing porous gels is easy to operate and suitable for most kinds of gels. Meanwhile, it can spatially control the pore structure within the gels by local illumination.

The present invention discloses a freezing-illumination method for preparing porous gels, comprising the steps of: (a) synthesizing the gels containing dynamic exchangeable bonds; (b) illuminating the gels under frozen state by certain wavelength light source; (c) elevating the temperature and melt the ice crystals within the gels to get the porous structure. The dynamic exchangeable bonds existing in the gels include double/multi-sulfur bond, hydrazine bond, boronic ester bond. Catalyst is also included in the gel composition to activate the bond exchange reactions under illumination. This new method for preparing porous gels is easy to operate and suitable for most kinds of gels. Meanwhile, it can spatially control the pore structure within the gels by local illumination.