Polylactic acid-backbone graft and bottlebrush copolymers with low moisture vapor transmission rates are synthesized by polymerizing a lactide-functionalized hydrophobic macromonomer using ring-opening polymerization (ROP). In some embodiments of the present invention, the macromonomer is a lactide-functionalized hydrophobic polymer that may be synthesized by, for example, polymerizing a hydrophobic monomer (e.g., a fluorinated vinyl monomer such as 2,2,2-trifluroethyl methacrylate) capable of undergoing radical polymerization (e.g., styrenic, vinylic, acrylic, etc.) using a brominated lactide initiator via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The brominated lactide initiator may be 3-bromo-3,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione prepared by, for example, reacting lactide with N-bromosuccinimide in the presence of benzoyl peroxide.

The present invention relates to the field of copolymers which are water-soluble or water-dispersible at neutral pH or near-neutral pH, that is to say between 5.5 and 9.5, comprising at least one random copolymer comprising methacrylic acid, butyl acrylate, styrene and a monomer chosen from styrenesulfonic acid or salts thereof, vinylbenzoic acid or salts thereof, 2-acrylamido-2-methanesulfonic acid or salts thereof, N-vinylpyrrolidone, alone or in combination.

Disclosed herein is a pattern forming method comprising providing a substrate devoid of a layer of a brush polymer; disposing upon the substrate a composition comprising a block copolymer comprising a first polymer and a second polymer; where the first polymer and the second polymer of the block copolymer are different from each other; and an additive polymer where the additive polymer comprises a bottlebrush polymer; where the bottlebrush polymer comprises a polymeric chain backbone and a grafted polymer that are bonded to each other; and where the bottlebrush polymer comprises a polymer that is chemically and structurally the same as one of the polymers in the block copolymer or where the bottlebrush polymer comprises a polymer that has a preferential interaction with one of the blocks of the block copolymers; and a solvent; and annealing the composition to facilitate domain separation between the first polymer and the second polymer.

Provided is a compound which is excellent terms of stability and tight adhesion to substrates and on which wiring can be formed by electroless plating. The compound is a high-molecular-weight compound having a constituent unit represented by the following formula (1). [In formula (1), R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, m is an integer of 2-20, and Q represents a photosensitive leaving group.]

The present invention provides multi-armed high MW polymers containing hydrophilic groups and one or more functional agents, and methods of preparing such polymers.

A polymeric compound is disclosed herein, having the general formula I: ##STR00001##
wherein m, n, X, Y, Z and L are as defined herein. Further disclosed herein are lipid bilayers comprising at least one bilayer-forming lipid and the aforementioned polymeric compound, and liposomes comprising such a bilayer, as well as methods, uses and compositions utilizing such bilayers and/or liposomes for reducing a friction coefficient of a surface and/or for inhibiting biofilm formation.

Stimuli-responsive NPs with excellent stability, high loading efficiency, encapsulation of multiple agents, targeting to certain cells, tissues or organs of the body, can be used as delivery tools. These NPs contain a hydrophobic inner core and hydrophilic outer shell, which endows them with high stability and the ability to load therapeutic agents with high encapsulation efficiency. The NPs are preferably formed from amphiphilic stimulus-responsive polymers or a mixture of amphiphilic and hydrophobic polymers or compounds, at least one type of which is stimuli-responsive. These NPs can be made so that their cargo is released primarily within target certain cells, tissues or organs of the body, upon exposure to endogenous or exogenous stimuli. The rate of release can be controlled so that it may be a burst, sustained, delayed, or a combination thereof. The NPs have utility as research tools or for clinical applications including diagnostics, therapeutics, or combination of both.

Described herein are pH responsive compounds, micelles, and compositions useful for the detection of primary and metastatic tumor tissues. Compounds described herein are imaging agents useful for the detection of primary and metastatic tumor tissue (including lymph nodes). Real-time fluorescence imaging during surgery aids surgeon in the detection of metastatic lymph nodes or delineate tumor tissue versus normal tissue, with the goal of achieving negative margins and complete tumor resection.

The present invention relates to the field of water-soluble or water-dispersible copolymers comprising at least one random copolymer comprising styrene, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid and butyl acrylate.

The present invention provides a polymer replica of a target molecule, the polymer replica being capable of accurately inheriting surface information possessed by the target molecule in a molecular imprinting technique. A polymer replica of a target substance, the target substance having multiple types of binding groups including at least a binding group BG1 and a binding group BG2 on the surface, wherein: the polymer replica is configured from a second molecularly imprinted polymer having, as a template, a first molecularly imprinted polymer having the target substance as a template; the polymer replica has on the surface thereof at least a binding group bg1 at a position corresponding to the position of binding group BG1 and a binding group bg2 at a position corresponding to the position of the binding group BG2 on the surface of the target substance; and the polymer replica of the target substance can be used as a template during synthesis of a molecularly imprinted polymer having a specific recognition site for the target substance because the polymer replica accurately inherits the surface information possessed by the target molecule.