{"title":"Maleic Anhydride and Its Derivatives: A Brief Review of Reactivity and Properties in Radical (Co)Polymerizations.","authors":"Michael-Phillip Smith, Bert Klumperman","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500551","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maleic anhydride (MAnh) and its derivatives comprise a collection of underutilized monomer classes, each with unique reactivities and properties, which afford the design and synthesis of highly functional (co)polymers. This review explores the opportunities and limitations associated with maleic anhydride and its derivatives in conventional radical and controlled radical polymerization techniques. The potential of these monomers to create (co)polymers with desirable properties in advanced polymer design is highlighted.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00551"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145249104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Youngwon Kong, Yuta Miyamori, Haruna Sasaki, Ryohei Kikuchi, Kan Hatakeyama-Sato, Teruaki Hayakawa, Yuta Nabae
{"title":"Fabrication of Nitrogen-Doped Mesoporous Carbon With Tunable Pore Size via Self-Assembly of Poly(4-Vinylpyridine)-Block-Poly(2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl Methacrylate).","authors":"Youngwon Kong, Yuta Miyamori, Haruna Sasaki, Ryohei Kikuchi, Kan Hatakeyama-Sato, Teruaki Hayakawa, Yuta Nabae","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500529","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500529","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Precise control of pore structures of nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) is still challenging. In this study, we address this issue by developing a soft-template approach based on the molecular design of block copolymers, enabling systematic tuning of nanostructures. Specifically, we synthesized poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (P4VP-b-PTFEMA) via reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization and employed it as a soft template for fabricating NMCs. The P4VP block selectively interacts with phenol-formaldehyde resol, enabling retention of microphase-separated morphology during carbonization, while the fluorine-containing PTFEMA block enhances phase separation through strong segmental repulsion. Ordered morphologies, including cylindrical structures, are formed upon blending with resol. These morphologies are preserved during thermal treatment at 900°C, leading to the formation of NMCs with well-defined porous structures. The resulting NMCs exhibit tunable pore diameters ranging from 5.5 to 21.3 nm, controlled by the degree of polymerization of the PTFEMA block. These results highlight the potential of block copolymer design for achieving predictable mesopore architectures, offering a scalable platform for the development of functional porous materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00529"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145249128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hydrophilic Polyethers Derived from Functional Epoxides: Beyond Poly(ethylene glycol).","authors":"Xingpei Hong, Junpeng Zhao, Guangzhao Zhang","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500684","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hydrophilic polymers constitute an essential section in polymer sciences and technologies. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), a flagship hydrophilic polymer derived from the simplest epoxide, has attracted massive research interests and found wide-ranged applications from daily commodities to cutting-edge materials. In the meantime, limitations of PEG are increasingly noted, including hazardous nature of its monomer, unfavored crystallinity, lack of modification sites and stimuli-responsiveness, immunogenicity due to extensive uses, etc., which has heavily spurred explorations for PEG alternatives. This review summarizes the synthetic methods, properties, and applications of non-PEG hydrophilic polyethers containing methoxyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, amido, amino, and other polar pendant groups derived from functional epoxide monomers. To a large extent, these polymers maintain the key characters of PEG (e.g. water solubility, biocompatibility), and feature tunable stimuli-responsiveness (to temperature, pH, oxidation), chemical modifiability, and even degradability. The current challenges and opportunities for future advancement of non-PEG hydrophilic polyethers are also proposed.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00684"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145243431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mechano-Chemiluminescent Hydrogel for Sustained Stress Visualization Under Mechanical Equilibrium","authors":"Yiwa Wang, Kou Okuro","doi":"10.1002/marc.70051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.70051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Front Cover</b>: An unprecedented mechano-chemiluminescent hydrogel visualizes stress distribution under energetically equilibrated static loads. Unlike conventional mechanoluminescent materials limited to dynamic force detection, this system enables continuous light emission through mechanical switching of enzyme activity, addressing critical challenges in sustained stress monitoring applications. More details can be found in article 10.1002/marc.202500256 by Yiwa Wang and Kou Okuro.\u0000\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":"46 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/marc.70051","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bio-Based Polymer Gels: Molecular-Macroscopic Functional Design and Promising Applications in Wearable Flexible Sensing.","authors":"Minxin Wang, Geyuan Jiang, Jianhong Zhou, Qiang Wang, Chaoqun Zhang, Dawei Zhao","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500695","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500695","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wearable flexible sensors are core devices for achieving human health monitoring, human-computer interaction, and virtual reality. However, traditional rigid components struggle to fit well with the dynamic skin surface. Bio-based polymer gels (BPGs) combine the advantages of natural-sourced materials, such as flexibility, biocompatibility, and degradability. They can also achieve functionalization and performance regulation through polymer molecular-scale design and gel network structure design, making them ideal candidates for breaking through the \"rigid-flexible\" bottleneck and future intelligent development. This paper deeply explores the structure-performance relationships of biopolymers such as cellulose, chitin, and gelatin, the molecular-to-macroscopic functional design strategies of BPGs, and their cutting-edge applications in multi-modal flexible sensors for strain, temperature, humidity, etc. Finally, prospects and development directions are proposed for challenges. such as functional integration and performance improvement of gels, aiming to provide design ideas and guidance for next-generation functional gels and green flexible electronics.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00695"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elena Olăreț, Emilian Ghibu, Aida Șelaru, Sorina Dinescu, Bogdan Ștefan Vasile, Valentin Victor Jerca, Izabela-Cristina Stancu, Florica Adriana Jerca
{"title":"Electrospinning and Cross-Linking of Gelatin-Poly(2-Isopropenyl-2-Oxazoline) Nanofibers: A Route to Stable Hybrid Biomaterials.","authors":"Elena Olăreț, Emilian Ghibu, Aida Șelaru, Sorina Dinescu, Bogdan Ștefan Vasile, Valentin Victor Jerca, Izabela-Cristina Stancu, Florica Adriana Jerca","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500576","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Engineering biohybrid nanofibers with tailored morphologies addresses the need to meet various requirements in medical applications. Blending natural and synthetic polymers in a synergistic manner, though often challenging, improves the physical properties of natural polymers and the biocompatibility of synthetic ones. The present work showcases a straightforward protocol to manufacture biohybrid hydrophilic nanofibers by electrospinning fish gelatin (FG) with poly(2-isoproprenyl-2-oxazoline) (PiPOx) from aqueous solution. FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis demonstrate favorable interactions within the FG-PiPOx biohybrid nanofiber mats, indicating that the electrospinning process not only enables nanofiber formation, but also promotes preferential interchain arrangements that facilitate in situ cross-linking, eliminating the need of catalysts or additional cross-linkers. Furthermore, the thermal and aqueous stability of the biohybrid nanofiber mats significantly improves by dual cross-linking the two polymers with small organic cross-linkers, taking advantage of the well-known reaction of PiPOx with carboxylic acids and of FG with glutaraldehyde. The cross-linked biohybrids maintain a stable nanosized morphology and exhibit improved cell-interactive properties, particularly in hybrids with moderate PiPOx content. The FG-PiPOx biohybrids show superior cell-interactive properties compared to pristine gelatin due to their favorable surface energy and hydrophilicity, highlighting the advantages of the hybrid materials over the individual polymers.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00576"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145205020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sidra Kanwal, Otto Staudhammer, Umer Bin Abdul Aziz, Elisa Quaas, Jörg Rademann, Daniel Klinger
{"title":"Sulfonium-Based Antimicrobial Block Copolymers: Influence of Hydrophobicity on Biological Activity and Antibiotic Synergy.","authors":"Sidra Kanwal, Otto Staudhammer, Umer Bin Abdul Aziz, Elisa Quaas, Jörg Rademann, Daniel Klinger","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500421","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500421","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antimicrobial polymers (AMP) are promising therapeutics to target bacterial pathogens. Sulfonium-based AMPs offer a good balance between high antimicrobial activity and low cytotoxicity. Currently, sulfonium groups are mostly incorporated into random copolymers that combine these cations with hydrophobic and neutral hydrophilic groups. In contrast, sulfonium-based block copolymers (BCP), that structurally separate these functionalities, are less explored with structure-property relations missing. Addressing this gap, we investigated BCPs that combine the active sulfonium-based block with a neutral hydrophilic poly(polyethylene glycol methacrylate) (PPEGMA) block to improve cytocompatibility. The sulfonium cations contain varying ratios of two different hydrophobic side groups, i.e., benzyl (bz) and methyl (me) groups. By changing the bz:me ratio, we adjusted the overall polymer hydrophobicity. BCPs with bz contents above 30 mol% showed the highest activity against E. coli and S. aureus whereas those with bz contents ≤ 30 mol% exhibited the best cell viability. Thus, a bz content of 30 mol% offers optimal balance between antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity. Combining these polymers with small molecule antibiotics penicillin G and ciprofloxacin resulted in synergistic effects, reducing the required concentrations of both polymer and antibiotic. These findings position sulfonium-based BCPs as a promising platform to boost the efficacy of conventional antibiotics.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00421"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145197679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haixia Peng, Benoit Louage, Jamie De Baere, Lutz Nuhn, Bruno G De Geest
{"title":"pH-Triggered Cell Surface Anti-Hapten Antibody Recruitment by Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Containing Ionizable Amines and Haptens in the Hydrophobic Block.","authors":"Haixia Peng, Benoit Louage, Jamie De Baere, Lutz Nuhn, Bruno G De Geest","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500546","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer progression often results from immune evasion mechanisms within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Therapeutic interventions leveraging the immune system's molecular tools, such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), have revolutionized oncological treatments by enhancing immune responses against cancer cells. However, the efficacy of mAbs is limited by the specificity of tumor antigens. Here, we introduce a novel class of pH-sensitive antibody-recruiting molecules based on amphiphilic block copolymers. These copolymers, containing pH-responsive azepanyl motifs, undergo micelle-to-unimer transitions under mildly acidic conditions characteristic of solid tumors. Functionalized with dinitrophenol (DNP) hapten motifs, these polymers facilitate electrostatic interactions with cell surfaces in the acidic TME, enabling targeted recruitment of anti-DNP antibodies. Our findings demonstrate pH-dependent nanoparticle formation, enhanced cellular association at acidic pH, and selective antibody recruitment, warranting further investigations for tumor-targeted immunotherapy independent of specific tumor antigens.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00546"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145197695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Machine Learning-Assisted Multi-Target Coarse-Graining Strategy for Polystyrene.","authors":"Jiaxian Zhang, Hongxia Guo","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500558","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics offers a powerful means to bridge atomistic simulations and macroscopic experiments, but constructing CG models that simultaneously preserve structural, thermodynamic, and dynamical consistency remains challenging. Here, we present a machine learning-assisted, multi-objective parameterization strategy for atactic polystyrene (PS) based on a 2:1 mapping scheme. By integrating Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), we systematically optimize Lennard-Jones parameters to reproduce atomistic-level radial distribution functions, density, cohesive energy density, and self-diffusion coefficients at 600 <math><semantics><mi>K</mi> <annotation>$K$</annotation></semantics> </math> and 1 <math> <semantics><mrow><mi>a</mi> <mi>t</mi> <mi>m</mi></mrow> <annotation>$atm$</annotation></semantics> </math> . Notably, the inclusion of the diffusion coefficient as an optimization target enables the construction of a dynamically consistent CG model. The resulting CG force field achieves remarkable agreement with all-atom (AA) simulations across multiple observables, establishing a robust framework for predictive polymer modeling. This methodology provides a framework that could be extended to materials discovery and rational polymer design in future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e00558"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145197698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}