Macromolecular Rapid Communications

September 29, 2010

Polymer Conjugates: A Playground for Novel Copolymers

S. Lecommandoux* and C. Schatz*

Chemical pathways to polysaccharide block copolymers cover all the range from enzymatic polymerization to the polymerization of a synthetic block from an end-functionalized polysaccharide block (via ring-opening or radical polymerization) and to the end-to-end coupling of polysaccharide and synthetic blocks. These copolymers display physicochemical properties close to those of synthetic block copolymers and combine them with an added value in the form of biodegradability, biocompatibility, or in some cases bioactivity. Therefore, these polysaccharide conjugates might represent a new class of biomaterials for diagnosis tests, vaccine formulations, and also for the design of drug delivery systems with targeting properties. S. Lecommandoux and C. Schatz (Bordeaux, France) provide with their timely review an excellent addition to the literature on sugar-based polymers that will definitively constitute an important resource for the scientific community working in the field

Macromol. Rapid Commun., DOI: 10.1002/marc.201000267

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