Synthesis of hyperbranched polymer architectures for biomedical applications

The goal of the project is to establish methods for the synthesis of polymer platforms that can be used to generate, through size and morphology control, novel water-soluble polymer architectures with unimolecular micellar-like behavior and potential in biomedicine. To achieve these goals, the following tasks will be performed:

• Synthesis of polyglycerol structures via anionic and/or cationic ring-opening polymerization of glycidol using different initiators and catalysts.
• Post-polymerization reactions including functionalization of polyglycerol structures
• Controlled drug release experiments
• Characterization of polymer structures using GPC/SEC, MALDI-TOF MS, NMR, FTIR, UV-Vis and DSC.

The student will learn polymerization techniques and will benefit from the opportunity to work on state of the art polymer chemistry instrumentation.

A student with a background in chemistry or materials science is welcome.