Plants to Polyelectrolytes: Theophylline Polymers and Their Microsphere Synthesis

Abstract

To extend fossil oil supplies, sustainable feed stocks for the production of useful reagents and polymers should be harnessed. In this regard, chemicals derived from plants are excellent candidates. While the vast majority of plant sources used for polymer science only contain C x H y O z , alkaloids such as caffeine, nicotine, and theophylline possess nitrogen functionality that can provide new functions for bio-derived polymers and their synthesis. In this context, we exploited the chemistry of theophylline, a natural product found in chocolate and tea, to create a cationic "poly(theophylline)" in a straightforward fashion for the first time. We demonstrate how this new polymer can be synthesized and used for the creation of narrowly disperse cationic microspheres.-2 -

Formation and Properties of Poly(Ionic Liquid)–Carbene Nanogels Containing Individually Stabilized Silver Species

“…Herein, we explore an approach to evenly disperse covalently bound silver ions within a PIL/NHC nanogel though silver–carbene cross‐linking. Using a theophylline‐derived PIL rather than a small‐molecule for NHC formation, the polymer chains become cross‐linked through a silver bridge, which simultaneously constitute the self‐stabilized metal/NHC/PIL nanogels. The cross‐linking step promotes the formation of surprisingly well‐defined, spherical nanogels, size and physical properties of which could be tuned depending on the reaction conditions.…”

“…The theophylline derived polymer was synthesized according to a literature procedure . Briefly, theophylline was combined with 4‐vinylbenzyl chloride and NaH in DMSO to attach the polymerizable group, followed by quaternization using MeOTf and free‐radical polymerization to create the final polymer (Figure ).…”

Theophylline-bearing microspheres with dual features as a coordinative adsorbent and catalytic support for palladium ions

“…They prepared a monomer of theophylline-substituted styrene obtained from the reaction between theophylline and chloromethylstyrene, and polymerized the monomer via a dispersion-polymerization method. 19 However, their microspheres bearing theophylline were synthesized without cross-linkers and no use of the microspheres was mentioned.…”

Partially Biosourced Poly(1,2,3-triazolium)-Based Diblock Copolymers Derived from Levulinic Acid

“…Furthermore, they have developed the synthesis of partially biobased amphiphilic BCPs from lactic acid and cholinium building blocks . Finally, Yuan and co-workers have demonstrated the synthesis of PIL-based microspheres from theophylline, an alkaloid that can be extracted from cocoa beans or tea …”

“…50 Finally, Yuan and co-workers have demonstrated the synthesis of PILbased microspheres from theophylline, an alkaloid that can be extracted from cocoa beans or tea. 51 Levulinic acid (LA) can be obtained from (ligno)cellulose and has been ranked within the top 10 chemicals derived from biomass. 52−54 Besides its application to the development of biobased solvents, plasticizers, fuel additives or a broad range of key chemical intermediates, 55,56 LA is an interesting building block for the development of biobased monomers and polymers.…”