Synthesis of Poly-β-alanine from Acrylamide. A Novel Synthesis of β-Alanine¹

Enzyme‐Catalyzed Ring‐Opening Polymerization of Unsubstituted β‐Lactam

“…For application in, e.g., cosmetics, [10] water purification, [11] and construction, [12] poly(b-alanine) is synthesized by anionic polymerization of acrylamide in the presence of a strong base. [13] Unfortunately, this method of polymerization leads to branched polymers. [14] In this communication, we present a new enzymatic route using Candida antarctica lipase B immobilized as novozyme 435 to produce unbranched poly(b-alanine) starting from unsubstituted 2-azetidinone.…”

Studies on Poly[acrylamide-co-(-caprolactone)]: Synthesis, Characterization and Biodegradability

“…Since the acid catalyst has been used for hydrolyzing poly(b-alanine) (Nylon 3) to b-alanine, [1] 0.1 n hydro- chloric acid was used for this degradation test. The degradation rate of the copoly(ester amide) increased dramatically for 2 h. It was proved to be effective to use the acid catalyst for the hydrolysis of the copoly(ester amide)s under these comparatively mild conditions such as the autoclave for sterilization.…”

“…Since Breslow et al have reported that the hydrogen transfer polymerization of acrylamide in the presence of basic initiators produced poly(b-alanine) (Nylon 3), [1] the polymerization mechanisms, [2 -7] physical properties [8,9] and structures [10,11] have been studied in detail by several researchers. However, there have been done only few researches on the hydrogen transfer copolymerization of acrylamide with other monomers.…”

Proton-transfer anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers

“…Almost half a century ago, Matlack et al [1,2] discovered that anionic polymerization of acrylamide yields poly(¯-alanine) instead of the anticipated poly(acrylamide). Later, it was found that vinyl monomers bearing groups with active hydrogen atoms, like (meth)acrylamides hydroxyalkyl (meth)acrylates, (meth)-acryloylalkylurethanes, etc., are easily transformed to corresponding hetero-chain polymers through Michael addition polymerization mechanism under the action of base-type catalysts [3 -15].…”