Polymer Endgroup Control Through a Trifunctional Cobalt-Mediated Radical Polymerization: New Avenues for Synthesising Protein Conjugates

Cobalt-mediated radical polymerisations (CMRPs) have been initiated by the radical decarboxylation of tetrachlorophthalimide activated esters. This allows for the controlled radical polymerisation of both activated and less activated monomers across a broad temperature range with a single cobalt species, with incorporation of polymer endgroups derived from simple carboxylic acids derivatives and termination with an organozinc reagent. This method has been applied to the synthesis of a water-soluble protein/polymer conjugate, demonstrating the first example of CMRP in protein conjugation.