SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF A NOVEL WATER-SOLUBLE LACTOSE-CONTAINING POLYMER AND ITS CROSS-LINKED HYDROGEL

A simple and efficient method for the synthesis of lactose-based homop olymers from lactose O-(p-vinylbenzyl)oxime (4) is described. Free rad ical polymerization of the new oxime monomers proceeded smoothly in an aqueous solution using potassium persulfate (KPS) and N,N,N'N'-tetram ethylethylene-diamine (TMEDA) as the initiating system and gave water- soluble homopolymers in good yields. These synthetic lactose-based pol ymers had high molecular weights and narrow polydispersities (M-w/M-n: 1.20-1.35) as determined by size exclusion chromatography, in conjunc tion with multiangle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS). The Mark-Houw ink equation was obtained as [eta] = 2.15 x 10(-4)M(v)(0.73). When the monomer was copolymerized with the cross-linking reagent N,N'-methyle nebis(acrylamide) (BisA) (16% mel), hydrogels were formed which swelle d as much as 21-fold in deionized water. These gels have potential app lications as biocompatible materials.