A topological trapping method was employed to confirm the cyclic natur
e of the polyester, which was prepared in part 1 using a polymer-suppo
rted reagent. It was found that approximately equal amounts of cyclic
polyesters and cyclic poly(dimethylsiloxane)s (PDMS) (with comparable
molar masses) could be entrapped in PDMS networks. By contrast, under
similar conditions, far smaller quantities of a linear polyester were
entrapped. The 'sizes' and 'shapes' of cyclic polyesters were compared
with those of cyclic PDMS using a rotational isomeric state model (RI
SM). Molecular modelling using Quanta and CHARMm programs showed that
cyclic polyesters adopted approximately circular conformations when th
ey were subject to energy minimization.