Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference
October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota
Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Branched Soluble and Degradable Poly(silyl ether-silyl ester-silyl acetal)s
Vladimir
Zotov
Doctoral Student
University of North Dakota
Co-authors: Barbara Nero, graduate student, University of North Dakota, Carl Zupancic, undergraduate student, University of North Dakota, Zachary Bailey, graduate student, university of North Dakota , Guodong Du, Chemistry Department chair, University of North Dakota
Session
Poster number: 134
Legacy Lounge
Hyperbranched polymers have emerged as promising materials for drug delivery due to their complex, branched architecture. They have vast range of applications including plastics, delivery systems, hydrogels, and medical devices. Degradability of polymers is an important aspect in society today due to the buildup of plastics in landfills. In our work, we introduce a novel degradable Si-O-C bond within the polymer backbone containing silyl ether and silyl acetal functionalities. These bonds are particularly susceptible to hydrolytic cleavage under physiological conditions, enabling rapid degradation of the backbone. Our work focuses on synthesis and characterization of the highly branched and degradable system varying the backbone structure of the anhydride. We further study the effect the backbone of the anhydride and degree of branching has on thermal and hydrolytic degradation.