Synthesis of Glycopolymer Architectures by Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization

This review summarizes the state of the art in the synthesis of well-defined glycopolymers by Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization (RDRP) from its inception in 1998 until August 2012. Glycopolymers architectures have been successfully synthesized with four major RDRP techniques: Nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMP), cyanoxyl-mediated radical polymerization (CMRP), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Over 140 publications were analyzed and their results summarized according to the technique used and the type of monomer(s) and carbohydrates involved. Particular emphasis was placed on the experimental conditions used, the structure obtained (comonomer distribution, topology), the degree of control achieved and the (potential) applications sought. A list of representative examples for each polymerization process can be found in tables placed at the beginning of each section covering a particular RDRP technique.