Synthesis and Applications of Chelating Polymers

Prof. Patricia R. Calvo

Nova Southeastern University

Chelating polymers are a class of polymeric materials that contain ligands capable of coordinating to metal ions. These chelating groups include organic ligands as well as cationic groups that bind metals through electrostatic interactions. Chelating polymers are useful in a variety of applications, including chelation therapy, radiation therapy and water purification. This presentation will give an overview of various approaches used to synthesize chelating polymers and examine the properties and applications of these materials. Specifically, our group has synthesized chelating polymers of varying architectures via (1) RAFT polymerization and post polymerization multicomponent reactions (MCR), (2) RAFT polymerization of activated esters, and (3) functionalization of bio-derived polymers via MCRs. Additionally, we have developed various protocol to investigate polymer metal chelation to characterize the metal-binding ability of the various chelating polymers.