Recently, the research results published in the “Angewandte Chemie International Edition.” show that Professor Zhang Mingming etc.from  Xi'an Jiaotong University  have  prepared a type of poly( N ‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM)‐based supramolecular networks crosslinked by emissive hexagonal metallacycles. It can be used for bacterial diagnosis and treatment, provides new ideas for the preparation of cavity cross-linked polymer networks for antibacterial applications.

Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide is a typical temperature-sensitive water-soluble polymer with high mechanical strength and good biocompatibility, especially poly-N-isopropyl with a small molecular weight Acrylamide can be excreted through the kidneys without causing toxicity due to long-term accumulation. They are widely used in biomedical materials.

Supramolecular polymer network is a network structure formed by interconnecting polymers through reversible non-covalent bonds. They have good stimulus responsiveness, self-repair and shape memory properties, which are not available in traditional materials. They have huge application prospects in  artificial muscle, cartilage replacement, tissue engineering, and wearable electronic devices.

The chemical structure and topology of crosslinks in supramolecular networks play a crucial role in their properties and functions. Based on this, the researchers proposed a strategy for forming polymer networks by crosslinking polymers with fluorescent metal macrocycles. The designed supramolecular network not only maintains the fluorescence performance and antibacterial properties of the metal ring, but also improves its water solubility and bioavailability due to the introduction of the polymer, which can simultaneously bacterial imaging and killing.

This study provides a strategy to prepare cavity‐crosslinked polymer networks for antibacterial applications.

references:

Ponmani Jeyakkumar. Et al. Emissive Metallacycle-Crosslinked Supramolecular Networks with Tunable Crosslinking Densities for Bacterial Imaging and Killing. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2020, DOI: 10.1002 / anie.202005950