Method of preparing maleimide functionalized polymers

1. A method of forming a polymer intermediate useful in the synthesis of a maleimide functionalized polymer, the method comprising the steps of:

i) providing a water soluble and non-peptidic polymer comprising at least one functional group; and

ii) reacting the functional group of the polymer with a Diels-Alder adduct reagent comprising an imido ring or anhydride ring to form a polymer intermediate of the following structure

wherein:

POLY is the water soluble and non-peptidic polymer (i) terminating in either a hydroxyl group or end capping group selected from the group consisting of methoxy, ethoxy, butyloxy and benzyloxy, (ii) having a weight average molecular weight of greater than 4,000 Daltons and less than about 300,000 Daltons, and (iii) is selected from the group consisting of poly(alkylene glycol), poly(olefinic alcohol), poly(vinylpyrrolidone), poly(hydroxyalkylmethacrylamide), poly(hydroxyalkylmethacrylate), poly(α-hydroxyacetic acid), poly(acrylic acid), poly(vinyl alcohol), polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, poly(N-acryloylmorpholine), and copolymers or terpolymers thereof;

L is an optional linkage;

X is selected from the group consisting of alkylene, substituted alkylene, alkenylene, substituted alkenylene, —C(O)—, heteroatom, substituted heteroatom and two hydrogens, wherein one of the two hydrogens attached to the carbon bearing R 1 and the other to the carbon bearing R 4 ; and

each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, halo, hydroxyl, carboxyl, carboxylalkyl, thiol, alkylthio, acyl, acyloxy, nitro, cyano, azido, trihalomethyl, alkyl, substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, alkoxy, aryl, substituted aryl, heterocycle, substituted heterocycle, heteroaryl, and substituted heteroaryl.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising treating the polymer intermediate under conditions sufficient to initiate a retro Diels-Alder reaction, optionally in the presence of a reactive dieneophile, wherein a diene is released from the Diels-Alder adduct to form a maleimide functionalized polymer.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Diels-Alder adduct reagent comprises an anhydride ring and the functional group of the polymer is an amine group.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the Diels-Alder adduct reagent has the structure:

wherein X and each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 is as previously defined.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Diels-Alder adduct reagent comprises an imide ring and the functional group of the polymer is reactive with a nucleophilic salt of an imide in a nucleophilic substitution reaction.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the Diels-Alder adduct reagent has the structure:

wherein:

Z + is a counter ion; and

X and

each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 is as previously defined.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water soluble and non-peptidic polymer comprising at least one functional group has the formula POLY-L 3 -Y, wherein POLY is a water soluble and non-peptidic polymer, L 3 is an optional hydrolytically stable linkage, and Y is a functional group reactive with the Diels-Alder adduct reagent.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein L 3 comprises -L 1 -L 2 -, wherein L 1 is a hydrolytically stable linkage adjacent to the polymer and L 2 is a saturated acyclic or alicyclic hydrocarbon chain, the hydrocarbon chain comprising a bivalent saturated cycloalkyl group, an alkylene group, or a combination thereof, and having a total number of carbons ranging from 1 to about 30.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein L 1 comprises a linkage selected from the group consisting of a heteroatom linkage, an amide linkage, an amine linkage, a urethane linkage and a urea linkage.

10. The method of claim 9 , where in L 1 further comprises a moiety selected from the group consisting of an alkylene chain, an ethylene glycol oligomer and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein L 2 has the structure —(CR 5 R 6 ) m — or —(CR 5 R 6 ) p —C3-C12cycloalkyl-(CR 5 R 6 ) q —, wherein each of R 5 and R 6 is independently H, alkyl, or cycloalkyl, m is 1 to about 20, and each of p and q is independently 0 to about 10.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Diels-Alder adduct reagent has the structure:

wherein:

Y′ is a functional group reactive with the functional group of the polymer;

L 4 is a hydrolytically stable linkage;

X is selected from the group consisting of alkylene, substituted alkylene, alkenylene, substituted alkenylene, —C(O)—, heteroatom and substituted heteroatom; and

each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, halo, hydroxyl, carboxyl, carboxylalkyl, thiol, alkylthio, acyl, acyloxy, nitro, cyano, azido, trihalomethyl, alkyl, substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, alkoxy, aryl, substituted aryl, heterocycle, substituted heterocycle, heteroaryl, and substituted heteroaryl.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein L comprises a saturated acyclic or alicyclic hydrocarbon chain adjacent to the nitrogen atom of the Diels-Alder adduct, the hydrocarbon chain comprising a bivalent saturated cycloalkyl group, an alkylene group, or a combination thereof, and having a total number of carbons ranging from 1 to about 30.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein L comprises -L 1 -L 2 -, wherein L 1 is a hydrolytically stable linkage adjacent to the polymer and L 2 is the hydrocarbon chain portion of the linkage adjacent to the Diels-Alder adduct.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein L 1 comprises a linkage selected from the group consisting of a heteroatom linkage, an amide linkage, an amine linkage, a urethane linkage and a urea linkage.

16. The method of claim 15 , where in L 1 further comprises a moiety selected from the group consisting of an alkylene chain, an ethylene glycol oligomer and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein L 2 has the structure —(CR 5 R 6 ) m — or —(CR 5 R 6 ) p —C3-C12cycloalkyl-(CR 5 R 6 ) q —, wherein each of R 5 and R 6 is independently H, alkyl, or cycloalkyl, m is 1 to about 20, and each of p and q is independently 0 to about 10.