Method for preparing a functional polymer, the polymer having the general formula (1),
- where:
- A is at least a monosubstituted alkylene or arylene group,
- B is an amide, an ester or an ether group, and n is either 0 or 1,
- F is selected from the group consisting of an ester, a secondary amine, an amide, an ether, a thio ether, a thio ester, and is the same or different for the different types of side chains,
- D is a side chain that reversibly binds to a substrate or has a coating function, D being selected from the group consisting of:
- (i) a short chain side chain D1 having a linear or branched, substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C12 alkyl group RD1 which optionally comprises heteroatoms and which carries at least one functional group K1, the at least one functional group K1 being selected from the group consisting of amines, carboxy, poly (propylene sulfide), and thioethers,
- (ii) a side chain D2 having a long chain RD2 selected from the group consisting of polydimethylsiloxane, perfluoroethers, perfluoroalkyls, polyisobutene, polydimethylacrylamide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyalkyloxazolines, dextran, carboxymethyl dextran, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), poly(N-hydroxyethylacrylamide, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly-hydroxypropylmethacrylate), poly-(methacryloyloxylethyl phosphorylcholine), poly-(sulfobetaine methacrylate), polyalkylene residues having more than 20 carbon atoms, peptide chains, DNA fragments, and poly-(sulfobetaine acrylamide), whereby D2 has no functional end group or side group K1, K3, or K4, and
- (iii) a side chain D3 having a long chain RD3 selected from the group consisting of a polydimethylsiloxane, perfluoroethers, perfluoroalkyls, polyisobutene, polydimethylacrylamide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyalkyloxazolines, dextran, carboxymethyl dextran, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), poly(N-hydroxyethylacrylamide, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly-hydroxypropylmethacrylate), poly-(methacryloyloxylethyl phosphorylcholine), poly-(sulfobetaine methacrylate), polyalkylene residues having more than 20 carbon atoms, peptide chains, DNA fragments, and poly-(sulfobetaine acrylamide), D3 carrying at least one functional end or side group K3, K3 being selected from the group consisting of amines, carboxy, fluorescence markers, antibodies, biotin, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), peptides, and a single stranded DNA fragment,
- E is a side chain that irreversibly binds to a substrate, the side chain E having either a linear or branched, substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C20 alkyl group RE, which optionally comprises heteroatoms and carries at least one functional end group K4, or is the functional end group K4, K4 being selected from the group consisting of alkoxy silanes, chloro silanes, chloro silanes, phosphates, and perfluorophenyl azides, the alkoxy silanes being a compound of formula (8):
- where E-30 is a linear or branched, saturated, or unsaturated alkyl chain connecting the linker group F and the alkoxy silane group of formula (8), and R31 is selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, and isopropyl,
- the polymer comprises 1 to 10 different types of side chains D and 1 to 10 different types of side chains E, the polymer comprising a plurality of each of the different types of side chains, the different types of side chains being randomly or regularly distributed in the polymer,
- the polymer comprises (i) at least 1 type of side chain D1 (ii) at least 1 type of side chain E, and (iii) at least 1 type of side chain D2 and/or at least 1 type of side chain D3, the method comprising:
- post-modifying a polymer backbone comprising reactive groups G with at least two different side groups by adding the at least two different side groups sequentially to the polymer backbone so that group F is formed by reaction of a reactive group G on the polymer backbone with a reactive group H on the side chain D or E,
- wherein the reactive groups G on the polymer backbone are selected from the group consisting of esters, activated esters, chloro, fluoro, acrylate, methacrylate, NHS esters, epoxides, anhydrides, azides, alkines, and acyltrifluoroborates,
- the reactive group H is selected from the group consisting of an amine, an alcohol, and a thiol,
- essentially all recative groups of the polymer backbones result in the linker group F comprising the side chain D or E, and
- at least one of side chain D2 and/or D3 are added to the polymer backbone first, and subsequently the side chains D1 and/or E are added.