Synthesis of Helical Polycarbodiimides and Their Properties

Polycarbodiimides are a relatively new class of synthetic macromolecules. Their helical conformation and tunable pendant groups made them special class of polymer which displayed interesting properties. We evaluated the properties of carbodiimide polymers consisting of long chain branched aliphatic groups. Newly synthesized helical polycarbodiimides with branched aliphatic side chains were introduced to evaluate the effect of these branched alkyl chains on the properties of the polymers. These polymers displayed different thermal and lyotropic liquid crystalline properties depending on the amount of branched side chains attached to the polymer backbone. The synthesis of water-soluble polymers and their potential applications were extensively studied. The significant properties of the water-soluble polycarbodiimides were evaluated. The pH dependent behavior of self-assembled polycarbodiimides were studied. This could be a potential candidate for the nano carrier applications. In addition, we investigated biomimetic polycarbodiimides which exhibited antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties.