Correlations between Chemical Compositions and Retention Times of Methacrylate Random Copolymers Using LC-ESI-MS.

Correlations between chemical compositions and chromatographic retention times (Rt) of methacrylate random copolymers were studied by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). Twenty-six different polymers including homopolymers of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PTBMA) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA), and their random copolymers of P(MMA-TBMA) and P(MMA-HEMA) with known chemical compositions were studied. The results indicate that there is close correlations between the chemical compositions of the random copolymers and their Rt of the C8 column in the mass spectral ranges of m/z 1,800-2,000.

Determination of primary bond scissions by mass spectrometric analysis of ultrasonic degradation products of poly(ethylene oxide-block-propylene oxide) copolymers.

Ultrasonic degradation of poly(ethylene oxide-block-propylene oxide) copolymers consisting of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic portion was studied with the aim to determine the location of bonds involved in the initial scission of the copolymers. LC-APCI-IT-MS and LC-APCI-orbitrap-MS were used for the detailed structural analysis of degradation products. The results indicated that initial bond scissions occurred principally at the boundary regions between backbones of polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polypropylene oxide (PPO) chains.