Patent ID: 6916948

Claim:
A process for the preparation of a polymer which comprises carrying out polymerization using as a monomer, a branching agent or a chain termination agent, the compound represented by formula II wherein each R is hydrogen, a C 1-6 alkyl group, an alkylcarbonyl group or an aminocarbonyl group; or two R groups together represent a bridging group C(R 2 ) 2 , wherein each R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1-6 alkyl group or an aryl group or two R 2 groups together represent oxygen; wherein R 1 is hydrogen, a C 1-50 alkyl group optionally substituted by an amino, hydroxy, halo, alkoxy, oxo, aryl, heteroaryl, or carboxy group, or R 1 is an aminocarbonyl group, an alkylcarbonyl group, a monosaccharide optionally attached via a methylene or carbonyl group, an optionally protected 1,3-bishydroprop-2-yl group, a chlorocarbonyl group, or R 1 is X(N(CH(CH 2 OR) 2 ) 2 ) n , wherein X is a bond or a linking group containing 1 to 50 atoms in the backbone of the linking group, R is as defined above, and n is an integer of from 1 to 10; or R 1 and A taken together form a group -(CR 4 ) q -, wherein q is 5 or 6, and each R 4 , which may be the same or different, is hydrogen, a hydroxy group or C 1-4 alkyl group optionally substituted by a hydroxy or amino group, with the proviso that at least one R 4 is a hydroxy group; or when R 1 is hydrogen, a hydroxy substituted C 1-6 alkyl group, or a C 2-5 acyl group, A is a 5- or 6-ring membered oxa or aza cycloalkyl group optionally attached via a C 1-2 alkylene group and substituted by one or more hydroxy or hydroxy C 1-4 alkyl groups; with the proviso that when A is and each R is hydrogen, then R 1 is not CH 2 CH 2 OH.