Patent ID: 7635737

Claim:
An anionic polymerization method to prepare a block copolymer, comprising the steps: reacting a difunctional anionic initiator with a sterically hindered ester of methacrylic acid (SEMA); reacting the anionically polymerized hindered ester of methacrylic acid with methacrylic acid (MMA); hydrolyzing the anionically polymerized block copolymer with an aqueous solution to obtain a methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate block copolymer (MMA-MAA-MMA); and reacting the MMA-MAA-MMA block copolymer with 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl alanine to obtain an amide with the MAA portion of the block copolymer.