Supramolecular poly(L-lactide)s containing terpyridine metal complexes

Chiral poly(L-lactide)s end-capped with a novel terpyridine ligand are synthesized by a controlled coordinative polymerization procedure. The resulting well-characterized macroligands can be complexed under phase-transfer conditions with iron(II) ions to form well-defined supramolecular poly(L-lactide) complexes. The outstanding stability of such coordinative polymers enables the full characterization by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In addition, in-line diode array UV-Vis spectroscopy coupled to GPC was carried out to verify the formation of the poly(ester) complexes.