A macromonomer is a

macromolecule A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biophysical processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently bonded atoms. Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The ...

with one end-group that enables it to act as a

monomer In chemistry, a monomer ( ; ''mono-'', "one" + '' -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Mo ...

. Macromonomers will contribute a single

monomeric unit In polymer chemistry, a repeat unit or repeating unit (or mer) is a part of a polymer whose repetition would produce the complete polymer chain (except for the end-groups) by linking the repeat units together successively along the chain, like the ...

to a chain of the completed macromolecule. Several macromonomers have been successfully synthesized utilizing various methods such as

controlled radical polymerization Living free radical polymerization is a type of living polymerization where the active polymer chain end is a free radical. Several methods exist. IUPAC recommends to use the term "reversible-deactivation radical polymerization" instead of "livi ...

(CRP) and copper-catalyzed "click" coupling. Due to the larger size of macromonomers (as opposed to the size of regular monomers), synthetic challenges are brought about, giving reason for the analysis of

polymerization In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer, monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are ...

mechanisms. Recent studies have shown that macromonomer

kinetics and mechanisms can be significantly affected by the topological effect.

References

Polymer chemistry {{Biochem-stub