Poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) as a bioactive polyelectrolyte—production and properties

Poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) is a polyelectrolyte with many important chemical and physical properties and, above all, offers a wide range of interesting biological properties. Currently, research on this polymer is ongoing in several centres around the world. The process of polymerizing the monomer is not easy, as there are difficulties in obtaining a product with repeatable properties. This work collected and described most of the currently known and used polymerization methods of N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, taking into account the type of method, the solvent used, the initiator, as well as the process temperature and the average molecular weight of the polymer obtained. The most important properties of the discussed polymer, such as solubility, bioactivity, hydrophilicity, cytotoxicity, conductivity, and thermal and hydrodynamic parameters, are discussed on the basis of the available scientific literature. This work aims, among other things, to increase the possibility of using poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) as a material in advanced practical applications. Therefore, various methods of applied use of the polymer in question have also been described so far. Copolymers of the N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate are now too large a collection to fit in a single publication. Therefore, only the most interesting examples were cited in this work.