Biodegradable polymers with sulfenamide bonds for drug delivery applications

The present invention provides methods for preparing polysulfenamides having a repeating unit of formula (4): wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, haloalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, ether, cycloether, aryl, heteroaryl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, hydroxyaryl, arylether, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, hydroxycycloalkyl, halocycloalkyl, and aminocycloalkyl. Each of R4, R5 and R6 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, haloalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, ether, cycloether, aryl, heteroaryl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, hydroxyaryl, arylether, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, hydroxycycloalkyl, halocycloalkyl, and aminocycloalkyl. Microparticles comprising polysulfenamides can be used as delivery vehicles for a variety of biological applications.