6-Acetylthiohexyl acrylate (ATA) is a methacrylate-based monomer most commonly used in the synthesis of thiol-functionalized polymers and copolymers. Thiols are commonly used in drug delivery systems to form disulfide bonds as reversible cross linkers due to their stability and capability to be reductively cleaved once internalized into cells. However, it is difficult to polymerize monomers with free thiols. ATA features an acetate-protected thiol that can be easily deprotected post-polymerization to yield a comb-like polymer with thiol-terminated, pendant aliphatic chains.
