Multifunctional poly(ethylene glycol)s

In the rapidly evolving multidisciplinary field of polymer therapeutics, tailored polymer structures represent the key constituent to explore and harvest the potential of bioactive macromolecular hybrid structures. In light of the recent developments for anticancer drug conjugates, multifunctional polymers are becoming ever more relevant as drug carriers. However, the potentially best suited polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), is unfavorable owing to its limited functionality. Therefore, multifunctional linear copolymers (mf-PEGs) based on ethylene oxide (EO) and appropriate epoxide comonomers are attracting increased attention. Precisely engineered via living anionic polymerization and defined with state-of-the-art characterization techniques-for example real-time ¹H NMR spectroscopy monitoring of the EO polymerization kinetics-this emerging class of polymers embodies a powerful platform for bio- and drug conjugation.