Abstract

Ethylene glycol-based polyethers (PEGs) are regarded as particularly attractive materials for coatings of medical implants due to their exceptional resistance to protein adsorption. Covalent binding of biomolecules to PEG is also an important approach widely used in drug delivery, as it results in improved properties and enhanced circulation time of the drug. The application of PEGs is however limited by the presence of maximum two reactive end-groups per macromolecule. In contrast, a higher number of functional groups per polymer chain can be achieved by polymerization of epoxides bearing desired functionalities.

Different homomultifunctional PEGs and their block copolymers with PEGs were prepared by anionic polymerization of substituted epoxides via a general method with the use of potassium naphthalenide for the alkoxide-initiator formation. The obtained polymers have low polydispersities and were chromatographically purified on silica gel. Polymer modification was further performed for subsequent biomedical application.