The Applications of PEG Raw Materials

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a polyether compound derived from petroleum with many applications, from industrial manufacturing to medicine. PEG is also known as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), it has wide variety of applications depending on the length of the polymer chain and the molecular weight of the final polymer.  

The synthesis of PEG is done by polymerizing ethylene oxide, the main ingredient in antifreeze, using a ring-opening technique, which allows for PEGs of a range of molecular weights and molecular weight distributions to be constructed. This range in weights is what makes it suitable for several uses.

While varying the molecular weight of PEG can have slight effects on its characteristics, mostly on its shape and physical appearance, many characteristics define PEG. It is non-toxic, colorless, inert, odorless, and non-volatile. Also, it is incredibly soluble in water, and organic solvents such as benzene, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform.

Biopharma PEG’s PEG raw materials are suitable for activation into PEG derivatives. Biopharma PEG’s PEG raw materials are high quality PEGs with very low polydispersity and low to no diol content. It provides high purity PEG raw materials such as mPEG-OH, NH2-PEG-NH2 and 4-ArmPEG-OH for chemical, biological, medical, industrial and commercial uses.

mPEG-OH is a linear monofunctional PEG acid reagent containing a methoxy (CH3O)-capped polyethylene glycol with one hydroxyl group. It is one of the most common PEG raw materials for further derivatization or functionalization to prepare other reactive functional groups on PEG. mPEG-OH has so far been used for various commercial PEGylated drugs, such as PEG-Interferon and PEG-GCSF. And according to public information, mPEG-OH is one of the PEG raw materials for Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines.

NH2-PEG-NH2 is a homobibifunctional PEG derivative. It has a linear bifunctional PEG crosslinker with active primary amine or NH2 groups, which can react quickly with activated carboxylic acid or carboxyl groups such as NHS esters to form stable amide bonds. The PEGylation of NH2-PEG-NH2 can increase solubility and stability, and reduce the immunogenicity of peptides and proteins, so it is mostly used to modify proteins, peptides and other substances. NH2-PEG-NH2 can be dissolved in conventional aqueous solutions and most organic solvents, and can also inhibit the non-specific binding of charged molecules to the modified surface.

4-ArmPEG-OH is a common used maltiarm PEG raw material with hydroxyl groups at each terminal of the four arms connected to one pentaerythritol core. It is suitable for further functionalization into PEG derivatives and for hydrogel formation. The indicated molecular weight of 4-ArmPEG-OH is the sum of the PEG molecular weights of all the arms. 

Biopharma PEG offers a wide range of PEG products from lab to commercial scale in both non-GMP and GMP grades. It provides high purity PEG raw materials for chemical, biological, medical, industrial and commercial uses. Email at sales@biochempeg.com and start using a superior product for your next product R&D project.

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