Synthesis of linear polyether polyol derivatives as new materials for bioconjugation.

Linear polyether polyol (PEP) consisting of glycidol as repeating units is a flexible hydrophilic aliphatic polymer. The polyether main chain is similar to the widely used, biocompatible polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). While linear PEG has one or two terminal hydroxyl group(s), linear PEP distinguishes itself by the large number of pendant hydroxyl groups along the polyether main chain. We propose that this property of PEP represents a major advantage over PEG, namely, by providing multiple anchorage points and increasing the possibility for introducing different functional groups. As a first step to establishing PEP as a bioconjugation material, we modified the pendant hydroxyl groups on PEP and prepared a series of mono- and heterobifunctional derivatives with the potential to join various drug entities and biomolecules. The synthesis methods and the results of characterization are reported here.