Synthesis of novel poly(ethylene glycol) derivatives having pendant amino groups and aggregating behavior of its mixture with fatty acid in water.

Novel poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives having pendant amino groups were prepared by copolymerization of allyl glycidyl ether with ethylene oxide followed by chemical modification of the double bond side chains. Dropwise addition of the mixture of monomers to the anionic initiator gave an almost monodisperse (Mw/Mn = 1.05) random copolymer. 1H NMR spectra showed that addition of 2-aminoethanethiol to the pendant allyl groups of the copolymer was completely carried out in methanol without catalyst, and an aminated PEG derivative with a definite structure was obtained. Acetylation of the pendant amino groups was readily performed by acetic anhydride with triethylamine. A gel permeation chromatogram of the acetylated polymer showed a very narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn = 1.06) of the polyamine. These cationic PEG derivatives make amphiphilic polyion complexes with fatty acids, and then aggregate in water. A fluorescence study using pyrene as a microenvironment probe revealed that the aminated PEG-lauric acid ion complex could take up the hydrophobic fluorescence probe into the lipophilic field inside, and they also had a critical aggregation concentration at [lauric acid] = 0.7 mM. It is much lower than the critical micelle concentration of the corresponding fatty acid sodium salts, indicating high stability of the polymer-fatty acid aggregate.