"High-load" polyethylene glycol-polystyrene (PEG-PS) graft supports for solid-phase synthesis

The choice of a polymeric support is a key factor for the success of solid‐phase methods for syntheses of organic compounds and biomolecules such as peptides and oligonucleotides. Classical Merrifield solid‐phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), performed on low cross‐linked hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) beads, sometimes suffers from sequence‐dependent coupling difficulties. The concept of incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG) into supports for solid‐phase synthesis represents a successful approach to alleviating such problems. Previous reports from our laboratories have shown the advantages of “low‐load” PEG–PS (0.15–0.25 mmol/g) for SPPS. Herein, we demonstrate that the beneficial aspects of the PEG–PS concept can be extended with resins that have higher loadings (0.3–0.5 mmol/g). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopoly 47: 365–380, 1998