Synthesis of novel biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol) analogue: Water-soluble aliphatic polyester with pendant oligo(ethylene glycol) chains

A novel poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) analogue composed of aliphatic polyester backbone and pendant oligo(ethylene glycol) short chains is reported. The PEG analogue is a copolymer synthesized by ring-opening alternating copolymerization of succinic anhydride with 2-((2-(2-metho xyethoxy)ethoxy)methyl)oxirane. The structure of the copolymer was confirmed by 1H NMR spectrum. The effects of the monomer feed ratio on the copolymerization were studied and the polymerization mechanism was given. The PEG analogue disclosed is water-soluble and expected to have promising applications in biomedical fields as a substitute of PEG due to the existence of degradable ester bond in the backbone.