PEG linkers are chemically functionalized polyethylene glycol (PEG) linkers. PEG linkers are particularly attractive as very powerful tools in scientific community for conjugation, drug discovery, nanoparticle drug delivery, chemical biology and biolabeling due to their aqueous solubility and non-immunogenicity.
There are two classes of PEG, monodispersed and poly-dispersed. A monodispersed PEG linker has an exact number of PEG units with a specific chemical structure and a precise molecular weight. Whereas a poly-dispersed PEG (also known as Polymer PEG or PolyPEG) is a polymer with an averaged molecular weight.
As a leading PEG supplier worldwide, BroadPharm has over 4,000 high purity PEG linkers in stock for overnight shipping. These products cover a wide range of functional groups, such as Azide, Amine, Alkyne, DBCO, TCO, NHS ester, Maleimide. You can also select the desired PEG length based on your needs. Please review the listed products as below.
PEG Linkers have become widely used in drug discovery, ADC development, bioconjugation and labeling, nanoparticle drug delivery, and PEGylation.
In antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), the Linker between antibody and payload can significantly affect the potency, stability, selectivity, and DMPK of an antibody-drug conjugate. For example, ADC drug Zynlonta has incorporated several interesting linker components including the maleimide PEG8 with enzymatically cleavable linkers (Val-Ala) that connect the payload to the antibody (Figure 2).
Lipid nanoparticle drug delivery has now become famous with the development of Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines (Figure 3). Typically, the delivery system are composed of a high transition temperature phospholipid, a PEG lipid, and an ionizable cationic phospholipid. One specific example is DSPE-mPEG 2000, which is essential to producing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Another well-known PEGylated lipid is DMG-PEG 2000, which is used in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Introduction of PEG linkers to small molecule drugs increases the drug's solubility and molecular weight. This may allow for an extended drug half-life in the body. Asclera (Polidocanol) is one example of a small molecule drug that incorporates an m-PEG9 entity which can be used as a local anesthetic in topical ointment form or injected to treat varicose veins (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Asclera, formed by the ethoxylation of dodecanol, has been patented by Chemische Fabrik Kreussler for the treatment of varicose veins.