O-(2-Azidoethyl)heptaethylene glycol is used to synthesize oligo and poly(ethylene glycol) derivatives that are used as structural units of dendrimers, hydrogels, surface modifiers, self-assembling systems and molecular crosslinkers. This precursor is compatible for acetylene-azide click reactions.
Some of the reported applications include:
- Synthesis of strain-stiffening hydrogels through self-assembly of oligomers fibres derived from Azido-PEG (n=7).
- Synthesis of biodegradable tetra-PEG hydrogels for drug delivery system.
- Synthesis of heterobifunctional oligo(ethylene glycol) linkers for bioconjugation and targeted drug delivery.
- Preparation of synthetic amphiphiles for programmed pH-dependent dispersions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
- Selective glycoprotein detection through allosteric click-imprinting by using a self-assembled monolayer developed from the above oligomer.
- Preparation of bioactivated quantum dot micelles containing fluorescent nanocrystals.
