Quantitatively fine-tuning the physicochemical and biological properties of peptidic polymers through monodisperse PEGylation.

In biomedicine, PEGylation is one of the most successful strategies to modify the physicochemical and biological properties of peptides, proteins, and other biomacromolecules. Because of the polydisperse nature of regular PEGs and limited PEGylation strategies, it is challenging to quantitatively fine-tune and accurately predict the properties of biomacromolecules after PEGylation. However, such fine-tuning and prediction may be crucial for their biomedical applications. Herein, some monodisperse PEGylation strategies, including backbone PEGylation, side-chain PEGylation, and highly branched PEGylation, have been developed. In a comparative fashion, the impact of PEGylation strategies and monodisperse PEG sizes on the physicochemical and biological properties, including lipophilicity, thermosensitivity, biocompatibility, plasma stability, and drug delivery capability, of peptidic polymers has been quantitatively studied. It was found that the physicochemical and biological properties of PEGylated peptidic polymers can be quantitatively fine-tuned and accurately predicted through these monodisperse PEGylation strategies. After the comparative study, a side-chain monodisperse PEGylated peptidic polymer was chosen as fluorine-19 magnetic resonance and fluorescence dual-imaging traceable drug delivery vehicle. Our study may not only promote the transformation of PEGylation from an empirical technology to a quantitative science but also shed light on the rational design of PEGylated biomaterials and pharmaceutics.