Description
General Description
8-Arm PLGA-Mal is a highly branched biodegradable polyester designed for advanced drug delivery and biomedical applications. The polymer consists of eight PLGA chains attached to a central multifunctional core, creating a star-shaped architecture with multiple terminal maleimide groups.
The maleimide functionalities readily react with sulfhydryl-containing peptides, proteins, antibodies, aptamers, fluorophores, nucleic acids, targeting ligands, and other biomolecules under mild conditions to form stable thioether bonds. Compared with conventional linear PLGA derivatives, the eight-arm architecture offers substantially higher reactive group density and increased versatility for the preparation of multifunctional nanoparticles, targeted delivery systems, and crosslinked biomaterials.
Upon hydrolysis, the polymer degrades into lactic acid and glycolic acid, making it suitable for biodegradable pharmaceutical formulations, regenerative medicine, and biomaterials development.
Applications
- Drug delivery systems
- Polymeric nanoparticles
- Polymeric micelles
- Thiol-maleimide conjugation
- Targeted drug delivery
- Antibody conjugation
- Peptide conjugation
- Hydrogel formation
- Biomaterials engineering
- Nanomedicine research
Features and Benefits
- Star-shaped eight-arm PLGA architecture
- Multiple terminal maleimide groups
- Higher functional group density than linear PLGA
- Selective thiol conjugation chemistry
- Forms stable thioether linkages
- Biodegradable and biocompatible
- Enhanced drug loading capability
- Suitable for nanoparticle and hydrogel fabrication
