Description
General Description
PEI-g-PEG-SH is synthesized by grafting PEG chains bearing terminal thiol groups onto a polyethyleneimine backbone. The PEI component provides abundant amine groups for nucleic acid complexation and electrostatic interactions, while PEG improves water solubility, biocompatibility, and colloidal stability. The terminal thiol groups provide highly reactive sites for covalent conjugation and crosslinking.
The thiol functionality enables efficient coupling through thiol-maleimide, thiol-vinyl sulfone, thiol-acrylate, and disulfide bond formation. PEI-g-PEG-SH is widely used for surface functionalization, targeted nanoparticle preparation, hydrogel fabrication, biomolecule immobilization, and non-viral gene delivery systems. The material is particularly useful for applications requiring controlled conjugation under mild aqueous conditions.
Applications
- Gene delivery
- DNA transfection
- siRNA delivery
- mRNA delivery
- Nanoparticle surface modification
- Targeted drug delivery
- Hydrogel formation
- Bioconjugation
- Biomolecule immobilization
- Tissue engineering
Features and Benefits
- Reactive terminal thiol groups
- Efficient thiol-maleimide conjugation
- Suitable for disulfide crosslinking
- Improved biocompatibility compared to PEI
- Excellent aqueous solubility
- Enhanced nanoparticle stability
- Reduced non-specific interactions
- Efficient nucleic acid complexation
- Available with various PEI and PEG molecular weights
