Synthesis of new poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ester sulfide) dendrimers

The design and synthesis of novel copolymers that consist of a linear polyoxyethylene block and a dendrimeric poly(ester-sulfide) block with potential applications in drug delivery are described. The dendrimers bear hydroxyl or acrylate functional groups and were prepared via a divergent approach using readily available methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG), acryloyl chloride, and 1-thioglycerol as building blocks. All reactions involved occurred efficiently and purification steps consisted of washing the reaction mixture with aqueous solutions and precipitation of the product in diethyl ether.