Polyethylene glycol
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a synthetic polyether composed of repeating ethylene glycol units.
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a synthetic polyether composed of repeating ethylene glycol units. It is highly hydrophilic and available across a broad range of molecular weights, allowing its physical behavior to be tuned for use as a solvent, excipient, surfactant component, polymeric scaffold, or covalent conjugate. In biomedicine, PEG is commonly incorporated into drug delivery systems, hydrogels, lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, peptides, and nanoparticle surface coatings.
PEG-based modification can create a hydrated, sterically protective interface around a therapeutic or nanomaterial. This interface can influence colloidal stability, cellular uptake, ligand–receptor interactions, diffusion through biological tissues, and the encapsulation or presentation of cargo such as messenger RNA, doxorubicin, or paclitaxel. PEG-containing materials are therefore studied in applications involving chemotherapy, tumor microenvironment engineering, cartilage delivery, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, biomimetic glycocalyx construction, and regenerative biomaterials. The biological performance of a PEG-containing system depends on factors including polymer chain length, surface density, molecular architecture, linkage chemistry, and the properties of the underlying lipid, hydrogel, peptide, or inorganic nanoparticle.
Where the papers sit
11 papers from the last 6 months study polyethylene glycol directly · updated from PubMed 1 Nov 2026
Study type 0 clinical trials · 9 preclinical · 2 unclassified
Themes 3 themes · 1 paradigm shift · 1 new direction
-
Physicochemical Drug Delivery
PEG-containing formulations are being optimized by linking hydration and phase behavior to drug release, depot formation, and particle performance. TPGS and PVPVA work focuses on water uptake in felodipine amorphous dispersions, while peptide-polymer staples stabilize bioactive hydrogels. LAI suspensions and iron oxide nanoparticles extend the question to intramuscular depots and imaging-hyperthermia, while HPLC tracks free PEG in PEGylated peptides. The field is moving toward physicochemical control rather than empirical formulation, but shared release rules remain unresolved.
5 papers · 45.5%
-
Functional Biomaterial Design
PEG-based hydrogels, glycocalyx coatings, and injectable lubricants are being designed as tissue-specific biomaterials. Hyaluronic acid and ion-coordinated systems target vitreous support and rheumatoid-arthritis repair, while modular PEG arms tune membrane interfaces. PEG 400 improves quercetin exposure and anti-inflammatory activity by altering metabolic enzymes and ABCG2 efflux. Functional polymer design is advancing, but clinical efficacy and long-term biocompatibility remain open.
4 papers · 36.4%
-
Lipid Nanoparticle Potency
PEG-lipid composition is being treated as a central determinant of lipid nanoparticle potency rather than a fixed stabilizer. In mRNA delivery, PEG-associated efficacy loss persists across formulation changes, while altered PEG ratios and phospholipids are tested in non-human primates. Ionizable lipids and innate-immune interactions involving TLR4 and CD1D frame the search for stronger delivery with controlled adjuvanticity. The key unresolved trade-off is stability and tolerability versus cellular uptake and potency.
2 papers · 18.2%
Polyethylene glycol is an active determinant of therapeutic performance, not a passive formulation component
The LNP mRNA-delivery study and the quercetin pharmacokinetic and anti-inflammatory study independently show that PEG can directly determine efficacy through biological interactions rather than merely provide formulation utility. In LNPs, anti-PEG antibodies caused repeat-dose efficacy loss that persisted despite changing PEG-lipid chemistry, concentration, cargo, or administration route; in rats receiving quercetin, PEG 400 altered metabolic enzymes and efflux transporters, improving systemic exposure and anti-inflammatory activity. PEG must therefore be treated as a biologically active variable whose immune and pharmacokinetic effects can constrain or enhance treatment, rather than as an interchangeable excipient or coating 42864592Oct 42595232Aug.
Polyethylene glycol is used as a programmable synthetic glycocalyx
The modular PEG-coating study uses PEG to construct a hierarchical, covalently crosslinked glycocalyx-like network on fluid lipid membranes, rather than merely applying PEG as a surface coating, solubilizer, or hydrogel component. By controlling anchor density, branching, thickness, connectivity, and mechanical robustness, it gives PEG the new role of a tunable biomimetic membrane architecture that reproduces protective and regulatory features of a natural glycocalyx 42544571Aug.
Papers
The 11 papers from the last 6 months that study polyethylene glycol directly, newest first, by theme and by study type. Study types come from PubMed publication types and MeSH headings.
By theme
Physicochemical Drug Delivery (5)
- Quantitative analysis of free polyethylene glycols in PEGylated peptides using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and charged aerosol detection. PloS one · 3 Sept 2026 PMID 42691081
- Core Size and PEG Coating Govern the Dual Magnetic Particle Imaging and Hyperthermia Performance of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles. ACS applied bio materials · 17 Aug 2026 PMID 42606052
- Mechanistic understanding of LAI suspension intramuscular depot formation: A physicochemical perspective. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 13 Jul 2026 PMID 42442543
- Elucidating the role of TPGS in felodipine/PVPVA amorphous solid dispersions during water uptake: dissipative particle dynamics simulations using quantum chemistry-based interaction parameters. International journal of pharmaceutics · 17 Jun 2026 PMID 42309202
- Hierarchical stabilization of bioactive hydrogels by multi-arm peptide-polymer supramolecular staples. Journal of materials chemistry. B · 17 Jun 2026 PMID 42306817
Functional Biomaterial Design (4)
- Polyethylene glycol 400 improves the bioavailability and anti-inflammatory activity of quercetin by modulating metabolic enzymes and efflux transporters. International journal of pharmaceutics · 13 Aug 2026 PMID 42595232
- Modular PEG coatings for engineering a biomimetic glycocalyx on lipid membranes. Soft matter · 3 Aug 2026 PMID 42544571
- Intra-Articularly Injectable Ion-Coordinated Bionic Lubricants Improve Rheumatoid Arthritis Recession via Pro-Regenerative Reprogramming of Synovial Macrophages. ACS nano · 22 Jul 2026 PMID 42485205
- Engineering an injectable and tunable hydrogel as a potential vitreous substitute. Journal of materials chemistry. B · 14 Jul 2026 PMID 42446486
Lipid Nanoparticle Potency (2)
- PEG-associated efficacy loss in lipid nanoparticles persists across formulation modifications for mRNA delivery. Drug delivery and translational research · 12 Oct 2026 PMID 42864592
- Evaluation of lipid nanoparticle adjuvants with different PEG lipid ratios and phospholipid modifications in non-human primates. Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 28 Jul 2026 PMID 42519570
By study type
Preclinical: animal, cell and lab studies (9)
- Quantitative analysis of free polyethylene glycols in PEGylated peptides using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and charged aerosol detection. PloS one · 3 Sept 2026 PMID 42691081
- Core Size and PEG Coating Govern the Dual Magnetic Particle Imaging and Hyperthermia Performance of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles. ACS applied bio materials · 17 Aug 2026 PMID 42606052
- Polyethylene glycol 400 improves the bioavailability and anti-inflammatory activity of quercetin by modulating metabolic enzymes and efflux transporters. International journal of pharmaceutics · 13 Aug 2026 PMID 42595232
- Modular PEG coatings for engineering a biomimetic glycocalyx on lipid membranes. Soft matter · 3 Aug 2026 PMID 42544571
- Intra-Articularly Injectable Ion-Coordinated Bionic Lubricants Improve Rheumatoid Arthritis Recession via Pro-Regenerative Reprogramming of Synovial Macrophages. ACS nano · 22 Jul 2026 PMID 42485205
- Engineering an injectable and tunable hydrogel as a potential vitreous substitute. Journal of materials chemistry. B · 14 Jul 2026 PMID 42446486
- Mechanistic understanding of LAI suspension intramuscular depot formation: A physicochemical perspective. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 13 Jul 2026 PMID 42442543
- Elucidating the role of TPGS in felodipine/PVPVA amorphous solid dispersions during water uptake: dissipative particle dynamics simulations using quantum chemistry-based interaction parameters. International journal of pharmaceutics · 17 Jun 2026 PMID 42309202
- Hierarchical stabilization of bioactive hydrogels by multi-arm peptide-polymer supramolecular staples. Journal of materials chemistry. B · 17 Jun 2026 PMID 42306817
Unclassified: not yet indexed with MeSH (2)
- PEG-associated efficacy loss in lipid nanoparticles persists across formulation modifications for mRNA delivery. Drug delivery and translational research · 12 Oct 2026 PMID 42864592
- Evaluation of lipid nanoparticle adjuvants with different PEG lipid ratios and phospholipid modifications in non-human primates. Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 28 Jul 2026 PMID 42519570
Written from 11 PubMed abstracts, each one listed by PMID above. Published: 2026-09-09. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.