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.
Rebuilt from PubMed 10 Sept 2026 · no new papers today
Where the papers sit
10 papers study polyethylene glycol directly. Those 10 are one subject: PEG Biomaterials and Delivery. PEG serves as a tunable coating, matrix, lubricant, and depot-forming component across drug delivery, imaging, and regenerative biomaterials. Recurring priorities are physicochemical characterization, stability, injectability, and biocompatibility. No way of splitting those 10 scores better than chance.
Recent Findings on polyethylene glycol
PEG in lipid nanoparticle adjuvants and immune-response engineering. A non-human-primate study evaluated lipid nanoparticle adjuvants with different PEG-lipid ratios and phospholipid modifications. The work was motivated by the observation that, alongside ionizable lipids, both phospholipid identity and the proportion of PEG lipids can influence the magnitude and quality of vaccine-induced immune responses. This places PEG-lipid composition within the broader design of lipid nanoparticles for immunization and nucleic-acid delivery, including systems carrying messenger RNA 42519570Jul.
Quantification of free PEG in PEGylated peptide therapeutics. A 2026 analytical study developed and validated reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detection for quantifying free PEG in three PEGylated peptide therapeutics: PEG-loxenatide, pegmolesatide, and visepegenatide. The work addresses characterization of residual or unbound polymer in PEGylated pharmaceutical preparations and extends the literature theme of chromatographic polymer quantification using optimized RP-HPLC and charged aerosol detection methods 42691081Sep.
Modular PEG coatings on lipid membranes. Researchers introduced a modular platform for constructing hierarchical, crosslinked PEG networks on fluid lipid membranes. The design was inspired by the protective and regulatory functions of the natural glycocalyx. This approach connects PEG-lipid membrane organization with control over the physicochemical interface of liposomes and other lipid-based delivery systems, where surface architecture may affect colloidal stability, cellular interactions, and ligand–receptor behavior 42544571Aug.
PEG-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for imaging and hyperthermia. A study systematically investigated how iron oxide nanoparticle core size and PEG surface coating affect combined magnetic particle imaging and magnetic hyperthermia performance. The work extends the magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia theme by examining PEG coating as a variable alongside nanoparticle core dimensions, with relevance to surface stabilization and the biocompatibility of iron oxide nanomaterials 42606052Aug.
TPGS in amorphous solid dispersions. The role of the PEG-containing surfactant d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) was examined in felodipine/poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) amorphous solid dispersions. Dissipative particle dynamics simulations using quantum-chemistry-based interaction parameters compared binary formulations containing felodipine and PVPVA with ternary formulations additionally containing TPGS, focusing on the surfactant’s behavior during water uptake 42309202Jun.
PEGylated liposomes in an injectable rheumatoid-arthritis biomaterial. In a study of intra-articularly injectable ion-coordinated bionic lubricants, rhein-modified PEGylated liposomes were combined with coenzyme Q10 to form the macrophage-targeted delivery system LipQ10-Rh. These liposomes were subsequently embedded in a dynamic hyaluronic-acid hydrogel cross-linked through acylhydrazone bonds and Zn²⁺-mediated coordination. The formulation was designed in the context of rheumatoid arthritis and synovial macrophage reprogramming, integrating PEGylated lipid delivery with a mechanically dynamic hydrogel matrix 42485205Jul.
PEG chain length and transport through cartilage. Research on polyamidoamine and articular cartilage examined how PEG chains modulate electrostatic interactions between the polymer and cartilage tissue. The study reported that decreasing the number of accessible charged amines or increasing PEG chain length enhanced diffusion through cartilage explants. These findings are relevant to the design of cartilage-penetrating delivery systems for conditions such as osteoarthritis, where tissue electrostatics and polymer architecture can affect transport 41864151Mar.
PEG hydrogels as vitreous substitutes. An injectable PEG hydrogel incorporating high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid was engineered to mimic key physicochemical features of the human vitreous. The study illustrates the use of PEG as a tunable three-dimensional biomaterial scaffold and hyaluronic acid as a complementary matrix component in ocular tissue engineering 42446486Jul.
Multi-arm PEG conjugates for hydrogel stabilization. A hierarchical hydrogel design incorporated a tryptophan-zipper pendant multi-arm poly(ethylene glycol) conjugate, termed Trpzip-PEG, into tryptophan-zipper nanofibrillar hydrogels. The strategy was intended to enable hierarchical tuning of material properties through supramolecular peptide–polymer interactions, extending PEG use beyond surface coating and drug delivery into the structural stabilization of bioactive hydrogels 42306817Jun.
Written from 10 PubMed abstracts, each one cited by PMID above. Published: 2026-09-09. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.