A Facile and Green Approach for the Preparation of Amine-Functionalized Poly(ethylene glycol) by Reducing Poly(ethylene glycol) Azide with Dithiothreitol.

A facile and green approach for the preparation of PEG n -NH 2 s from PEG n -N 3 s in water with DTT as the reduction reagent has been developed, avoiding the introduction of metal ions and difficulties in purification compared to the traditional synthesis process of PEG n -NH 2 s. A series of high-purity linear and multiarm PEG n -NH 2 s with different molecular weights were synthesized, demonstrating the versatility of this method. Additionally, HS-PEG 45 -NH 2 with high fidelity of thiol and amine was easily prepared through the one-step two functional group conversion of N 3 -PEG 45 -S-S-PEG 45 -N 3 , and the PEG-based NH 2 -PEG@AuNPs were also prepared. This technology will promote the application of PEG n -NH 2 s in the fields of medicine and biomaterials.