Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is one of the widely used functional polymer materials in modern biomedicine. From PEGylation modification of proteins and peptide drugs to antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), nucleic acid delivery, and nanomedicine design, PEG has become an important material tool in drug development due to its excellent hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and well-established chemical modification chemistry. PEGylation can improve the water solubility and stability of drug molecules, extend their circulation time in vivo, and regulate interactions between drugs and biological environments. However, as drug development has gradually entered an era of molecular-level design, a long-standing question has attracted increasing attention: Can the molecular structure of PEG really be described by only one average molecular weight? From “Average Molecular Weight” to “Defined Structure”: PEG Is Undergoing a Transformation Traditional PEG is typically prepared through polymerization processes. Therefore, the final product is not composed of a single molecular structure, but rather a mixture of PEG molecules with different chain lengths. For example, a product labeled as PEG 5000 does not mean that every PEG molecule has a molecular weight of 5000 Da. Instead, it represents the average molecular weight of the entire sample, which actually contains PEG molecules within a certain molecular weight distribution range. This polydispersity does not limit PEG’s large-scale applications. In many traditional applications, PEG is mainly required to provide functions such as hydrophilic protection and improved stability, and polydisperse PEG systems are sufficient to meet these needs. However, when PEG becomes involved in more complex drug design, the situation begins to change. In drug conjugation systems, PEG chain length can influence linker structures and spatial conformations. In nanodelivery systems, PEG chain length affects surface properties of materials. In functional material development, differences among PEG components may also influence the final performance of the materials. At this stage, researchers are no longer concerned only with: “Is PEG present?” Instead, they are asking: What exactly is the structure of PEG? Does every PEG molecule possess a consistent composition? Monodisperse PEG has emerged in response to these demands. Unlike traditional polydisperse PEG, monodisperse PEG possesses defined chain length, molecular weight, and terminal functional groups, transforming PEG from a material defined by average properties into a molecular module that can be designed and assembled. Monodisperse PEG: Why Is It Called a “Molecular Standard Part”? In industrial manufacturing, the value of standard parts lies in their well-defined specifications, which make the relationship between structure and performance easier to investigate and enable modular assembly. Monodisperse PEG shares similar characteristics. Traditional PEG is mainly regarded as a func...
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