PEGylated Antibodies and DNA in Organic Media and Genetic PEGylation

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is an amphiphilic polymer that is soluble in both water and organic media and can add many functions to biopolymers by conjugation. Here, PEG was coupled to antibodies or oligonucleotides for solubilization into organic media. The former interacted with antigens and the latter formed specific structures and had catalytic activity in organic media. In addition, we attempted to incorporate PEG genetically into a polypeptide. Although the PEG incorporation ratio decreased as the molecular weight of PEG was increased, PEG with a molecular weight of ≤1000 Da was incorporated successfully. The potential applications of PEGylated biopolymers and the methodology for gene PEGylation are discussed.