Method of preparing propionic acid-terminated polymers
AssigneeNektar Therapeutics
InventorsAntoni Kozlowski, Samuel P. McManus
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Abstract
The invention provides methods for preparing polymers bearing a terminal propionic acid. The method involves first reacting a water soluble and non-peptidic polymer comprising at least one hydroxyl group with a tertiary alkyl acrylate in the presence of a catalyst to form a propionic acid ester of the polymer, wherein the polymer has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 Da; and then treating the propionic acid ester of the polymer with a strong acid to form a propionic acid of the polymer.
Claims28
A method for preparing a water soluble and non-peptidic polymer functionalized with at least one propionic acid group, the method comprising:
- i) reacting a water soluble and non-peptidic polymer comprising at least one hydroxyl group with a tertiary alkyl acrylate in the presence of a catalyst comprising a quaternary ammonium salt to form a propionic acid ester of the polymer, wherein the polymer has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 Da;
- and
- ii) treating the propionic acid ester of the polymer with a strong acid to form a propionic acid-functionalized polymer;
- with the proviso that the water soluble and non-peptidic polymer functionalized with at least one propionic acid group is neither methoxy PEG propionic acid having a weight average molecular weight of about 20,000 Da, nor methoxy PEG propionic acid having a weight average molecular weight of about 30,000 Da.
A method for preparing a branched water soluble and non-peptidic polymer functionalized with at least one propionic acid group, the method comprising:
- i) reacting a branched water soluble and non-peptidic polymer comprising at least one hydroxyl group with a tertiary alkyl acrylate in the presence of a catalyst to form a propionic acid ester of the polymer, wherein the polymer has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 Da;
- and
- ii) treating the propionic acid ester of the polymer with a strong acid to form a propionic acid of the polymer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.