Introduction: Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a polymer of choice in drug delivery systems. This USFDA-approved polymer is popular due to its tunable properties and well-established safety profile: prime requisites considered during the selection of any excipient in formulation development.
Areas covered: The unique properties and applications of PEG have been discussed at length in the existing literature. However, a proper guidance on selection of PEG grade to cater to one's purpose is lacking. This article provides preliminary guidelines to formulators on selection of appropriate PEG grade, typically based on its physico-chemical properties and role-based functional application in pharmaceuticals. It should be noted that the aim article is not to deep dive in each application area.
Expert opinion: Guidance on PEG application and grade of choice is lacking in the available literature. The authors have discussed and provided guidance to formulators on the appropriate PEG grade selection for particular application based on the available in vitro and in vivo literature data. In this review a State-of-the-art use of PEG in therapeutic applications, its clinical status and commercial use is also summarized. Nevertheless, toxicities related to different PEG grades and related impurities are discussed in this review.
Keywords: Polyethylene glycol (PEG); liposomes; nanoparticles; nanotoxicity; permeation enhancer; plasticizer; polymer; solubilizers; stealth effect; surface modification/decoration.
Hadinoto K, Sundaresan A, Cheow WS. Hadinoto K, et al. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2013 Nov;85(3 Pt A):427-43. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2013.07.002. Epub 2013 Jul 17. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2013. PMID: 23872180 Review.
Essa S, Rabanel JM, Hildgen P. Essa S, et al. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2010 Jun;75(2):96-106. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2010.03.002. Epub 2010 Mar 6. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2010. PMID: 20211727
He X, Li L, Su H, Zhou D, Song H, Wang L, Jiang X. He X, et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2015 Mar 5;10:1791-804. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S75186. eCollection 2015. Int J Nanomedicine. 2015. PMID: 25784805 Free PMC article.
Ocal H, Arica-Yegin B, Vural I, Goracinova K, Caliş S. Ocal H, et al. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2014 Apr;40(4):560-7. doi: 10.3109/03639045.2013.775581. Epub 2013 Apr 18. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2014. PMID: 23596973
Knop K, Hoogenboom R, Fischer D, Schubert US. Knop K, et al. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2010 Aug 23;49(36):6288-308. doi: 10.1002/anie.200902672. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2010. PMID: 20648499 Review.
Guo M, Ye YD, Cai JP, Xu HT, Wei W, Sun JY, Wang CY, Wang CB, Li YH, Zhu B. Guo M, et al. Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 12;14(1):21318. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-71486-0. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID: 39266597 Free PMC article.
Ho TH, Hien TD, Wilhelmsen Ø, Trinh TT. Ho TH, et al. RSC Adv. 2024 Sep 3;14(38):28125-28137. doi: 10.1039/d4ra04898a. eCollection 2024 Aug 29. RSC Adv. 2024. PMID: 39228756 Free PMC article.
Yu X, Xu C, Sun J, Xu H, Huang H, Gan Z, George A, Ouyang S, Liu F. Yu X, et al. J Nanobiotechnology. 2024 Aug 28;22(1):515. doi: 10.1186/s12951-024-02785-x. J Nanobiotechnology. 2024. PMID: 39198894 Free PMC article. Review.
Salam OA, Hamad HA, Eltokhy MAR, Ali AI, Son JY, Ramzy GH. Salam OA, et al. Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 20;14(1):19295. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-63176-8. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID: 39164269 Free PMC article.
Savoie-White FH, Marchand C, Gegiia I, Lachance-Lemay Y, Gilbert N, Bernatchez J, Nourissat G. Savoie-White FH, et al. J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. 2024 Jun 4;10(5):101551. doi: 10.1016/j.jvscit.2024.101551. eCollection 2024 Oct. J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. 2024. PMID: 39069990 Free PMC article.