Fluorescent PEGylation agent by a thiolactone-based one-pot reaction: a new strategy for theranostic combinations

Theranostic combinations usually contain an imaging, a therapeutic and a cloaking component to simultaneously fulfil diagnostic and therapeutic functions. Using upgraded PEGylation technology, a straightforward one-pot strategy based on thiolactone ring-opening has been developed to facilely synthesize a multifunctional PEGylation agent, fluorescent protein-reactive poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which can subsequently react with a model therapeutic protein to form a fluorescent PEGylated protein as a model of sophisticated theranostic combinations.