Patent ID: 7262221

Claim:
A compound having formula (I): R 1 —((R 2 ) a —(R 3 ) b —(R 4 ) c —(R 5 ) d —(R 6 ) e ) n (I) wherein R 1 is a core comprising a polyol or polyacid; each R 2 independently is a divalent or polyvalent group having the formula —X 1 —R 8 —(X 1a ) g —, wherein X 1 and X 1a are independently —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 7 )— or absent, and each R 8 is independently —(C 1-8 )alkylene-, branched —(C 1-8 )alkylene- or —(C 6-10 )aryl-; a is 0 or an integer from 1 to about 10; and g is an integer from 1 to about 6; each R 3 independently is a divalent dicarboxylic acid moiety having the formula —C(═O)—R 9 —C(═O)—, wherein R 9 is an alkylene or cycloalkylene group containing from 1 to about 15 carbon atoms, substituted with a total of from 1 to about 10 hydroxy groups, wherein one or more of the hydroxy groups of the dicarboxylic acid are acylated with an acid residue; and b is an integer from 1 to about 10; each R 4 independently is a divalent or polyvalent group having the formula —X 2 —R 10 —(X 2a ) h —, wherein X 2 is —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 7 )— or absent; X 2a is —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —O—, —S—, or —N(R 7 )— and R 10 is —(C 1-8 )alkylene-, branched —(C 1-8 )alkylene- or —(C 6-10 )aryl-; and c is 0 or an integer from 1 to about 10; and h is an integer from 1 to 6; each R 5 independently is a group having the formula: —R 12 —(R 11 ) f —R 12 —X 3 — wherein R 11 is a sugar moiety; or a poly(alkylene oxide) or poly(alkylene imine) group having the formula —(—X 4 —R 13 )—; wherein R 13 is —(C 2-40 )alkylene- or branched —(C 3-40 )alkylene-; wherein each X 3 is independently —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 7 )— or absent; and f is an integer from about 2 to about 150; and d is from 1 to about 6; each R 12 is independently a bond, —(C 1-40 )alkylene- or branched —(C 1-40 )alkylene-groups, wherein each R 12 is optionally substituted with one or more (e.g., 1, 2, or 3) functional groups; and X 4 is —O—, —S—, or —N(R 7 )—; wherein n is from 2 to 12; provided that a and b are not both zero; wherein each R 7 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, and C (1-40) alkyl group, where the alkyl group can be a straight-chain or branched group; and R a and R b are each independently hydrogen (C 1-8 )alkyl, aryl, aryl(C 1-8 )alkylene; and R 6 is hydrogen, —OH, —OR a , —NR a R b , —CO 2 H, —SO 3 H (sulfo), —CH 2 —OH, —CH 2 —OR a , —CH 2 —O—CH 2 —R a , —CH 2 —NR a R b or a targeting moiety; provided that at least one R 6 group is a targeting moiety selected from —CO 2 H, —SO 3 H (sulfo), —NH 2 , biotin, streptavidin, a sugar moiety, folic acid, an amino acid and a peptide; and e is from 1 to about 6.