Well-defined poly(ethylene oxide)s (PBOs) bearing reactive sites regularly distributed along the chain have been synthesized by polycondensation of PEO containing a central tertiary amino group with dichloromethane, followed by quaternization with suitable reagents to obtain polyzwitterionic or cationic PEOs with alkyl, allyl, or fluorocarbon pendant groups. The pendant allyl groups have been converted into primary amino groups by reaction with 2-aminoethyanethiol hydrochloride to obtain polyaminofunctionalized PEO.