Active ester is an ester functional group that is highly sensitive to nucleophilic attack. Active esters are useful in chemical synthesis and biochemistry, where the reaction of the NHS-ester group results in the formation of stable, irreversible amide bonds. For example, NHS ester-activated PEGylated polymers can react with primary amines at pH 7.2 to 9 to form stable (covalent) amide linkages.