: Highly functional and monodisperse macromolecules with tailored architecture constitute the key to designing efficient and smart nanomaterials. Dendrimers offer real potential to achieve this goal, and one of the earlier challenges faced by this novel class of polymers has been addressed by the evolution of synthetic methodologies. This review provides an evaluation of the role played by chemistry in taking these macromolecules of academic relevance to practical industrial and biological applications, in a relatively short period. One can now construct dendrimers in a 'made-to-order' fashion, for numerous applications in a variety of disciplines.
#3E. W. Meijer(TU/e: Eindhoven University of Technology)H-Index: 97
The internal cavities of a dendritic box, constructed from poly(propylene imine) dendrimers and enantiomerically pure N-tBOC-L-phenylalanine hydroxysuccinimide esters, possess distinct chiral properties as was demonstrated with the observation of induced optical activity of a variety of guests encapsulated in the box. This induced optical activity of guests is measured with CD (circular dichroism) spectroscopy and is remarkable as the optical activity of the amino acid outer shell itself is vani...
Last. James R. Baker(UM: University of Michigan)H-Index: 86
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This paper provides a synopsis of the advancements made in advancing a dendrimer-based nanomedicine towards human clinical trials by the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences. A brief description of the synthesis and characterization of a targeted multifunctional therapeutic will demonstrate the simple yet delicate task of producing novel chemotherapeutic agents. The results obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies not only authenticate the potential of using n...
Simple, versatile and green: Diels–Alder “click” chemistry is a simple, versatile and “greener” approach in the design of a diverse range of dendritic macromolecules (see scheme). In the current decade, design of dendritic macromolecules including dendrimers and polymers has reached a new era, mainly due to the remarkably successful and elegant synthetic routes that have been developed recently. This survey aims at demonstrating the potential of the Diels–Alder “click” chemistry, a very effectiv...
Last. Robert H. Grubbs(California Institute of Technology)H-Index: 155
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Cyclic organic nanostructures were prepared via ring-expansion metathesis polymerization of a dendronized norbornene macromonomer. The strategy provides a direct, efficient route to nanoscale rings in a single operation. AFM imaging confirmed toroidal features having diameters of ca. 35−40 nm.
#1Anna Carlmark(KTH: Royal Institute of Technology)H-Index: 27
#2Craig J. Hawker(UCSB: University of California, Santa Barbara)H-Index: 146
Last. Michael Malkoch(KTH: Royal Institute of Technology)H-Index: 33
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Dendritic polymers are highly branched polymer structures, with complex, secondary architectures and well-defined spatial location of functional groups. Due to their unique physical and chemical features, applications in areas such as targeted drug-delivery, macromolecular carriers, catalysis, sensors, light harvesting, surface engineering and biomimetic materials have been proposed. However, only a few dendritic materials have been exploited commercially due to time consuming syntheses and the ...
The chemoselective [3+2] cycloaddition of an azide on to an alkyne, catalyzed by Cu1, has become known as “click-chemistry”. The ease with which this reaction can be carried out and the formation of pure product without the need for further purification, offer a tremendous potential in developing monodisperse 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole heterocycle based macromolecules of a diverse nature. The versatility of this approach in designing dendrimers or functionalizing them at the periphery with...
Ursolic acid (UA) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid found in many medicinal plants and aromas endowed with numerous in vitro pharmacological activities, including antibacterial effects. Unfortunately, UA is poorly administered in vivo, due to its water insolubility, low bioavailability, and residual systemic toxicity, thus making urgent the development of water-soluble UA formulations. Dendrimers are nonpareil macromolecules possessing highly controlled size, shape, and architecture. In dendrimers w...
: Using a new divergent approach, conjugated triarylborane dendrimers were synthesized up to the 2 nd generation. The synthetic strategy consists of three steps: 1) functionalization, via iridium catalyzed C-H borylation; 2) activation, via fluorination of the generated boronate ester with K[HF 2 ] or [N( n Bu 4 )][HF 2 ] ; and 3) expansion, via reaction of the trifluoroborate salts with aryl Grignard reagents. The concept was also shown to be viable for a convergent approach. All but one of the...
Human neuroblastoma (NB), a pediatric tumor inclined to relapse, after an initial response to therapy, usually develops resistance. Since several chemotherapeutics exert anticancer effect by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS), NB cells overproduce antioxidant compounds becoming drugs-resistant. A strategy to sensitize NB cells to chemotherapy involves reducing their antioxidant defenses and inducing ROS overproduction. Concerning this, although affected by several issues that limit their c...
Abstract The genesis of dendrimers can be considered as a revolution in nano-scaled bioactive delivery systems. These structures possess a unique potential in encapsulating/entrapping bioactive ingredients due to their tree-like nature. Therefore, they could swiftly obtain a valuable statue in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and medical sciences. Phytochemicals, as a large proportion of bioactives, have been studied and used by scholars in several fields of pharmacology, medical, food, and cosmeti...
Gallic acid (GA) is a natural polyphenol with remarkable antioxidant power present in several vegetables and fruits. A normal feeding regime leads to a daily intake of GA which is reasonably regarded as “natural” and “safe” for humans. It owns strong potentials as alternative to traditional drugs to treat several diseases triggered by oxidative stress (OS), but poor gastrointestinal absorbability, pharmacokinetic drawbacks, and fast metabolism limit its clinical application. In this work, a fift...
Etoposide (ETO) is a cytotoxic drug that exerts its effect by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Although ETO is widely used, fast metabolism, poor solubility, systemic toxicity, and multi-drug resistance induction all limit its administration dosage and its therapeutic efficiency. In order to address these issues, a biodegradable dendrimer was prepared for entrapping and protecting ETO and for enhancing its solubility and effectiveness. The achieved dendrimer complex with ETO ...
Natural polyphenols such as Gallic Acid (GA) form an important class of bioactive chemical entities that, having innumerable biological properties, could represent a safer alternative to common drugs against several disorders, including platelet aggregation, radical oxygen species (ROS) hyperproduction, oxidative stress (OS) and bacterial infections. Unfortunately, their clinical uses are limited by pharmacokinetics drawbacks and high sensitivity to environmental factors. In order to overcome th...
Abstract The use of nanotechnology in biology and medicine has been marked by rapid progress of these industries due to the emergence of new devices, supramolecular systems, structures, complexes and composites. One striking example of nanotech polymers is dendrimers. Their structure is formed by branches of monomeric subunits diverging in all directions from the central core. In choosing monomers and functional groups in synthesis, one can precisely set the properties of the resulting macromole...
N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have become one of the most widely studied class of ligands in molecular chemistry and have found applications in fields as varied as catalysis, the stabilization of reactive molecular fragments, and biochemistry. More recently, NHCs have found applications in materials chemistry and have allowed for the functionalization of surfaces, polymers, nanoparticles, and discrete, well-defined clusters. In this review, we provide an in-depth look at recent advances in the ...
Cyclohexadienone core 3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazole decorated triazole bridged dendrimers are synthesised up to the second generation using click chemistry via a convergent approach. The molar extinction coefficient and the intensity of the emission band increase with an increase in the dendrimer generation. The HOMO–LUMO energy level and the energy gap Eg obtained from photophysical and electrochemical parameters coincide with the results obtained from DFT calculations. The higher generation dendr...
