Application of PAMAM and Related Dendrimers

Muhanna K. Muhanna
Dendrimers are highly branched structures produced by either divergent or convergent synthetic methodologies1 which allow the formation of monodispersed nanoparticles of controlled dimensions and specific surface functionalisation. As a new class of materials, dendrimers or "starburst" polymers have generated great interest throughout the scientific community. Although synthetic difficulties,2 a wide range of these new materials have been produced and characterised.3, 4, 5 However, the study of their properties is still in its infancy (relative to classical polymers) and there remains large gaps in our knowledge which must be filled if the potential uses of these new material to be realised.

The work reported here involves the surface functionalisation of the terminal amino groups of PAMAM (polyamidoamine) dendrimers with carbohydrate. We intend to investigate some physical properties (Molecular Recognition) of various generations of these functionalised dendrimers and observe any differences in behavior as progression is made from microscopic (lower generations) to mesoscopic (higher generation) morphology.

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