Dendrimer cavities

Using cresyl violet perchlorate (CVP) as the electron-transfer sensitizer, photo-induced electron transfer of stilbene was also studied (Fig. 6.13). As expected, isomerization of franx-stilbene in ethanol resulted in fran -isomer as main product (Table 6.4). Interestingly, in aqueous media containing dendrimers, CM-isomers were obtained as main products. Additionally, like direct irradiation, dendrimers with smaller cavity size favored c/x-stilbene formation. This observation can confirm the role of dendrimer cavity size. 

The cavities in dendrimers are not permanent, but can be redistrubuted as the branches, which can possess considerable degrees of flexibility, move about. The inclusion of guest molecules within a dendrimer may occur as a result of movements in the branches, which allow temporary inclusion of the guest molecule within the dendrimer structure. In solution, it is assumed that molecules of solvent are able to move with ease through the branches of dendrimers, hopping between such temporary cavities with little or no hindrance. When the solvent is removed, the dendrimer may collapse to a distinctly reduced volume. 

Dendrimers are complex but well-defined chemical compounds, with a treelike structure, a high degree of order, and the possibility of containing selected chemical units in predetermined sites of their structure [4]. Dendrimer chemistry is a rapidly expanding field for both basic and applicative reasons [5]. From a topological viewpoint, dendrimers contain three different regions core, branches, and surface. Luminescent units can be incorporated in different regions of a dendritic structure and can also be noncovalently hosted in the cavities of a dendrimer or associated at the dendrimer surface as schematically shown in Fig. 1 [6]. 

Because of their proximity, the various functional groups of a dendrimer may easily interact with one another. Interaction can also occur between dendrimer units and molecules hosted in the dendritic cavities or associated to the dendrimer surface. 

An important property of dendrimers is the presence of internal cavities in which ions or neutral molecules can be hosted [68]. Such a property can potentially be exploited for a variety of purposes, which include catalysis and drug delivery. 

Dendritic hosts can be used in aqueous solution to encapsulate water-soluble fluorescent probes. Changes in the photophysical properties of these encapsulated probes are useful to understand the properties of the microenvironment created by the dendritic interior. For example, adamantyl-terminated poly(pro-pylene amine) dendrimers from the first to the fifth generation (36 represents the third generation) can be dissolved in water at pH<7 in the presence of -cyclodextrin because of encapsulation of the hydrophobic adamantyl residue inside the /1-cyclodextrin cavity and the presence of protonated tertiary amine units inside the dendrimer [72]. Under these experimental conditions, 8-anifi-... 

Dendrimers produced in this way will necessarily possess unique cavities, clefts, and void regions thereby facilitating the investigation of novel, dissymmetric architectures [polycelles = poly(micelles)] [214], and thus add the next chapter to this ever expanding field of supramolecular chemistry. 

This work demonstrates that functionalization of the internal cavities of various dendrimers can be done via a post modification of the skeleton. Various functional groups can be selectively introduced aminophosphite, aldehyde, hydrazone, dichlorophosphane sulfide. Therefore all the chemistry reported on the surface of dendrimers can be now envisaged to be done into the cavities and it is demonstrated for the first time that a macromolecular chemistry can be performed into the internal voids of a dendrimer. 

The facile functionalization of the cavities allow the development of a macro-molecular chemistry within the cascade structure of dendrimers. As an example six dendrimers of generation 4 were built into the internal voids of a dendrimer of generation 3. 

To catalyze asymmetric transformations, catalytically active sites can be incorporated in different areas of a dendrimer a) chiral sites at the periphery, b) chiral sites in cavities or at the core, c) achiral sites which are surrounded by chiral branches in the interior of the dendrimer. 

Initial efforts gave rise to well-characterized dendritic macromolecules, but applications remained limited because of the lack of specific functionalities. An exponential increase of publication volume observed for about 15 years testified the growing interest for dendrimers and has led to versatile and powerful iterative methodologies for systematically and expeditiously accessing complex dendritic structures. The perfect control of tridimensional parameters (size, shape, geometry) and the covalent introduction of functionalities in the core, the branches, or the high number extremities, or by physical encapsulation in the microenvironment created by cavities confer such desired properties as solubility, and hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance. Thus, creativity has allowed these structures to become integrated with nearly all contemporary scientific disciplines. 

Dendrimer interior functional groups and cavities can retain guest molecules selectively, depending on the nature of the guest and the dendritic endoreceptors, the cavity size, the structure, and the chemical composition of the peripheric groups. Two main methods are known for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles inside dendrimers. The first method consists of the direct reduction of dendrimer-encapsulated metal ions (Scheme 9.4) the second method corresponds to the displacement of less-noble metal clusters with more noble elements [54]. 

Scheme 1 summarizes four different approaches used to characterize dendrimer structures by photophysical and photochemical probes 1. Non-covalent, inter-molecularly bound interior probes - to study the internal cavities and the encapsulation abilities of dendrimers. 2. Non-covalent, intermolecularly bound surface probes - to study surface characteristics of dendrimers. 3. Covalently linked probes on dendrimer surfaces - to study the molecular dynamics of dendrimers. 4. Covalently linked probes at the dendrimer central core - to study the site isolation of the core moiety and define the hydrodynamic volume of dendrimers by the concentric dendrimer shells. Critical literature in these four categories will be described using representative examples. 

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