Dendrimer solubility

Figure 8.51 Synthesis and purification of the discrete (L25) and the pool (L26) indole libraries using dendrimer soluble supports.

The simplest application of peripheral alteration is the modification of a dendrimers solubility. For example, a number of groups have reported the use of terminal groups such as carboxylates41 265 or oligo-... 

We mainly used dendrimers soluble in organic solvents in the field of materials... 

In addition to alkyl-substituted derivatives, soluble PPPs 6 are also known today containing alkoxy groups as well as ionic side groups (carboxy and sulfonic acid functions) [18]. Schliiter et al. recently described the generation of soluble PPPs decorated with densely packed stcrically demanding dendrons on the formation of cylindrically shaped dendrimers, so-called cylinder dendrimers ] 19]. 

However, dendrimeric and hyperbranched polyesters are more soluble than the linear ones (respectively 1.05, 0.70, and 0.02 g/mL in acetone). The solution behavior has been investigated, and in the case of aromatic hyperbranched polyesters,84 a very low a-value of the Mark-Houvink-Sakurada equation 0/ = KMa) and low intrinsic viscosity were observed. Frechet presented a description of the intrinsic viscosity as a function of the molar mass85 for different architectures The hyperbranched macromolecules show a nonlinear variation for low molecular weight and a bell-shaped curve is observed in the case of dendrimers (Fig. 5.18). 

The presence of a large number of chain-ends in the fully synthesized dendrimer molecules makes them highly soluble and also readily miscible, for example with other dendrimer solutions. The solubility is controlled by the nature of the end-groups, so that dendrimers with hydrophilic groups, such as hydroxyl or carboxylic acid, at the ends of the branches are soluble in polar solvents, whereas dendrimers with hydrophobic end-groups are soluble in non-polar solvents. The density of the end-groups at the surface of the dendrimer molecule means that they have proportionately more influence on the solubility than in linear polymers. Hence a dendritic polyester has been shown to be more soluble in tetrahydrofuran than an equivalent linear polyester. 

Fig. 6. [2]Pseudorotaxane and [3]pseudorotaxane dendrimers incorporating water-soluble dendritic 3-CD...

Reinhoudt et al. also reported water-soluble pseudorotaxane-terminated dendrimers possessing a radio-active metal core for radiotherapeutical applications... 

The properties of these rotaxane dendrimers are quite different from those of the individual rotaxanes or dendrimers and often a blend of both. In view of the versatile characteristics that a dendron or dendrimer can manifest, several new properties can be imparted to the rotaxanes. For example, the solubility of rotaxanes in organic solvents as well as in water can be significantly improved when large dendrimer units are appended enhancing the prospects of their use as molecular machines. The dendritic units can also influence the photo/electro-chemical properties of the rotaxanes. Employing photo-receptive dendron units, photo chemically driven molecular machines may be developed, where the dendrons act as antenna for photo-harvesting [62]. 

Also, from the dendrimer point of view, the introduction of mechanical bonds to dendrimers has an enormous potential to alter the properties of dendrimers in a controlled way. For example, in the synthesis of a Type II rotaxane dendrimers, the wheel components are introduced to the terminal groups of the dendrimers. This can improve the solubility of dendrimer in organic and/or aqueous media due to the formation of complexes soluble in such solvents. 

Anionic poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer was selected as a model of the soluble acidic-rich proteins to prepare CaC03 film on a poly(ethylenimine) film [49]. The CaCOj/polylethylenimine) composite film was obtained in the... 

The effect of core shielding of a porphyrin moiety by peripheral dendrons has been carefully investigated on two series of Zn-phthalocyanine-cored dendrimers with aryl-ether branches [60]. Generation 0,1, and 2 (dendrimer 27) species, terminated with ester groups, are soluble in organic solvents, while the species terminated with carboxylate units (e.g., 28) are soluble in water. 

That dendrimers are unique when compared with other architectures is confirmed by an investigation on porphyrin core dendrimers and their isomeric linear analogues [63]. The isomers displayed dramatically different hydrodynamic properties, crystallinity, and solubility characteristics when compared to those of their dendritic analogues, and photophysical studies showed that energy transfer from the poly(benzylether) backbone to the core was more efficient in the dendrimer because of the shorter distance between the donor units and the acceptor core. 

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-... 

Two practical advantages of luminescence species engulfed in antenna dendrimer scaffolds are apparent, namely their miscibility with organic media (solvents or/and resins) and their ability to form thin films. For example the lanthanide-cored dendrimer complexes described in this chapter can be regarded as organic-soluble inorganic luminescers. 

The PBE dendron has a glass transition at about 40 °C and is soluble in various organic solvents (e.g., THF, acetone, toluene). It is therefore a moldable, thermoplastic, film-forming material. This practical feature is maintained for the lanthanide-cored dendrimer complexes. The complexes are partially miscible with poly(methyl methacrylate), affording transparent luminescence compositions by mixing in solvent. 

Dendrimers are taking their space in the tool box of the modern synthetic chemist. Dendritization might offer solutions to problems yet unsolved. Dendritic wedges, i. e. dendryl substituents of well-chosen size and generation allow us to tune molecular properties like solubility, steric accessability of reactive sites, redox behaviour, and other features. Easy-to-make dendrimers and dendrons will thus become extremely helpful for any chemist in the covalent as well as in the supramolecular world . 

---