Dendrimers convergent

Dendrimers produced by divergent or convergent methods are nearly perfectly branched with great structural precision. However, the multistep synthesis of dendrimers can be expensive and time consuming. The treelike structure of dendrimers can be approached through a one-step synthetic methodology.31 The step-growth polymerization of ABx-type monomers, particularly AB2, results in a randomly branched macromolecule referred to as hyperbranch polymers. 

Co-ordination chemistry is not the only possible approach to the successful preparation of supramolecular dendrimers. Other examples include hydrogen-bonded dendrimers, which have been prepared using tetracar-boxylic acid moieties as the linking species, and others have been prepared where the hydrogen bonds were developed using melamine and cyanuric acid at the focal point (i.e. the point towards which convergent synthesis is directed). 

Ionic interactions have been used to prepare lanthanide-core dendrimers. This has been achieved using a convergent synthesis, in which polyether den-drons with a carboxylic acid group at the focal point were assembled around a lanathanide cation. This involved a metathetical reaction with compounds such as Er(OAc)3, Tb(OAc)3 or Eu(OAc)3 to introduce the appropriate lanthanide ion. 

A dendrimer-based approach for the design of globular protein mimics using glutamic (Glu) and aspartic (Asp) acids as building blocks has been developed [151]. The preassembled Glu/Asp dendrones were attached to a 1,3-bifunctional adamantyl based on a convergent dendrimer synthesis strategy (see Fig. 28). 

Scheme 10. Convergent synthesis of first-generation platinum-acetylide dendrimer 31...

Fig. 12. Convergent routes to pseudorotaxane-terminated dendrimers with a metal complex at the cores and p CD at the periphery...

Very interesting antenna systems have been constructed by functionalizing the chain ends of a poly(arylether) convergent dendritic backbone with cou-marin-2 A =435 nm) and its focal point with coumarin-343 X =49Q nm) [33] dendrimer 8 represents the fourth generation. 

Togni and co-workers have used the convergent methodology to link phosphine-containing chiral ferrocene ligands on the cyclophosphazene core to obtain dendrimeric structures of the type 37 (Fig. 21) (201). The reaction with the cyclophosphazene end occurs by the replacement of the P-Cl bond and by the formation of the P-0 bond. The dendrimers contain twelve and sixteen ferrocene moieties respectively. The phosphine units present can coordinate to Rh(I) to afford metallic dendrimers, which have been shown to be excellent catalysts for the enantioselective hydrogenation of dimethyl itaconate. The product... 

Dendrimers are attractive nanosize model compounds because of their globular architecture and their highly functionalized surface. These hyperbranched compounds are synthesized in a repetitive reaction sequence of nearly quantitative reactions. The synthetic route can either be divergent, starting from the nucleus toward the surface, or convergent, where dendrons or wedges are covalently linked to a polyfunctional nucleus. The number of metallodendrimers is still limited.493-506... 

A potential source of structural imperfection is the rapid increase of reactive groups as growth is pursued. Their incomplete conversion leads to defects inside the molecule [27]. In convergent-iterative syntheses these problems are avoided by directing the dendritic growth from the surface inwards to a focal point. In a final step several dendrons are connected with a multifunctional core to yield the desired dendrimer (Fig. 9). 

Frdchet et al. reported the synthesis of a unimolecular micelle (Fig. 6) generated by a convergent approach starting with 3,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol, as the key branched monomer unit [65]. Fourth generation dendrimer 15 with 32 carboxylic acid moieties on the periphery was synthesized and its correspond-... 

In a recent report [171] Newkome and He extended this concept and described the use of two ruthenium centers per appendage [—(Ru)—(x)—(Ru)—] towards construction of a four-directional dendrimer (e.g., 81, Fig. 36). A combination of convergent and divergent approaches, hence, allowed the stepwise construction of metallodendrimers via controlled metal complexation. 

There is a plethora of examples representing dendrimers with metal-binding sites on the periphery. Polycarboxylates were the simplest, early examples [179], although dendrimers possessing more complicated ligand complexing centers have invariably been built via a convergent approach. 

Moss and Liao [182,183] reported a metallo-dendrimer built by a convergent strategy. An approach similar to that of Frechet was used to synthesize a fourth generation dendrimer containing 48 peripheral ruthenium atoms. 

In our group, several dendrimers based on ( R)-3-hydroxybutanoic acid (HB) have been prepared [56-58]. The dendrimers were synthesized by the convergent strategy. Trimesic acid has been used as core unit and the benzyl esters of the dimer and the tetramer of HB as elongation units. In such a way dendrimers of 1st and 2nd generation (27-30) have been constructed (Fig. 13). Since poly(.R)-3-hydroxybutanoic acid (PHB) is known to be biodegradable [59, 60] the stability of the dendrimers 27-30 was tested in the presence of PHB-de-... 

Following the convergent procedure, dendrimers of type 58,59 and 60 have been prepared from the chiral core triol 54 and achiral Frechet-type [62] ben-zylic branch bromides. In the series of dendrimers with aromatic spacers (60) and without spacers (58), the optical activity [a]D decreased on going from the 1st (not shown in Fig. 21) to the 2nd generation, whereas with aliphatic spacers... 

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