Dendritic molecule dimension

Recent developments in the design of dendritic molecules has provided both new methodology and molecular architecture which are structure controlled macromolecules, globular-shaped, dendritic-branched tree-like structures with nanoscscale dimensions [1], Dendrimers generally consist of a focal core, many building blocks (monomer units) and a mathematically defined number of ex-... 

Very recently, highly regular, highly controlled, dense branching has been developed. The resulting dendrimers often have a spherical shape with special interior and surface properties. The synthesis and properties of dendrimers has been reviewed (see e.g. G.R. Newkome et al. Dendritic Molecules , VCH, 1996). In this series, a chapter deals with the molecular dimensions of dendrimers and with dendrimer-polymer hybrids. One possible development of such materials may be in the fields of biochemistry and biomaterials. The less perfect hyper-branched polymers synthesized from A2B-type monomers offer a real hope for large scale commercialization. A review of the present status of research on hyperbranched polymers is included. 

If the branching density is sufficiently high to hinder segmental flexibility and impose strong excluded volume and even steric interactions, molecular dimensions become rigid. Measurements of solution and melt viscosity showed that the properties of dendritic molecules approached that of solid spheres as the... 

The third International Dendrimer Symposium took place at Berlin Technical University in 2003. Interdisciplinary lectures demonstrated the extent to which dendritic molecules branch ouf into other areas of science, such as physics, biology, medicine, and engineering. The possibilities of functionalisation and resulting applications in industry were at the focus of this symposium. For example, nano-dimensioned dendrimer-based contrast agents were presented as multilabels for visualisation of blood vessels (see Chapter 8). Potential applications of dendritic materials as luminescence markers in diagnostics attracted lively interest (see Chapter 8). Consideration of the differences between dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers from the viewpoint of their cost-favourable application was also a topic of discussion [18]. 

Denotations and connotations of the term "polymer" and its associated building block, termed "monomer", are probed. The nomenclature previously developed in order to canonically name finite length molecules is extended so as to apply to unlimited repeats of the monomer. A system of taxonomy based on dimension underlies the choice of canonical ordering of "polymers", as well as that aggregation of atoms which lacks the "regularity" to meet the proposed limitation to the definition of the term "polymer" (herein called "multimer") is introduced. The extension from Cartesian nomenclature to spherical nomenclature introduced in Chapter 6 is further developed for "dendritic" molecules. 

Percec and coworkers have developed a dramatic amount of research on dendritic self-ordering that gives rise to supramolecular dendromesogens packed in hexagonal or cubic structures of nanoscale dimensions with liquid crystal properties [83, 84], The self-assembly of dendritic molecules into liquid crystalline materials is favored also by the presence of mesogenic groups nice examples of this approach were reported by Ponomarenko [85], Serrano [86] and Hult [87] research groups. 

The first-generation dendrimer 51 was directly observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM image showed that the dimensions of individual molecules are about 50 A, which is consistent with the calculated one [36]. Third-order NLO measurements showed a significant enhancement of two-photon absorption upon proceeding from the constituent molecules to the dendritic complex [35]. 

Chiral dendrimers are a class of compounds which offer the possibility to investigate the impact of chirality in macromolecular systems. Their specific properties are based on their well defined highly ordered structures with nano-scopic dimension (in this report we refer to dendrimers if the molecule has a core with at least three branches attached and a defined structure otherwise we will use the term dendritic compound). 

As already mentioned, we chose three different physicochemical properties for studying the influence of the surface area and fractal dimension in the ability of dendritic macromolecules to interact with neighboring solvent molecules. These properties are (a) the differential chromatographic retention of the diastereoisom-ers of 5 (G = 1) and 6 (G = 1), (b) the dependence on the nature of solvents of the equilibrium constant between the two diastereoisomers of 5 (G = 1), and (c) the tumbling process occurring in solution of the two isomers of 5 (G = 1), as observed by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The most relevant results and conclusions obtained with these three different studies are summarized as follows. 

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