Discrete Dendrimer-based Superstructures: Dendrimicelles and Dendroids

Summary

Dendrimers are hyperbranched, symmetrical polymers which have potential for many different applications, ranging from catalysis to drug delivery. Their high number of functional surface groups, which is increasing with increasing dendrimer size, makes them very suitable as building block for new nanomaterials and for systematic investigations. Here, micelles are formed via electrostatic interactions between positively charged polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and a negative – neutral block copolymer. These nanoparticles have a diameter of around 50 nm. We proved the controlled incorporation of up to four different types of dendrimers into a single micellar core, thereby illustrating the versatility of these micelles. Furthermore, we showed that an exchange of dendrimers between micelles is depending on dendrimer size and pH. Well defined, dendrimer-based structures, dendroids, can be formed by crosslinking the dendrimers inside the micellar core and consecutively removing the block copolymer from the assembly. The formed dendroids have a three-dimensional structure and a diameter of around 30 nm.