Hydrophobically modified poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers: their properties at the air–water interface and use as nanoscopic container molecules

Abstract

Tri- and tetra-dendron poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers were converted into hydrocarbon-soluble polymers and used as hydrophobic nanoscopic scaffolding by reacting their primary amino chain ends with various epoxyalkanes. These hydrophobically modified modules performed well as nanoscopic transport molecules. They mimicked classical inverse micelle behaviour by transporting copper(ii) sulfate from an aqueous solution into an organic phase to form homogeneous, transparent, intensely blue toluene solutions. The modified dendrimers were examined at the air–water interface both with and without copper guest molecules. A number of critical macromolecular design parameters (CMDPs) such as generation (size), core (shape, topology) and surface groups were varied to determine their influence on Langmuir film properties.