Dendritic surface functionalization of nanomaterials: controlling properties and functions for biomedical applications

Abstract

A wide variety of nanomaterials have demonstrated promise in medical applications such as drug delivery and imaging. In these applications, the surface chemistry of the materials is critical as it plays an important role in determining the toxicity and biodistribution behavior of the material. We review here the functionalization of nanomaterials with dendrons as an efficient method to alter the surface chemistry of the materials, introducing new properties and functions. Described here is the functionalization of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIO) with dendritic guanidines to enhance their transport into cells for magnetic resonance imaging applications. The introduction of dendrons bearing peripheral hydroxyls, amines, guanidines, carbohydrates and Gd(III) chelates to polymer vesicles (polymersomes) is also described. These dendritic moieties allow for modulation of toxicity, cell uptake, protein binding, and contrast agent efficiency, while at the same time allowing the stabilities of the polymersomes to be maintained. Thus, this approach holds promise for the development of a wide range of multifunctional materials for pharmaceutical applications.

Validation of a dendron concept to tune colloidal stability, MRI relaxivity and bioelimination of functional nanoparticles

“…Alternatively, dendrimers may align these ligands and induce multivalency when receptor clustering occurs or is initiated aer initial monovalent binding. 17 Moreover, due to their conical-like architecture and focal-points, dendritic structures are of particular interest as coatings of ultrasmall NPs with very high curvature. Indeed, such cone-shapes are expected to improve steric resistance to macromolecules such as proteins while preventing better particle agglomeration by comparison with their linear counterparts.…”

Click Chemistry in Polymersome Technology

“…More studies about the functionalisation of polymersome surfaces were published. They englobe dendrimers [ 79 , 80 , 81 ], polysaccharides [ 77 ], peptides [ 74 ], anti-tumoral drugs [ 83 ], polymersome immobilisation [ 82 ], and the use of polymersomes as nanoreactors [ 75 , 76 ]. More detailed information about polymersome functionalisation ligands can be found in Table 4 .…”

Synthetic Methodologies for Chelating Polymer Ligands: Recent Advances and Future Development

“…[209] However, selective modification of the dendrimer surface for various functions is very difficult. [210] As a typical example, we note a surface modification of phosphorus-containing dendrimers to obtain (+)-cinchonine fragments. [211] The interaction between phenol, formaldehyde and G0 or G1 PAMAM dendrimers results in the Scheme 30.…”