Chemical and ecotoxicological assessment of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers in the aquatic environment

In this article, we focus on the analytical methods to characterize and to determine these polymeric materials in waters and on their ecotoxicity for aquatic organisms. We review physical characterization techniques (e.g., light scattering, electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy) and analytical techniques, mainly based on liquid chromatography, so as to consider their main capabilities, advantages and drawbacks. We assessed the toxicity of certain PAMAM dendrimers for the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata by determining the EC50 and correlating it with the ζ-potential.