Poly(amidoamine), polypropylenimine, and related dendrimers and dendrons possessing different 1 → 2 branching motifs: An overview of the divergent procedures

This review presents an overview of 1 → 2 branched dendrimers and dendrons, created by a divergent procedure, from their synthesis to modern day applications. The first members of this branched class of fractal macromolecules were prepared through a cascade synthesis, which was later replaced by the iterative divergent synthetic approach. Most classes of this 1 → 2 N-, Aryl-, C-, Si-, and P-branched families are included and catalogued by their mode of connectivity. Dendritic macromolecules have had significant impact in the field of material sciences and are one of the major starting points for nanotechnology as a result of the numerous modifications that can be conducted, either on the surface or within their molecular infrastructure, thus taking advantage of their unimolecular micelle properties. These host cavities, maintained by the dendritic branches, allow for the incorporation of nanoparticles as well as metal particles, which make these attractive in catalysis and imaging studies. The solubility of these fractal constructs can be tailored depending on their surface modifications. Highly water-soluble, neutral dendrimers appended with, grown from, or acting as hosts to specific molecules give rise to a wide variety of biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems and MRI imaging agents. The inherent supramolecular or supramacromolecular chemistry has been exploited but the design and construction of uniquely tailored macrostructures have just begun. Laser dyes, as well as electron and energy donor and acceptor functionality, have also been paired with these fractal constructs in order to probe their uses in the field of molecular electronics. With their synthetic control, seemingly limitless modifications and wide variety of potential applications, as well as their now commercial availability, these 1 → 2 branched dendrimers have become an important nanostructured tools for diverse utilitarian applications. This review mainly covers 1 → 2 branched non-chiral dendrimers prepared by a divergent process but selected chiral surfaces are considered as well as metal encapsulation and a few hyperbranched routes to related imperfect dendrimers.