Photodegradation of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers peripherally modified with 1,8-naphthalimide units

This paper presents the photophysical and photochemical characteristics of four new poly(amidoamine) dendrimers of zero and second generation whose periphery has been modified with 1,8-naphthalimide units. Nitro- and allylamino groups have been used as substitutents at the C-4 position of the 1,8-naphthalimide fluorophores. The discussion is focused on the photodegradation of the dendrimers in N,N-dimethylformamide and dioxan solutions. Investigations have shown that the photodegradation of the dendrimers with 4-nitro substituted 1,8-naphthalimide proceed with yellow colour development in the solvent while no colour changes followed the same process in dendrimers with allylamino group substituent. The results also show that the photostability of the dendrimers depends on their generation.