Libraries of amphiphilic Janus dendrimers were synthesized by convergent and divergent approaches. The hydrophobic parts were designed to incorporate short, medium, long linear and branched alkyl chains. The hydrophilic parts were decorated with dimethylpropionic acid, glycerol, thioglycerol, tert-butylcarbamate, and quaternary ammonium salts. By simple injection from ethanol solution into water, a diversity of self-assembled structures were formed, including vesicles, denoted dendrimersomes, cubosomes, disks, tubular vesicles, and helical ribbons. These dendrimersomes are usually stable, monodisperse, and unilamellar. The size and membrane thickness of dendrimersomes are controlled by the molecular structures of the Janus dendrimers. The correlation between size and molecular structure was explained by a simplified spherical-shell model. With the known lamellar spacing in bulk state obtained by X-ray scattering, the size of the dendrimersomes in water and their physical properties can be predicted.

Design and synthesis of amphiphilic Janus dendrimers and the prediction of the size and properties of dendrimesomes from their lamella structure

244th National Meeting (2012)

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