Dendrimers differ from other polymers by their perfectly branched, symmetric, and monodisperse structure. Dendrimers also have a hyperfunctional periphery, which has led to their utilization for drug delivery, magnetic resonance imaging, and diagnostic agents. This investigation will explore the rates of reactivity and accessibility of these end groups towards enhanced targeted drug delivery systems. Preliminary results display the effects of sterics on the rate of addition, lending the first half of the end groups to add significantly faster than the second half of the end groups. The correlation between addition of arms and rate of reaction can be instrumental in manipulating the degree of branching for hyperbranched systems. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) will be used as complementary techniques to monitor reaction progress. A better understanding of these reaction rates will enable more efficient synthetic procedures and modular control over their functionalization.

Investigating dendrimer kinetics via the synthesis of bis-MPA branched polymers

255th National Meeting (2018)

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