Dendrimers are a single dendritic polymer consisting of three layers, its core, dendron regularly branched from the core, and the exterior surface layer. The typical species become globular and their size is in a clear-cut nm scale, having physical properties different from conventional straight polymer. Since their report in 1984 by Tomalia and co-workers, they have received much attention in many areas and active research has been carried out. The availability of about 9,000 related reports through a search of the Chemical Abstract, for example, using “Dendrimer” as a key word, proves how popular this subject is.
Functional elements and functional groups can be introduced into the core, dendron and surface layer. The synthetic technique is divided mainly into the divergent method, where synthesis proceeds from the center core toward the outside, and the convergent method, where synthesis proceeds from the exterior shell to the core.
For the synthesis of the regularly branched portions, multi-functional compounds have been utilized. The 1,3,5-tri-substituted benzenes, shown below are useful building blocks for Dendrimers. Please refer to “Chemicals by Class” in this web-site for other building blocks.
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