HYDROPHOBICALLY-MODIFIED POLY(AMIDOAMINE) (PAMAM) DENDRIMERS - THEIR PROPERTIES AT THE AIR-WATER-INTERFACE AND USE AS NANOSCOPIC CONTAINER MOLECULES

Tri- and tetra-dendron poly(amidoamine)(PAMAM) dendrimers were convert ed into hydrocarbon-soluble polymers and used as hydrophobic nanoscopi c scaffolding by reacting their primary amino chain ends with various epoxyalkanes. These hydrophobically modified modules performed well as nanoscopic transport molecules. They mimicked classical inverse micel le behaviour by transporting copper(II) sulfate from an aqueous soluti on into an organic phase to form homogeneous, transparent, intensely b lue toluene solutions. The modified dendrimers were examined at the ai r-water interface both with and without copper guest molecules. A numb er of critical macromolecular design parameters (CMDPs) such as genera tion (size), core (shape, topology) and surface groups were varied to determine their influence on Langmuir him properties.