Dendrimers at Work

摘要

Dendrimers are synthetic polymers with a highly branched architecture and nearly perfect molecular structure (see the figure). They are identical, monodisperse macromolecules that expose many end groups at their globular periphery. In academic laboratories, dendrimers have been used as light- and energy-harvesting materials, for drug delivery, as catalysts, and in optoelectronic applications. Yet they have not been widely introduced commercially. This situation is about to change, with several dendrimers now entering the market.