AFM analysis of C-60 and a poly(amido amine) dendrimer-C-60 nanoconjugate

摘要

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study the nanoscopic structure and topography of buck-minsterfullerene (C-60) and a conjugate of C-60 with generation four, amine-terminated, poly(amido amine) dendrimer (PAMAM-G4). The conjugate contains a PAMAM-G4 core and C-60 shell formed by reacting PAMAM-G4 with an excess of C-60.(1) Fractal patterns of C-60 were observed in nanoscopic AFM images when solutions of different concentrations Of C-60. in pyridine or toluene were dried at room temperature. In contrast, no fractal patterns were detected in the AFM images of the dendrimer-C-60 nanoconjugate, prepared from pyricline solution in a similar manner. Thus, the C-60-shell alone is not sufficient to impart the same fractal patterns on the conjugate.