Bioinspired application of dendrimers: From bio-mimicry to biomedical applications

Over the past few years, utilization of dendrimers in nano-biotechnology applications such as bio-mimicry, diagnostics, and therapeutics has attracted a great deal of attention, far beyond that of other classical polymers and oligomers. The intensified interest in dendrimers is due to their unique characteristics, which include excellent structural uniformity, multivalency, high degree of branching, well-defined molecular architecture, and highly variable chemical composition. Indeed, dendrimers can possess many terminal functional groups that can be chemically linked to other moieties in order to adjust their surface properties for applications such as biomimetic nano-devices. Furthermore, by utilizing the homogeneity of their three-dimensional architecture, a variety of biologically active agents can be incorporated into dendrimers to form biologically active conjugates, including novel drug carriers. Here, we review several aspects of bio-inspired dendrimer applications, giving special focus to their use as protein mimics, drug and gene delivery agents, anticancer and antiviral therapeutics, and in biomedical diagnostic applications. We also provide a brief introduction to the preparation of dendrimers and review their physicochemical and biological properties. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.