Dendritic polymers: From efficient catalysis to drug delivery

Dendritic polymers constitute an intriguing class of macromolecules that offer tremendous potential in designing new materaisl for applications in areas such as catalysis and small molecule loading and delivery. Synthesis of a variety of dendritic polymers using a simple and highly versatile synthetic methodology has enabled us to carry out a detailed investigation of dendritic effects in transition metal catalyzed organic transformations. Small dye molecules such as p-nitroaninline and DR1 could be loaded into the intrinsic cavities of the backbone of 3,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol based dendrimers, leading to a change in physical properties of both the dye and the dendrimer. We are also exploring the use of dendrimers as templates to prepare network carriers containing cavities of predetermined size and disposition.