Abstract
Dendrimers are hyperbranched and perfectly defined macromolecules, constituted of branches emanating from a central core in an iterative fashion. Phosphorhydrazone dendrimers constitute a special family of dendrimers, possessing one phosphorus atom at each branching point. The internal structure of these dendrimers is hydrophobic, but hydrophilic terminal groups can induce the solubility of the whole structure in water. Indeed, the properties of these compounds are mainly driven by the type of terminal groups their bear; this is especially true for the biological properties. For instance, positively charged terminal groups are efficient for transfection experiments, as drug carriers, as anti-prion agents, and as inhibitor of the aggregation of Alzheimer's peptides, whereas negatively charged dendrimers have anti-HIV properties and can influence the human immune system, leading to anti-inflammatory properties usable against rheumatoid arthritis. This review will give the most representative examples of the biological properties of water-soluble phosphorhydrazone dendrimers, organized depending on the type of terminal groups they bear.
Highlights
Dendrimers are at the forefront of research since almost two decades, due to the numerous properties they afford in different fields, such as catalysis, materials, and biology to name as a few (Caminade et al, 2011)
To all the other types of polymers, dendrimers are not synthesized by polymerization reactions but step-by-step
The results showed that the phosphorhydrazone dendrimers inhibited fibril formation, when they were used in the ASN/dendrimer ratios 1:0.1 and 1:0.5 (Milowska et al, 2012)
Summary
Dendrimers are at the forefront of research since almost two decades, due to the numerous properties they afford in different fields, such as catalysis, materials, and biology to name as a few (Caminade et al, 2011). The most widely used methods of synthesis of dendrimers are divergent methods In this case, the structure is grown from the core towards the terminal groups, layer after layer. The internal structure of these phosphorus dendrimers is hydrophobic (Leclaire et al, 2004), solubility in water (Caminade, Majoral, 2005), which is needed for biological purposes (Caminade et al, 2010), must be afforded by the terminal groups. To achieve this goal, either positively or negatively charged compounds have been grafted as terminal groups (Caminade et al, 2009). Positive charges are afforded by ammonium derivatives, and negative charges are afforded either by carboxylic acid salts or phosphonic acid salts
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