Efficient and Rapid Divergent Synthesis of Ethylene Oxide-Containing Dendrimers through Catalyst-Free Click Chemistry

Abstract

Third and fourth generation ethylene oxide-containing dendrimers containing triazole units were prepared divergently through metal-free Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (“click”) reaction between activated disubstituted alkyne and terminal azide groups. The growth of the dendrimers was achieved in high yield with minimal purification effort and without the participation of toxic metal or excess of reagents. Preliminary in vitro testing on different cell lines indicates that this series of dendrimers is very promising for bio-related applications.