ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the more important dendrimer materials and their use in drug and gene delivery applications. The chemistry of dendrimers is quite adaptable and allows synthesis of a broad range of molecules with different properties. A consequence of the branched nature of dendritic polymers is that guest molecules have a very high surface-to-volume ratio. From the principal dendrimer building blocks, a number of distinct environments are created within the macromolecule. By contrast, dendrimer solutions have significantly lower intrinsic viscosity, and as the molecular mass increases, the intrinsic viscosity goes through a maximum at a specific generation and then begins to decline. Dendrimers have also been shown to be active drugs in their own right. The basic building blocks for the dendrimers are based on a multivalent root or core to which two or more branches can be reacted with each generation.
