Encapsulation of guest molecules into a dendritic box

Dendrimers are well-defined, highly branched macromols. that emanate from a central core and are synthesized through a stepwise, repetitive reaction sequence. The synthesis and characterization of dendritic boxes, based on the construction of a chiral shell of protected amino acids onto poly(propyleneimine) dendrimers with 64 amine end groups, is reported here. NMR-relaxation and optical data show that a dense shell with solid-phase character is formed. Guest mols. were captured within the internal cavities of the boxes when these boxes were constructed in the presence of guest mols. The diffusion of guest mols. out of the boxes into soln. was unmeasurably slow because of the close packing of the shell. These monomol. dendritic containers of 5-nm dimensions with phys. locked-in guest mols. were characterized spectroscopically. Guest mols. were captured within the internal cavities of the boxes when these boxes were constructed in the presence of guest mols. The diffusion of guest mols. out of the boxes into soln. was unmeasurably slow because of the close packing of the shell. These monomol. dendritic containers of 5-nm dimensions with phys. locked-in guest mols. were characterized spectroscopically. [on SciFinder (R)]