In turn, biology has long exploited similar iterative strategies in biochemical synthetic pathways; one Selleckchem MK 2206 example is provided by fatty acid biosynthesis [39] (Figure 4). Figure 4 Cascade reaction sequences developed for the synthesis of ‘non-skid-chain like’ polyazamacrocyclic compounds [40] . The synthesis of dendrimers follows

either a divergent or convergent approach Dendrimers can be synthesized by two major approaches. In the divergent approach, used in early periods, the synthesis starts from the core of the dendrimer to which the arms are attached by adding building blocks in an exhaustive and step-wise manner. In the convergent approach, synthesis starts from the exterior, beginning with the molecular structure that ultimately becomes the outermost arm of the final dendrimer. In this strategy, the final generation number is pre-determined, necessitating

the synthesis of branches of a variety of requisite sizes beforehand for each generation [41] (Figure 5). Figure 5 Approaches for the synthesis if dendrimers. (A) Divergent approach: synthesis of radially symmetric polyamidoamine (PAMAM)dendrimers using ammonia as the trivalent core; the generations are added at each synthetic cycle (two steps), leading to an exponential increase in the number of surface functional groups [37]. (B) Convergent approach: synthesis of dendrons or wedges or branches that will become the periphery of Small molecule library chemical structure the dendrimer when coupled to a multivalent core in the last step of the synthesis [13]. Properties of dendrimers When comparing dendrimers with other nanoscale synthetic structures (e.g., traditional polymers, Isotretinoin buck balls, or carbon nanotubes), these are either highly non-defined or have limited structural diversity. Pharmacokinetic properties Pharmacokinetic properties are one of the most significant aspects that need to be considered for the successful biomedical application of dendrimers, for instance, drug delivery, imaging, photodynamic therapy, and neutron capture therapy. The diversity of potential applications of dendrimers in medicine results

in increasing interest in this area. For example, there are several modifications of dendrimers’ peripheral groups which enable to obtain antibody-dendrimer, peptide-dendrimer conjugates or dendritic boxes that encapsulate guest molecules [42]. Covalent conjugation strategies The strategy of coupling small molecules to polymeric scaffolds by covalent linkages to improve their pharmacological properties has been under experimental test for over three decades [43–46]. In most cases, however, the conjugated dendritic assembly functions as ‘pro-drug’ where, upon internalization into the target cell, the conjugate must be liberated to activate the drug (Figure 6). Figure 6 Requirements for dendrimer-based, cancer-targeted drug delivery.