BACKGROUND We report here a unique approach to using multifunctional dendrimer/combretastatin A4 (CA4) inclusion complexes for targeted cancer therapeutics. METHODS Amine-terminated generation 5 polyamidoamine dendrimers were first partially acetylated to neutralize a significant portion of the terminal amines, and then the remaining dendrimer terminal amines were sequentially modified with f...

Starburst polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are a new type of synthetic polymer characterized by a branched spherical shape and a high density surface charge. We have investigated the ability of these dendrimers to function as an effective delivery system for antisense oligonucleotides and 'antisense expression plasmids' for the targeted modulation of gene expression. Dendrimers bind to various...

Dendritic polymer nanoparticles such as polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM) show exciting potential for biomedical applications. While the potential commercial applications of such dendrimers have received considerable attention, little is known about their possible adverse effects on both humans and the environment. In this study, the in vitro cytotoxicocity of full generation PAMAM dendrimers t...

Solid-phase synthetic templates for Au nanoparticles were developed using Merrifield resins and polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. This synthetic scheme affords the opportunity to prepare metal nanoparticles in the absence of air and water, and it does not necessitate phase transfer agents that can be difficult to remove in subsequent steps. Amine-terminated generation 5 PAMAM (G5NH2) dendrimer...

A new cross linking reagent based on the first-generation polyamidoamine dendrimer (G.1 PAMAM) has been synthesized by reaction of the PAMAM with eight equivalents of p-nitrophenyl diazopyruvate. The resulting water-soluble octadiazopyruvoyl PAMAM (8G.1 DAP, 1.3) was shown to undergo Wolff rearrangements upon photolysis in methanol at lambda > 300 nm to yield the methyl esters of the ketenes fo...

The DNA microarray-based analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is important for the correlation of genetic variations and individual phenotypes, and for locating disease-causing genes. To facilitate the development of surfaces suitable for immobilization of oligonucleotides, we report here a novel method for the surface immobilization of DNA using pre-fabricated polyamidoamine (PAM...

OBJECTIVE In this study the mechanism of interactions between polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and bovine insulin was examined. The insulin is a 51 amino acid peptide-hormone involved in the homeostasis of blood glucose levels. This molecule consists of two chains - A and B - linked by two disulphide bridges. As insulin contains four tyrosine residues it was possible to evaluate dendrimers eff...