Charging and aggregation of latex particles by oppositely charged dendrimers

Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers were shown to adsorb strongly on negatively charged latex particles, and their effect on the particle charge and aggregation behavior was investigated by light scattering and electrophoretic mobility measurements. Time-resolved simultaneous static and dynamic light scattering was used to measure absolute aggregation rate constants. With increasing dendrimer dose, the overall charge could be tuned from negative to positive values through the isoelectric point (IEP). The aggregation is fast near the IEP and slows down further away. With decreasing ionic strength, the region of fast aggregation narrows and the dependence of the aggregation rate on the dendrimer dose is more pronounced. Surface charge heterogeneities become important for higher dendrimer generations. They widen the fast aggregation region, reduce the dependence of the aggregation rate on the dendrimer dose, and lead to an acceleration of the rate in the fast aggregation regime near the IEP. The ratio of the dendrimer charge and the particle charge exceeds the stoichiometric ratio of unity substantially and further increases with increasing generation. The tentative interpretation of such superstoichiometric charge neutralization involves coadsorption of anions and the finite thickness of the adsorbed dendrimer layer.