Surface-engineered dendrimers: a solution for toxicity issues

The nature of the groups that reside on the periphery of dendrimers and have contact with the surrounding media is the primary factor that controls the surface-related physico-chemical characteristics of these macromolecules. Therefore, transformation/tailoring of the peripheral functionalities of dendrimers is an economical way to change the overall behaviour of a particular dendrimer class or to impart new properties. In addition, the yields of the completely modified macromolecules could provide valuable information for the accessibility and the back folding of the moieties placed at the dendritic surfaces. The present article reviews the parent toxicity issues associated with cationic dendrimers like PAMAM and PPI, and examines the possibility of addressing this aspect through surface engineering with conjugation of biocompatible molecules.