Facile synthesis of polyester dendrimers from sequential click coupling of asymmetrical monomers

Polyester dendrimers are attractive for in vivo delivery of bioactive molecules due to their biodegradability, but their synthesis generally requires multistep reactions with intensive purifications. A highly efficient approach to the synthesis of dendrimers by simply "sticking" generation by generation together is achieved by combining kinetic or mechanistic chemoselectivity with click reactions between the monomers. In each generation, the targeted molecules are the major reaction product as detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The only separation needed is to remove the little unreacted monomer by simple precipitation or washing. This simple clicklike process without complicated purification is particularly suitable for the synthesis of custom-made polyester dendrimers.