Targeted amplification of delivery to cell surface receptors by dendrimer self-assembly

Nanometer-scale architectures assembled on cell surface receptors from smaller macromolecular constituents generated a large amplification of fluorescence. A targeted dendrimer was synthesized from a cystamine-core G4 PAMAM dendrimer, and contained an anti-BrE3 monoclonal antibody as the targeting group, several fluorophores and an average of 12 aldehyde moieties as complementary bio-orthogonal reactive sites for the covalent assembly. A cargo dendrimer, derived from a PAMAM G4 dendrimer, contained several fluorophores as the cargo for delivery and five hydrazine moieties as complimentary bio-orthogonal reactive sites. The system is designed to be flexible and allow for facile incorporation of a variety of targeting ligands.