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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Hierarchical and Programmable One-Pot Oligosaccharide Synthesis
Published on: September 6, 2019
Tuning the Size of Nanoassembles: A Hierarchical Transfer of Information from Dendrimers to Polyion Complexes
Sandra P Amaral1, Maun H Tawara1, Marcos Fernandez-Villamarin1
1Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS) and Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Jenaro de la Fuente s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Abstract:
The generation of dendrimers is a powerful tool in the control of the size and biodistribution of polyion complexes (PIC). Using a combinatorial screening of six dendrimers (18-243 terminal groups) and five oppositely charged PEGylated copolymers, a dendrimer-to-PIC hierarchical transfer of structural information was revealed with PIC diameters that increased from 80 to 500 nm on decreasing the dendrimer generation. This rise in size, which was also accompanied by a micelle-to-vesicle transition, is interpreted according to a cone- to rod-shaped progression in the architecture of the unit PIC (uPIC). This precise size tuning enabled dendritic PICs to act as nanorulers for controlled biodistribution. Overall, a domino-like control of the size and biological properties of PIC that is not attainable with linear polymers is feasible through dendrimer generation.
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