Bioorthogonal Swarming: In Situ Generation of Dendrimers

With the aid of bioorthogonal chemistry, we demonstrate the fabrication of synthetic dendrimers in situ around living cells. Using tetrazine dienophile and aminooxyl/hydrazide aldehyde chemistries, the density of functional groups on the dendrimers exponentially amplified intensities of fluorescent markers in antibody-targeted live cell imaging. This novel "swarming" approach highlights the power of bioorthogonal chemistry and provides a route to non-natural chemical structures on cells, paving the way for the generation of various artificial cellular nanostructures and scaffolds.