DENDRIMER CHEMISTRY

Dendrimer Chemistry is a rapidly expanding field with many potential applications such as for drug-delivery systems, as "light harvesters" and as macromolecular homogeneous catalysts. We are now initiating projects in this area, adapting our experience in other fields to this new technology. Our current projects include

Solid-phase dendrimer synthesis
In collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Group, we have  initiated a 4-year Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge project, "SOPHOLIDES", i.e. Solid-Phase Phospholipid and Dendrimer Synthesis in order to enhance our research capability in this area. Partner laboratories in this project are those of Professor Mark Bradley (University of Edinburgh), Professor David Walton (University of Coventry) and Professor André Loupy (Université Paris-Sud).

Catalysis by polymetallic dendritic nanocatalysts (Nanotechnology)
The project in collaboration with Prof. G.S. Hanan (Universite de Montreal) deals with the development P,N- and N,OH-end functionalized triazine and dipyridine dendrimers, and their applications to transition-metal catalysis as well as their bioapplications.

Transition metal catalysis
This project involves the synthesis of imino-phosphine and amino-phosphine modified phosphine-containing dendrimers and their evaluation as ligands for palladium in the Heck reaction.

Recent publication
D.P. Catsoulacos, B.R. Steele, G.A. Heropoulos, M. Micha-Screttas, C.G. Screttas, Tetrahedron Lett., 2003, 44, 4575

Dendrimeric near-infrared dyes
Based on related work in our group on NLO materials and NIR dyes (see here), we are now engaged in the synthesis of related materials with ferrocene-based NIR chromophores on the periphery of polyether dendrimers