Thermosensitivity of low generation poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with enriching peripheral functional groups

Low generation poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are less cytotoxic, but it is generally difficult to render them with thermosensitive properties due to the lack of surface terminal groups. Hydroxymethyl aminomethane was employed to modify PAMAM so as to increase the density of hydroxyl groups on PAMAM surface. Two types of thermosensitive units with different hydrophobicity were covalently linked to the hydroxyl groups of PAMAM surface to obtain thermosensitive PAMAM derivatives. The thermosensitivity of the surface-modified PAMAM can be precisely controlled by manipulating the hydrophobicity of the dendrimer periphery and regulating the ionization of the dendrimer interior.