A new class of protein mimics: preparation and electrophoretic properties of polycationic β-alanine-based dendrimers

The synthesis and characterization of a series of polyammonium β-alanine containing dendrimers were reported. Such polycationic species were shown to exhibit electrophoretic behavior similar to that of protein molecules such as lysozyme and aprotinin in acidic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It was also found that their electromobility was directly related to their molecular size, and hence such biomimetic dendrimers are potential molecular weight markers for protein analysis.