title: Self-assembling dendrimers.
abstract: Hydrogen bond-mediated self-assembly is a powerful strategy for generating large structures from smaller subunits. The synthesis of molecules containing two isophthalic acid units covalently attached to a rigid aromatic spacer is described. By normal pairing of carboxylic acids into hydrogen-bonded dimers, these molecules self-assemble in organic solvents to form either a series of linear aggregates or a cyclic hexamer. These molecules were linked to the core of a family of polyether dendrimers, which caused the hexamer to be formed preferentially. The stability of the hexamer depended on the generation number of the dendrimer. The largest of these hydrogen-bonded macromolecular assemblies is roughly disk-shaped with a 9-nanometer diameter and a 2-nanometer thickness. Its size and molecular mass (34,000 daltons) are comparable to that of small proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Reichert
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kolotuchin
mesh_terms: D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D002845:Chromatography; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012997:Solvents
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011108:Polymers; D012997:Solvents