title: Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble and photostable L-DOPA dendrimers.
abstract: A small drug molecule, L-DOPA, was converted into well-defined dendritic macromolecules. Their monodisperse nature was shown by NMR, MALDI-TOF-MS, and PAGE. A third-generation L-Dopa dendrimer contained 30 L-Dopa residues, which made up its core, branches, and periphery. Individual L-Dopa moieties in the dendrimer were connected to one another via hydrolyzable diester linkages. These Dopa dendrimers showed a 20-fold increase in aqueous solubility and enhanced photostability in solutions over L-Dopa under identical conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48859, USA.
authors.forename: Shengzhuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Lynda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Minghui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chai
mesh_terms: D050091:Dendrimers / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D007980:Levodopa / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D010777:Photochemistry; D012995:Solubility; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D014867:Water; D007980:Levodopa