Polyglycerol-derived amphiphiles for single walled carbon nanotube suspension

Inspired by the commercially available SDS surfactant, a new polyglycerol-derived amphiphile has been synthesized for functionalizing carbon nanotubes. SDS’ sulphate group was replaced by a polyglycerol dendron. The steric hindrance offered by the dendrons makes the compound much more efficient than SDS in isolating and stabilizing nanotubes in solution. Further amphiphiles have been synthesized by adding small aromatic moieties between head and tail groups. We show that this addition leads to selective interaction between surfactants and carbon nanotubes. Excitation photoluminescence and optical absorption spectroscopy analysis confirm the change in the distribution of nanotubes’ chiralities in suspension, depending on the amphiphile

Carbon-based cores with polyglycerol shells – the importance of core flexibility for encapsulation of hydrophobic guests

Two core–shell nanoparticles with polyglycerol shells and sp3 carbon cores with different flexibilities (soft dendritic polyethylene and hard nanodiamond) were synthesized, their encapsulation capacities were compared, and their ability to transport into tumor cells was investigated. The nanocarrier with a soft core was superior to the hard one

Tandem Coordination, Ring-Opening, Hyperbranched Polymerization for the Synthesis of Water-Soluble Core–Shell Unimolecular Transporters

A water-soluble molecular transporter with a dendritic core–shell nanostructure has been prepared by a tandem coordination, ring-opening, hyperbranched polymerization process. Consisting of hydrophilic hyperbranched polyglycerol shell grafted from hydrophobic dendritic polyethylene core, the transporter has a molecular weight of 951 kg/mol and a hydrodynamic diameter of 17.5 ± 0.9 nm, as determined by static and dynamic light scattering, respectively. Based on evidence from fluorescence spectroscopy, light scattering, and electron microscopy, the core–shell copolymer transports the hydrophobic guests pyrene and Nile red by a unimolecular transport mechanism. Furthermore, it was shown that the core–shell copolymer effectively transports the hydrophobic dye Nile red into living cells under extremely high and biologically relevant dilution conditions, which is in sharp contrast to a small molecule amphiphile. These results suggest potential applicability of such core–shell molecular transporters in the administration of poorly water-soluble drugs