For many years scientists have employed dendritic polymers (dendrimers and
hyperbranched polymers) in association with other nanomaterials (such as
graphene, carbon nanotubes, proteins and peptides, as well as metallic
nanoparticles) to synthesize hybrid nanomaterials with improved
biocompatibility, biodegradability, functionality, physicochemical properties
and the capability of carrying other molecules. However, more recent studies
demonstrate that one of the less noticed effects and newly observed facets of
dendritic polymers is their role in changing the structure (shape, size and
sheet multiplicity) of the obtained hybrid nanomaterials, upon covalent and
noncovalent interactions. In this review, we intend to have a more specialized
look at these reports and discuss the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of this phenomenon
