Poly(amidoamine-organosilicon) (PAMAMOS) multi-arm star polymers

A new class of hydrophilic core – hydrophobic arms multi-arm star polymers is described: the first such materials to have silicon located in the side arms. They belong to the broad family of radially layered copolymeric amidoamine-organosilicon (PAMAMOS) dendritic macromolecules and may be viewed as nanostructured, covalently bonded, inverse micelles. Two types of hydrophobic, silicon-containing arms have been used, one based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and another based on predominantly alkyl chains attached by organosilicon chemistry to the hydrophilic polyamidoamine (PAMAM) core. The former polymers are synthesized by a reaction of amine-terminated PAMAMs by mono-functional epoxy PDMS, while the latter are obtained by haloalkylation of the same PAMAMs with a suitable unsaturated silane followed by alkylthiol addition. The Langmuir film behavior of the multi-arm star polymers with PDMS arms is described and rationalized in comparison with that of other hydrophobically modified PAMAM dendrimers reported in the literature. Their uptake of Cu²⁺ from aqueous solutions is also described.