Design of branched and chiral solvatochromic probes: toward quantifying polarity gradients in dendritic macromolecules

[reaction: see text] A pair of chiral, branched monomer building blocks, consisting of a solvatochromic probe and a spectroscopically inactive volume dummy, has been developed. The probe can selectively be excited, and its fluorescence characteristics provide information about local polarity. Incorporation of these monomers into high-generation polyester dendrimers should enable a detailed investigation of the polarity/density profile in dendritic architectures and ultimately allow for the realization of energy gradients from one chromophore building block only.