Electrochemistry of non-redox-active poly(propylenimine) and poly(amidoamine) dendrimers at liquid-liquid interfaces

Alfonso Berduque, Micheál D. Scanlon, Courtney J. Collins, Damien W.M. Arrigan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The electrochemistry of a series of dendrimers was examined at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES), enabling study of non-redox-active dendrimers. Different generations of poly(propylenimine) (DAB-AM-n) and poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers were studied. In their protonated states, the dendrimers were transferred across the ITIES, with the electrochemical behavior observed depending on the dendrimer family, the generation number, and the experimental pH. The electrochemistry of the lower generations studied was characterized by well-defined peaks for both dendrimer families and with small peak-peak separations in the case of the PAMAM family. The voltammetry of the higher generations was more complex, showing distorted voltammograms and instability of the interface. The charges of the transferring dendrimers were calculated by convolution of the voltammetric data and were similar to the theoretical charges for DAB-AM-n. For PAMAM, only the lowest generation exhibited reversible behavior, with higher generations having irreversible behavior. Using cyclic voltammetry, low micromolar concentrations of the dendrimers were detected. The results show that electrochemistry at the ITIES can be a useful method for characterization of ionizable dendrimers and that voltammetry can be a simple method for detection of low concentrations of these multicharged species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7356-7364
Number of pages9
JournalLangmuir
Volume23
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Jun 2007
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Electrochemistry of non-redox-active poly(propylenimine) and poly(amidoamine) dendrimers at liquid-liquid interfaces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this