Encapsulation of metallo-porphyrins into water-soluble amphipatic dendrigrafts

Newly prepared water-soluble amphipatic hyperbranched organic polymers are used as nanocontainer and as carriers for large metal-organic molecules such as metallo-porphyrins. The hydrosoluble dendrigrafts are constituted by a polystyrene hydrophobic core surrounded by a polyvinyl ether hydrophilic shell. These nanometer-sized amphipatic macromolecules with an average diameter of about 100 nm and narrow polydispersity are fully soluble in aqueous media. capacity to encapsulate and transport metallo-porphyrins in aqueous media is investigated. Complexation studies show that up to several thousands of guest molecules can be embedded into each amphipatic dendrigraft macromolecule.