The possibility to incorporate diverse chemical species inside clays, especially swelling clay minerals, has been known for more than two millennia, but the first examples of man-made polymers interacting with clays only date back to about 30 years ago. Dendrimers and hyper-branched polymers differ from classical polymers by their intrinsically 3-dimensional structure, and by their large number of reactive functional groups. The study of their interaction with clays/clay minerals is relatively recent. Besides the fundamental research done on these kinds of organoclays, different potential uses have already been investigated. In this review, we will present an overview of the studies dealing with the synthetic processes, and the characterization of the resulting dendrimer/hyper-branched polymer–clay mineral (nano)composites. Special attention will be focussed on the properties of these new hybrid smart materials, in different fields ranging from catalysis, trapping gases (in particular CO₂ and H₂), energy conversion and storage, flame retardants, and biology (biosensors, hydrogels, and drug delivery) to water treatment (wastewater and water-based drilling fluids).

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a skin cancer treatment alternative to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This method exploits three elements: a phototoxic compound (photosensitizer), light source and oxygen. Upon irradiation by light of a specific wavelength, the photosensitizer generates reactive oxygen species triggering the cascade of reactions leading to cell death. The positive therapeutic effect of PDT may be limited due to low solubility, low tumor specificity and inefficient cellular uptake of photosensitizers. A promising approach to overcome these obstacles involves the use of nanocarrier systems. The aim of this initial study was to determine the potential of the application of phosphorus dendrimers as carriers of a photosensitizer—rose bengal (RB). The primary goal involved the synthesis and in vitro studies of covalent drug–dendrimer conjugates. Our approach allowed us to obtain RB–dendrimer conjugates with the use of tyramine as an aromatic linker between the carrier and the drug. The compounds were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ³¹P NMR, size and zeta potential measurements and spectrofluorimetric analysis. The dialysis to check the drug release from the conjugate, flow cytometry to specify intracellular uptake, and singlet oxygen generation assay were also applied. Finally, we used MTT assay to determine the biological activity of the tested compounds. The results of our experiments indicate that the conjugation of RB to phosphorus dendrimers via the tyramine linker decreases photodynamic activity of RB.

The study of chelating ligands is undoubtedly one of the most significant fields of research in chemistry. The present work is directed to the synthesis of new functionalized derivatives of tripodal C-scorpionate compounds. Tris-2,2,2-(1-pyrazolyl)ethanol, HOCH₂C(pz)₃ (1), one of the most important derivatives of hydrotris(pyrazolyl)methane, was used as a building block for the synthesis of new functionalized C-scorpionates, aiming to expand the scope of this unexplored class of compounds. The first dendritic C-scorpionate was successfully prepared and used in the important industrial catalytic reactions, Sonogashira and Heck C-C cross-couplings.