Dendronization is a synthetic methodology that offers important advantages. The resulting products, which are called dendronized materials, present new and specific properties. This review shows numerous examples in which individual dendrons are used as building blocks to prepare more complex arrays via covalent or non-covalent interactions. In particular, it points out how the structural information programmed into the dendritic architecture can be used in the dendronization process to generate nanostructures with specific tailored properties. We emphasize the use of different dendrons, with diverse chemical structure and size, to functionalize diverse substrates like linear polymers, and plane and curved inorganic surfaces. Apart from this, the review also demonstrates that self-assembly represents an ideal approach to create well-defined hyperbranched surfaces and it includes some discussion about the ability of both organic and inorganic building blocks to direct this process.

Novel chitosan films dendronized on one side were prepared by reaction between a cross-linked biopolymer and weisocyanate dendron. According to ATR-FTIR analysis, it can be concluded that the dendronization took place on only one of the faces of the films. The highlight of this work is that the modification grants different hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties on both sides of the system. Interactions between the dendron-polymer network and the hydrophobic characteristics of the dendron modify the physical properties of the films. As the thermal stability of the films increases, the degree of swelling and WVP values decrease, and the elastic modulus increases, turning the network more rigid. The dendronized films were swollen at pH 3.4 and 6.8 which are the pHs of the different wound healing stages. The films remained stable for an extended period. The films obtained can be potentially applied as wound dressings able to maintain a moist environment at the wound interface and act as a barrier to microorganisms, removing excess exudates. The product is made from a readily available biomaterial that requires minimal processing, possesses antimicrobial properties and could promote wound healing.

In the last few decades, the synthesis of nanodevices has become a very active research field with many applications in biochemistry, biotechnology, and biomedicine. However, there is still a great need for smart nanomaterials that can sense and respond to environmental changes. Temperature- and pH-responsive nanogels (NGs), which are prepared in a one-pot synthesis from N-isopropylacrylamide (NiPAm) and a Newkome-type dendron (ABC) bearing carboxylic acid groups, are being investigated as multi-responsive drug carriers. As a result, NGs have been developed that are able to undergo a reversible volume phase transition triggered by acidic conditions, like the ones found in endolysosomal compartments of cancer cells. The NGs have been thoroughly characterized using dynamic light scattering and spectroscopies, such as infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, UV-visible, and stimulated Raman. Strong hydrogen bonds have been detected when the ABC moieties are deprotonated, which has led to changes in the transition temperatures of the NGs and a reversible, pH-dependent aggregation. This pH-dependent phase change was exploited for the effective encapsulation and sustained release of the anticancer drug cisplatin and resulted in a faster release of the drug at endolysosomal pH values. The cisplatin-loaded NGs have exhibited high toxicities against A549 cells in vitro, while the unloaded NGs have been found to be not cytotoxic and hemocompatible.