Preface

As a start to a “tetralogy” on dendrimers, the volumes “Dendrimers” and “Den-drimers II” have already appeared in print. This mini-series continues now withthe latest volume “Dendrimers III” and will be completed by the fourth volume“Dendrimers IV” within the next few months. Volume III offers dendrimersbased on novel design concepts leading to highly stiffened and shape persistentdendritic structures as well as to new families of rather soft and floppy den-drimers and focuses on new functional properties and materials aspects. As an example, the question of host-guest interactions with dendrimers, whose existence has been under intense debate for a long time, finds its final – and posi-tive – answer in this volume. As a consequence, dendrimers clearly represent asubset of supramolecular chemistry.

The present volume not only contains an up-to-date collection of reviews bydistinguished pioneers in the field of dendritic molecules, but also gives pro-found insight into interdisciplinary fields. Dendritic macromolecules are in-cluded as well as the analysis of the dendrimers’ shapes and densities by smallangle scattering techniques. Applications in nanotechnology range from theinclusion of finely dispersed metals to nano clusters and semi-conducting materials. The advantages of dendritic architectures – the control of solubility,their nanometer dimensions, their ability to bind guests in “dendritic boxes”, the“additivity” of physical properties, the protection of sensitive core units by thedendrimer shell – have been used in many respects. Dendrimers as catalyst sup-port, sensing agents, diagnostic tools, or as promoters for gene transfection areunder study or have already been realized.

“Dendrimers III” is also intended to organize the impressive variety of scien-tific results from the field of dendrimers. This offers a basis for further develop-ment and helps to promote future applications. The reviews presented hereshould also prove useful in view of upcoming events such as the dendrimerworkshop in Kiel/Germany (January 2001) and the second International Den-drimer Symposium in Tokyo/Japan (October 2001).

Bonn, June 2000 Christoph A. Schalley, Fritz Vögtle