Arborescent

A New Solution in Functional Materials

Dendrimers

Functional dendrimers are a revolutionary new class of organic or hybrid organic / inorganic materials with breakthrough potential for nanotechnology and many other applications which require materials whose properties are predictable and controllable at nanometre scales.

A dendrimer comprises a core (represented by the square in the diagram on the left), surrounded by branched, ‘dendritic’ structures (dendrons) which connect the core to surface groups (the circles in the diagram on the right). Together, these determine the physical and other properties of the structure.

Arborescent

Arborescent develops dendrimers and similar functional materials for corporate clients on a contract basis.

For many applications, Arborescent will be able to start by using existing compounds or parts of compounds in its current ‘library’ of dendrimers and dendrimer constituents, saving clients both time and funds. For more advanced projects, the Arborescent team can design and synthesise new dendrimers for specific applications.

World Class Skills and Resources at Your Disposal

Arborescent conducts all of its materials development in Oxford, UK, where it draws upon the skills of university-based academics, and works closely with Oxford University's Department of Chemistry - the biggest university chemistry department in the world. Arborescent works under contract in the Department of Chemistry and can access all the Department’s world-class analytical equipment on behalf of its clients. Arborescent also has access to sophisticated facilities for the fabrication and physical characterisation of a very large range of electronic, opto-electronic, and other devices. As well as keeping some facilities in house, it has access to the Departments of Materials and Engineering at Oxford University, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at St Andrews University.

When Should I Try Dendrimers?

• To replace polymers in an existing programme - the excellent solution processing properties and greater design flexibility of dendrimers over polymers means that using dendrimers can often give a transformational boost to development programmes which have previously relied on polymers, as well as providing fresh intellectual property
• As a replacement for an inorganic material, if you are looking for lower cost processing or fuller integration by using organic functional materials instead of inorganic materials in an existing product. Dendrimers may well be the quickest and most effective way to engineer the nanometre-scale functionality you need in an organic form which can be tailored to be compatible with your desired processing approach
• To differentiate your intellectual property - in most fields, there is far more scope for creating new intellectual property relating to the use of dendrimers than for polymers. If your competitors are using polymers for the application in question, using dendrimers may provide you with an attractive alternative intellectual property position
• To solubilise a nanoparticle or small molecule - if the property you seek exists in a nanoparticle or small molecule which is not compatible with the solution process your company wants to use for fabrication, dendrimers can be used to ‘solubilise’ most inorganic or organic nanoparticles or molecules