Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Morara, Amy D
Author's Email Address	amorar1@lsu.edu
URN	etd-06032005-122947
Title	Characterizaiton of a Modified Poly(Propylene Imine) Dendrimer Host System
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department	Chemistry
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Robin L. McCarley Committee Chair Julia Chan Committee Member Robert Strongin Committee Member Steven Soper Committee Member Ben McCoy Dean's Representative
Keywords	Nile red encapsulation pyrrole oligomerization dendrimer host PPI host system
Date of Defense	2005-05-09
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The research in this dissertation focuses on the design of a novel redox-responsive host system that has the ability to encapsulate guest molecules. The host at hand is a tri(ethylene oxide), TEO, pyrrole-terminated PPI dendrimer that possesses water-solubility as a result of the presence of the TEO chains on the pyrrole groups and redox-responsive activity from the pyrrole groups after their oligomerization. The pyrrole moieties at the periphery of the dendrimer exhibit the ability to be oligomerized by oxidation chemistry, and this is shown to aid in the retention and egress of guest molecules located within the dendrimer interior. These studies were followed by Visible spectroscopy, in which various solvents and oxidizing agents were employed for the oligomerization of the pyrrole end groups. The synthesis of this dendrimer system employed many reaction types, including but not limited to, bromination, SN2, deprotection and protection, and coupling reactions. Three substitution of the pyrrole moiety with the TEO chain was necessary to allow the 2- and 5-positions to remain available for oligomerization. Three new three-substituted pyrrole molecules were synthesized in this work, along with 4 new pyrrole-modified PPI dendrimers, referred to as TPDx. Characterization of these TPD host systems consisted of light scattering studies of their aqueous and non-aqueous solutions, encapsulation/release of a hydrophobic guest by TPDx monitored with Vis and fluorescence spectroscopies, and TPDx oligomerization followed with UV-Vis-NIR and FT-IR spectroscopies. The light scattering studies revealed aggregation of the host molecules, which was dependent on many variables, including solvent system, TPDx concentration, and temperature. The ability of the pyrrole moieties on the dendrimer to remain redox-active was clearly demonstrated. The TPDx were treated with different oxidizing agents in various solvent systems, and as a result they were able to form intramolecular oligo(pyrrole) units around the periphery of the dendrimer. The TPDs also have the ability to trap guest molecules, namely Nile Red, in aqueous media within their interior regions through static and dynamic trapping mechanisms. The trapping of guests within the TPDs was determined to be time dependent and largely a function of the steric constraints at the periphery of the TPDs.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    Morara_dis.pdf 3.12 Mb 00:14:26 00:07:25 00:06:30 00:03:15 00:00:16