TABLE 1.
Basic characteristics of different types of dendrimers.
| Type of dendrimer | Characteristics | Advantages | Limitations | Drug/gene used | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAMAM Dendrimers | Hyperbranched, unparalleled molecular uniformity, narrow molecular weight distribution, defined size and shape characteristics, multifunctional terminal surfaces | Biocompatible, water soluble, non-immunogenic, high loading efficiency, Improved biological stability, cell uptake and intracellular trafficking and pharmacokinetics, immune modulator, glucose scavenger, alter cell signalling pathways | Prolonged administration cause organ and tissue toxicities | Luciferase siRNA, angiopep-2 peptides, Epirubicin Let-7g miRNA, Fibrin-binding CREKA, (glioma homing peptides), Biotin Pyridoxal, p42-MAPK siRNA, KLAK, Bcl-2 and VEGF siRNA, anti-GFP siRNA, Apoptin, etc. | Xu et al. (2016), Zarebkohan et al. (2016), Xu et al. (2016), Shi et al. (2020), Igartua et al. (2018), Sharma et al., 2018, Bae et al., 2019, Ban et al. (2021), Fana et al. (2020), Bae et al. (2021), Sharma et al. (2021), Li et al. (2022) |
| PPI Dendrimers | Highly branched, well defined size, narrow dispersity, ease of terminal end group modifications | controlled release, improved tumor penetration and bioavailability, greater gene transfection efficiency, reduced adverse effects, Non-immunogenic, amorphous, no notable toxicity, due to adjustable pore size able to encapsulate and release kinetics | Low hydro solubility, toxicity, haemolytic effect | Paclitaxel, Docetaxel, methotrexate, pORE-TRAIL, SiRNA, etc | Gajbhiye and jain (2011), patel et al. (2012), Somani et al. (2014), Patel et al. (2016), Noske et al. (2020) |
| PLL Dendrimers | Well organized three dimensional globular chemical architecture, high monodispersity, precise size, polycationic dendrimer having number of surface amines thus able to bind with polyanions (nucleic acids) via electrostatic interaction | Gene carrier due to excellent condensation potential with oligonucleotides, good biocompatibility, water solubility, biodegradability, and flexibility, safer as compared to other dendrimers, inherent antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, etc., properties | Low stability | Doxorubin, methotrexate, Gemcitabine, aptamers, Camptothecin, Docetaxel, Fluorouracil, DNA,SiRNA, Imaging agents, diabetic and cardiovascular drugs, etc | Janiszewska et al. (2016), Hegde et al. (2019), Zhu et al. (2019), Gorzkiewicz et al., 2020 |
| Carbosilane Dendrimers | Defined structure with terminal cationic and anionic groups, non-functional siloxane external shells | Non-toxic, good biocompatibility, good thermal stability, increased half life, bioavailability | toxicity | anti-cancer therapy, immunotherapy, drug delivery, and gene therapy | Gomez et al., 2013, Rabiee et al. (2020), Rodríguez-Prieto et al. (2016), Strasak et al. (2017), Perise-Barrios et al. (2015) |
| Phosphorus Dendrimers | Contains phosphorous atom at each branching point along with hydrophobic surface and hydrophobic backbone | Diverse synthesis methods available, high ability to stabilize and to complex with preapoptic SiRNA and increase uptake upt 100%, high yield, water solubility, improved PK and PD of drugs and conjugates, less systemic toxicity | Toxicity issues | small molecules, peptides, siRNAs, mRNAs, anticancer and antitubercular drugs | Shcharbin et al. (2013), Chis et al. (2020), Migrani et al. (2021a), Migrani et al. (2021b), Migrani et al. (2022), Posadas et al. (2022) |
| Peptide Dendrimers | wedge-like branched macromolecules having peptidyl branching core and/or covalently attached surface functional units | biocompatibility, diversity and multifunctionality, self-assemble nanosized structure | low hydrosolubility and high non-specific toxicity | biomedical diagnostic reagents, protein mimetics, anticancer and antiviral agents, vaccines, drug and gene delivery vehicles | Stalmans et al. (2014), Lalatsa et al. (2014), Xie et al. (2022), Sowińska et al. (2022), Cieślak et al., 2020 |
| Glycodendrimers | structurally and functionally mimic natural polysaccharides, glycoproteins and mucins based dendrimers, targets carbohydrate specific receptors | Biocompatibility, non-toxicity, effective and strong biniding to lectin, cell specific targeting | Stability problems | Inhibit adhesion of HIV (human immune-deficiency virus), inhibit chlora toxin, inhibit bindling of influenza virus and E. Coli bacteria such as Streptococcus suis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, vaccines and drug delivery vehicles | Zhang et al. (2022), Arabi et al., 2020, Roy et al. (2013), Gillies (2011) |
| Triazine Dendrimers | Structure with Orthogonal functional end groups for surface modification possibility, scalable | synthetic versatility, well-defined structure, orthogonal functional group provides space for drugs and ligands attachment | solubility limitations, intrinsic toxicity | Cancer drugs (paclitaxel, camptothecin) brefeldin A (antiviral) and desferrioxamine), non-viral DNA and RNA delivery systems, in sensing applications, and as bioactive materials | Haiba et al. (2022), Apartsin et al. (2022), Lim et al., 2019 |
| Polyglycerol Dendrimers | Hyperbranched polymeric structures with multiple peripheral hydroxyl groups provides attachment point to other groups for surface modification | excellent water-solubility, non-toxicity, and minimal non-specific interactions in biological environments, good biocompatibility, low polydispersity | Tedious multiple step synthesis process and purification problems | drug delivery, gene transfection, biomedical imaging, and diagnostics | Maysinger et al. (2020), Sharma et al. (2020), Jiang et al. (2016), Ooya and Lee 2022 |
| Citric acid dendrimers | Highly branched, monodisperse, stable molecular level, low polydispersity, micellar structure | Water soluble, biocompatible, less toxic | Interaction with biological membranes cause membrane disruption via nanohole formation, membrane thinning and erosion | Drug/gene delivery systems | Namazi et al. (2017), Nangare et al. (2021) |
| Polyether dendrimers | spherical, highly branched, functional dendrimers with surfaced positively charged ether groups | Low polydispersity, high surface area to volume ratio, low viscosity, high solubility and miscibility and adhesiveness | Small yield, toxicity | Biomedical and tissue engineering applications | Knauer et al. (2022), Dhanikula et al. (2008), Michael et al., 2001 |
Fibrin-binding CREKA, small pentapeptide of Cys-Arg-Glu-Lys-Ala specifically binds to fibrin; p42-MAPK siRNA, p42-Mitogen-activated protein kinases siRNA KLAK, Lysine-Leucine-Alanine-Lysine; Bcl- B-cell lymphoma 2; VEGF siRNA, Vascular endothelial growth factor anti-GFP siRNA- anti-green fluroscent protein siRNA; TRAIL, tumor-necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand.