Introduction
Over the past several years, advances in
polymer chemistry have opened new
avenues in the preparation of macromolecules
possessing well-defined three-dimensional
shape and rich functionality of the molecular
surface. Molecules like dendrimers (1),
cylindrically shaped brushes (2), and
monodendron-jacketed polymers (3) are of
particular interest in nanotechnology. These
molecules have exceptional film-forming
properties and can be? utilized as molecular
containers for drug delivery, construction
units for molecular motors, polyfunctional
catalysts, and templates for nanolithography.
All of these applications take advantage of
the well-defined morphology and synthetic
versatility of such molecules, which enables
control of their size, shape, interior structure,
and surface functionality.