Journal of Nanomaterials
Volume 2008 (2008), Article ID 456082, 7 pages
doi:10.1155/2008/456082
Research Article

Improved Methodology for Monitoring Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimers Surface Transformations and Product Quality by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography

Chevelle A. Cason,1 Stuart A. Oehrle,1 Thomas A. Fabré,1 Craig D. Girten,1 Keith A. Walters,1 Donald A. Tomalia,2 Kristi L. Haik,3 and Heather A. Bullen1

1Department of Chemistry, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, USA
2Department of Chemistry, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, USA
3Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, USA

Received 7 November 2007; Revised 21 February 2008; Accepted 3 March 2008

Academic Editor: Donald Bansleben

Copyright © 2008 Chevelle A. Cason et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis was utilized for the first time as a methodology for monitoring poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer surface transformations and product quality. Results were compared to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and were found to provide a vastly improved analytical method for the characterization of dendrimer polydispersity and variance in a typical surface modification. The application of UPLC increased the average number of theoretical plates by a factor of 7 and reduced retention times of analytes by 36%, while improving the resolution capability to discriminate surface variances in dendrimers. The new UPLC procedures were used to monitor surface modification of [core: ethylenediamine]; (G = 4); dendri-poly(amidoamine)-(NH2)64 (i.e., [EDA]; (G4); dendri-PAMAM-(NH2)64) to produce biotinylated dendrimer conjugates. The enhanced sensitivity and efficiency of the UPLC analyses allowed resolution of biotin substituent levels and a better characterization of the targeted dendrimer conjugates compared to traditional HPLC methodology.