Dense star polymers having two dimensional molecular diameter

Claim 2

A dense star polymer having at least one core branch emanating from a core, each core branch having at least one terminal group provided that (1) the ratio of terminal groups to the branches emanating from the core is 2:1 or greater, (2) the density of terminal groups in the dense star polymer is at least 1.5 times that of an extended conventional star polymer having similar core and monomeric moieties and a comparable molecular weight and number of core branches wherein each of such branches of the extended conventional star polymer bears only one terminal group, (3) a molecular volume that is equal to or less than 80 percent of the molecular volume of said extended conventional star polymer, and (4) the two-dimensional molecular diameter of the dense star polymer is in the range from about 12 to about 2000 Angstroms.

Claim 3

The dense star polymer of claim 1 having (1) at least 2 core branches per core, (2) a terminal group density at least 5 times that of the corresponding extended conventional star polymer, (3) a molecular volume that is equal to or less than 60 percent of the volume of the extended conventional star polymer, and (4) the two-dimensional molecular diameter of the dense star polymer is in the range from about 25 to about 500 Angstroms.

Claim 4

The polymer of claim 1 which is a dendrimer having a polyvalent core that is covalently bonded to at least 1 ordered dendritic branch which extends to two generations such that each dendritic branch has at least four terminal groups and a symmetrical structure.

Claim 5

The polymer of claim 1 wherein the core is derived from a nucleophilic compound.

Claim 6

The polymer of claim 4 wherein the nucleophilic compound is an amine having a plurality of amine hydrogens.

Claim 7

The dense star polymer of claim 1 having at least 3 core branches per core.

Claim 8

The dense star polymer of claim 3 having at least 3 core branches per core.

Claim 9

A dense star polymer which is a dendrimer represented by the formula: wherein ○I is a polyfunctional core, Z c is a functional group bonded to the core and a X group of the first generation, N c is the number of functional group bonded to the core, X i is a monofunctional tail of a repeating unit Y i of the i generation which is bonded to Y i and a Z group of the i-1 generation, Z i is a functional group bonded to Y i and a X group of the i+1 generation, N i is a number of at least 2 which corresponds to the multiplicity of the polyfunctional head of Y i , is the product function, N i-1 is a number of at least 2 which corresponds to the multiplicity of the polyfunctional head of Y i-1 wherein Y i-1 is a repeating unit of the Y i-1 generation, X t is the monofunctional tail of a repeating unit Y t of the terminal generation, Z t is a terminating group bonded to Y t , N t is zero or a number which corresponds to the number of Z t groups bonded to one Y t group, i represents a number of a particular generation in a series from 1 to a number from 1 to t-1, provided that (1) all X i Y i (Z i ) N i are the same within a generation and may be the same or different in different generations and (2) all X t Y t (Z t ) N t of the terminal generation are the same.

Claim 10

A dense star polymer which is a dendrimer represented by the formula: wherein ○I is a polyfunctional core, Z c is a functional group bonded to the core and a X group of the first generation, N c is the number of functional group bonded to the core, X i is a monofunctional tail of a repeating unit Y i of the i generation which is bonded to Y i and a Z group of the i-1 generation, Z i is a functional group bonded to Y i and a X group of the i+1 generation, N i is a number of at least 2 which corresponds to the multiplicity of the polyfunctional head of Y i , is the product function, N i-1 is a number of at least 2 which corresponds to the multiplicity of the polyfunctional head of Y i-1 wherein Y i-1 is a repeating unit of the Y i-1 generation, X t is the monofunctional tail of a repeating unit Y t of the terminal generation, Z t is a terminating group bonded to Y t , N t is zero or a number which corresponds to the number of Z t groups bonded to one Y t group, i represents a number of a particular generation in a series from 1 to a number from 1 to t-1, provided that (1) all X i Y i (Z i ) N i are the same within a generation and may be the same or different in different generations and (2) all X t Y t (Z t ) N t of the terminal generation are the same.

Claim 11

The dense star polymer of claim 8 wherein t is 2 or more and N t is at least one.

Claim 12

The dense star polymer of claim 8 wherein t is 3 or more and N t is at least two.

Claim 13

A functionalized dendrimer which is the reaction product of the dense star polymer of claim 8 and a reagent capable of reacting with the terminal moieties of said polymer.

Claim 14

The polymer of claim 1 wherein the dendritic branches contain ether or thioether linkages.

Claim 15

The polymer of claim 8 wherein the core is derived from a nucleophilic compound and the branches contain polyether or polythioether moieties wherein the terminal groups are primary amine groups.

Claim 16

The polymer of claim 8 wherein the core is derived from a core compound having a plurality of halogens each capable of reacting with an alcohol moiety.

Claim 17

The polymer of claim 8 which is represented by the formula: ##STR58##

Claim 18

The polymer of claim 8 which is represented by the formula: ##STR59##

Claim 19

The polymer of claim 8 which is represented by the formula: ##STR60##