PAMAM Dendrimer Functionalized Manganese Ferrite Magnetic Nanoparticles: Microwave-Assisted Synthesis and Characterization

The present study describes the use of microwave-assisted technology for poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (PAMAM) generation grafting on magnetic cores. Based on this aim, starting from a manganese ferrite core (MF), microwave-assisted synthesis of a new series of half generation (G0.5–G2.5) and full generation (G1–G3) PAMAM dendrimer functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (PAMAM@MNPs) were accomplished by the repetitive Micheal addition (45 min) and amidation (30 min) reactions in a considerably shorter period of times compared with the previous studies. The synthesized PAMAM@MNPs with MF core (PAMAM@MFs) were characterized by X-ray powder diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, attenuated total Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results showed successful growth of PAMAM generations on MF with a spherical and narrow size distribution and considerable superparamagnetic properties. In particular, ATR–FTIR spectra and TGA thermograms of PAMAM@MFs verified the perfect completion of the Micheal addition and amidation reactions. Remarkably, the solubility of PAMAM@MFs in water and organic solvents enhanced as the generation increased. The developed microwave method can be a great potential for the rapid, facile, and green functionalization of PAMAM dendrons on magnetic cores, and thus the resultant materials could be a general interest of various applications, including drug delivery, protein immobilization, catalysis and scavengers.