Developing amphiphilic dendrons for biomolecular interactions

Controlling how nanomaterials interact with themselves and with their external environment is essential for the development of nanotechnology. In this thesis, low molecular weight dendrons structurally combined with lipids were synthesised, which allowed for crucial parameters such as charge density, hydrophobicity, and flexibility of the system to be modified independently for optimisation of their physicochemical and biological performance. The design of amphiphilic dendrons was fundamental to the aims of this thesis, allowing systematic investigation of the impact of molecular structure on its ability to inhibit bacterial activity and the potential to interact with nucleic acids for gene delivery applications.