Engineering nanoscopic macromolecules for applications : stars versus dendrimers for catalysis and sensoring

Dendrimers show steric bulk on their surface while, in star molecules, there is more bulk on the core than on the periphery. Thus catalysts, which require as little steric congestion as possible around the catalytic centers, are attached to the branch termini of stars rather than to those of dendrimers. On the other hand, for recognition and sensoring, redox centers located on surface cavities of dendrimers are highly efficient as the surface channels allowing substrates to penetrate into these cavities are narrow (dendritic effect).