Dendrimers with electroactive units in the core or in each branching centre

Interest in dendrimers is mostly focused on their capability of performing specific functions which, in their turn, derive from the possibility of incorporating in predetermined sites of the structure selected functional groups ('pieces of information'). From a topological viewpoint we can distinguish dendrimers containing electroactive units (a) in the core, (b) in the branches, (c) in the surface, (d) in the core and in the branches, (e) in the core and in the surface, (f) in the branches and in the surface, and (g) in the core, branches and surface. In this article we review the behaviour of dendrimers with electroactive units buried in the core and dendrimers with electroactive units in each branching centre investigated in our laboratory. © 2003 Académie des sciences. Published by Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.