Patent ID: 7740954

Claim:
A process for modifying at least one dendron intended to form part of a dendrimer, said dendron having the formula: FO(dendrite−Q a ) y wherein FO is a functional group attached, either directly or via a linking group which can contain one or more reactable unsaturated units, to the first branching atom or group of the dendrite, each “dendrite” which may be the same or different is a dendrite which contains branching atoms or groups and optionally linking groups and comprises at least said first branching atom or group which must have, in addition to FO, 2 or more groups attached and in which the distal group of each arm of the dendrite is an aryl or heteroaryl group, at least one of said dendrite or, if present, the linking group to FO containing one or more reactable unsaturated units, y is 1 or more, Q is a surface group and a is 0 or an integer, which comprises reacting at least one said reactable unsaturated group in a chemoselective manner to form a less unsaturated group, with the proviso that the process does not comprise hydrogenating a dendron of the formula where R is 2-ethylhexyloxy.