Polycationic adamantane-based dendrons of different generations display high cellular uptake without triggering cytotoxicity.

Dendrons used as synthetic carriers are promising nanostructures for biomedical applications. Some polycationic dendritic systems, such as the commercially available polyethylenimine (PEI), have the ability to deliver genetic material into cells. Nevertheless, polycationic vectors are often associated with potential cellular toxicity, which prevents their use in clinical development. In this context, our research focused on the design and synthesis of a novel type of polycationic dendrons that are able to penetrate into cells without triggering cytotoxic effects. We synthesized first- and second-generation polycationic adamantane-based dendrons via a combined protection/deprotection strategy starting from different adamantane scaffolds. The linker between the adamantane cores is constituted of short ethylene glycol chains, and the periphery consists of ammonium and guanidinium groups. None of these dendritic structures, which we previously called HYDRAmers, displayed significant cytotoxicity effects on two different cell lines (RAW 264.7 and HeLa). Conjugation of the fluorescent probe cyanine 5 at their focal point via click chemistry permitted the evaluation of their cellular internalization. All of the dendrons penetrated through the membrane with efficient cellular uptake depending of the dendron generation and the nature of the peripheral groups. These results suggest that the polycationic HYDRAmers are potentially interesting as new vectors in biomedical applications, including gene and drug delivery.