US Patent 7273904 - Manufacture of dendron box

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7273904.html

Dendrons are fractal-like branched molecular component with applications in drug delivery and optoelectronics. This patent from the Univesity of Arkansas teaches the use of nanocrystals to stabilize the groth of dendrons and form a dendron box which may be more stable than conventional dendrimers. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of forming a dendron box comprising: contacting a solid nanoparticle core between about 1 nm and about 100 nm in diameter with a plurality of cross-linkable dendron ligands to form a dendron-nanoparticle; cross-linking the dendron ligands to form a box-nanoparticle; and removing the solid nanoparticle core from the box-nanoparticle to form the dendron box.