Dendrimer-based devices: Antennae and amplifiers

In this chapter we focus on two applications of dendrimers that stem from their unique branched structures: dendrimers as light harvesting antennae, and dendrimers as novel platforms for drug delivery (molecular amplifiers). Both applications are formulated theoretically within a framework based on the master equation. The quantities of interest are the first passage time probability density function and its moments. We examine how this function depends on the geometric and energetic characteristics of the dendrimeric system. In particular, we investigate the dependence of the first passage time properties on the number of generations (dendrimer size), and on the system bias. We present analytical expressions for the first passage times of very efficient dendrimeric antennae and of dendrimeric amplifiers. For these cases the mean first passage time scales linearly with the system length, and fluctuations around the mean are negligible for large systems. Light harvesting processes under different system-bias conditions are discussed.