Microscopy and electroanalysis of a first generation copperpoly (propyleneimine) metallodendrimer system

A copper-poly(propyleneimine) (CuPPI) metallodendrimer was physically adsorbed onto the surface of a gold electrode to form an Au|CuPPI electrode system, which was electrochemically characterized by cyclic and square wave voltammetric techniques. The surface morphology of the poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer (PPI) and its copper-functionalized derivative, i.e. CuPPI, were compared using atomic force microscopy (AFM). High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) data showed that CuPPI has a layered crystalline structure. The metallodendrimer would be a suitable platform for electrochemical biosensing applications since the diffusion coefficient is only very slightly affected by oxygen.