Identification and quantification of poly(amidoamine) PAMAM dendrimers of generations 0 to 3 by liquid chromatography/hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in aqueous medium.

Rationale: Poly(amidoamine) PAMAM dendrimers are highly water soluble and are used as flexible scaffolding or nanocontainers to conjugate, complex or encapsulate therapeutic drugs to overcome intrinsically weak characteristics such as solubilization in aqueous medium. To provide a reliable method for the quantitation of PAMAM dendrimers in aqueous medium, we report here a validation study which was developed in a complex wastewater matrix to evaluate the matrix effect in the electrospray ionization (ESI) source.

Methods: PAMAM dendrimers (generations G0 to G3) were identified and quantitated in aqueous medium using liquid chromatography interfaced to a hybrid quadrupole/time-of-flight mass analyzer.