Biological properties of phosphorus dendrimers

This review will display the special role played by phosphorus-containing dendrimers when interacting with biological systems. After some synthetic aspects, the usefulness of these dendrimers for elaboration of highly sensitive bio-sensors and for in vitro drug delivery (for instance as transfection agents, or against HIV-1 and the scrapie form of prions) will be demonstrated. Then, emphasis will be put on the favourable influence of these dendrimers on cells growth, in particular for neuronal cells, and for human immune blood cells such as monocytes and Natural Killer cells, the latter playing a key-role for fighting against viral infections and cancers. This review will finally describe in vivo biological properties of these phosphorus dendrimers as anti-prion agents, for ocular drug delivery, and for imaging rat brain blood vessels. Some of these properties can be found also with other types of dendrimers, but others, in particular the interaction with the human immune blood cells, occur only and specifically with phosphorus dendrimers.