Metallocorrole dendrimers: sensitive corrole-chromium(V)-nitride spin probes for studying the solution structure of dendrimers.

The corrole-chromium(V)-nitrido moiety is introduced as a uniquely sensitive EPR spin probe. We describe a series of corrole-centered poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers and the selective incorporation of the chromium(V)-nitrido moiety. The chromium-corrole cores are reactive toward both neutral and charged reagents, and the accessibility of the dendrimer cores enables easy manipulation of the spin probe. The spin probe reveals a pronounced solvent dependence of the solution-phase structure of the dendrimers.