Accidental exposure to uranium is a matter of concern, as U(VI) is nephrotoxic in both human and animal models, and its toxicity is associated to chemical toxicity instead of radioactivity. We synthesized different PAMAM G4 and G5 derivatives in order to prove their interaction with uranium and their effect on the viability of red blood cells in vitro. Furthermore, we prove the effectiveness of the selected dendrimers in an animal model of acute uranium intoxication. The dendrimer PAMAM G4-Lys-Fmoc-Cbz demonstrated the ability to chelate the uranyl ion in vivo, improving the biochemical and histopathologic features caused by acute intoxication with uranium.
Keywords: PAMAM dendrimer derivatives; acute intoxication; chelating agent; uranium.