PAMAM dendrimers have been conjectured for a wide range of biomedical applications due to their tuneable physicochemical properties. However, their application has been hindered by uncertainties in their cytotoxicity, which is influenced by dendrimer generation (i.e. size and surface group density), surface chemistry, and dosage, as well as cell specificity. In this review, biomedical applications of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and some related cytotoxicity studies are first outlined. Alongside these in vitro experiments, lipid membranes such as supported lipid bilayers (SLBs), liposomes, and Langmuir monolayers have been used as cell membrane models to study PAMAM dendrimer-membrane interactions. Related experimental and theoretical studies are summarized, and the physical insights from these studies are discussed to shed light on the fundamental understanding of PAMAM dendrimer-cell membrane interactions. We conclude with a summary of some questions that call for further investigations.

由于PAMAM树枝状大分子具有可调节的物理化学性质，因此被推测可用于多种生物医学应用。然而，其应用受到细胞毒性不确定性的阻碍，该不确定性受树枝状大分子生成（即大小和表面基团密度），表面化学的影响，剂量以及细胞特异性。在这篇综述中，首先概述了聚酰胺酰胺（PAMAM）树状聚合物的生物医学应用和一些相关的细胞毒性研究。除这些体外实验外，脂质膜（例如支持的脂质双层（SLB），脂质体和Langmuir单层）已用作细胞膜模型来研究PAMAM树状聚合物与膜的相互作用。总结了相关的实验和理论研究，并对这些研究的物理见解进行了讨论，以阐明对PAMAM树状聚合物-细胞膜相互作用的基本理解。最后，我们总结了一些需要进一步研究的问题。