Hydrolytically and enzymatically stable nanoscale synthetic constructs, with well-defined structures that exhibit antimicrobial activity, offer exciting possibilities for diverse applications in the emerging field of nanomedicine. Herein, we demonstrate that it is the core conformation, rather than periodicity, that ultimately controls the synthesis of sterically hindered aliphatic polyamide dendrimers. The latter selfinterrupt at a predictable low generation number due to backfolding of their

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... eripheral groups, which in turn leads to well-defined nanoarchitectures. (See pp.