Binary tree-inspired digital dendrimer

Digital polymers with precisely ordered units acting as the coded 0- or 1-bit, are introduced as a promising option for molecular data storage. However, the pursuit of better performance in terms of high storage capacity and useful functions never stops. Herein, we propose a concept of an information-coded 2D digital dendrimer. The divergent growth via thiol-maleimide Michael coupling allows precise arrangements of the 0- and 1-bits in the uniform dendrimers. A protocol for calculating the storage capacity of non-linear binary digital dendrimer is established based on data matrix barcode, generated by the tandem mass spectrometry decoding and encryption. Furthermore, the generated data matrix barcode can be read by a common hand-held device to cater the applications such as item identification, traceability and anticouterfeiting purpose. This work demonstrates the high data storage capacity of a uniform dendrimer and uncovers good opportunities for the digital polymers.