A bifunctional compound [(4-isocyanato-4'(3,3-dimethyl-2,4-dioxo-acetidino)diphenylmethane] (MIA) has been used as a building block for the synthesis of novel polyurea/malonamide dendrons. This is based on selectively sequential addition reactions of amines to isocyanato-azetidine-2,4-diones. After incorporation of the MIA onto the growing dendrons, rapid entry into polyurea/malonamide dendrons was achieved via a convergent route with the processing advantages of easy purification, high yield, and rapid synthesis. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.