Molecular recognition and self-assembled polymer films for vapor phase detection of explosives

Selective and sensitive polymer films for detecting explosives were studied and fabricated onto surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Polymers and molecular host species were self-assembled on functionalized silicon oxide surfaces through a catalytic hydrosilylation reaction. The covalently attached thin polymer films are stable, continuous and uniform with film thickness ranging from 15 to 30 nm. The microsensors coated with the polymer films show high sensitivity towards 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and o-nitrotoluene, an explosive simulant. Sensor responses to possible common interferents in land mine detection were studied and the sensor sensitivities to them were found to be much lower than that to DNT and explosives simulants. Response patterns for interferants and o-nitrotoluene were constructed and the sensors coated with functionalized cyclodextrins were able to detect 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) under ambient laboratory conditions.     

分子动力学模拟浓度和温度对TATB/PCTFE PBX力学性能的影响

为探讨高聚物粘结炸药(Polymer Bonded Explosive, PBX)的力学性能随温度和高聚物浓度而变化的规律, 用分子动力学(MD)方法和compass力场, 对著名高能炸药1,3,5-三氨基-2,4,6-三硝基苯(TATB)与常用高聚物粘结剂聚三氟氯乙烯(PCTFE)所构成的TATB/PCTFE PBX进行模拟计算. 结果表明, 在一定范围内, 随高聚物浓度的增加, PBX的弹性系数和模量减小, 表明其刚性减小、弹性增加; 而随温度的升高, PBX的刚性减小、弹性增强. 还发现PBX的结合能随浓度增高而增大, 随温度升高而减小.     

The relationship between end‐group concentrations and stability of spin‐coated thin polymer films investigated by ToF‐SIMS depth profiling

Stable and unstable spin‐coated polymer films were prepared using various solvents and substrates. The relationship between polymer end‐group concentrations and stability of spin‐coated polymer films was revealed by time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling. A high concentration of bromine end groups at the interface between the polymer and the substrate helped to prevent the dewetting of films. In contrast, the bromine end groups were found to be more evenly distributed in unstable thin films. The extent to which the bromine end groups segregate to the interface depended on the competitive interactions between the polymer, the solvent and the substrate. Stronger polymer–solvent and solvent–substrate interactions prevented the segregation of the bromine end groups to the interface, resulting in unstable polymer films. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymer cushions functionalized with lipid molecules

This Letter reports a novel approach to the fabrication of a biomimicking surface by modification of an end-functionalizable smooth polymer cushion constructed via chemoselective ligation with a phospholipid-like molecule containing oxyamine groups. The mobility of a phospholipid bilayer formed by vesicle fusion on the phospholipid-like molecule terminated polymer film was characterized by fluorescence recovery after bleaching. Platelet adhesion, as one measure of biocompatibility of the film was also studied and compared to other surfaces such as polyethylene or poly(dimethylsiloxane). The results show that the end-functionalized smooth polymer cushion has potential as a biocompatible platform to reconstitute membrane proteins.     

Coating of vesicles with hydrophilic reactive polymers

Vesicles bearing either cationic (amino) groups or zwitterionic (amino acid) groups on the surface were coated with a reactive multivalent hydrophilic N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide polymer (PHPMA) and its positively charged analogue (3 mol % quaternary ammonium groups), both having reactive thiazolidine-2-thione (TT) groups randomly distributed along the polymer chain. The vesicles were dispersed in water at a concentration of 1 mg/mL. The effect of surface charges of model vesicles on the surface coating efficiency was evaluated. The changes in the weight-average molecular weight, in the hydrodynamic size, and in the zeta-potential of model vesicles were tested using light scattering methods. The most effective coating of vesicles was observed for the zwitterionic vesicles coated with the positively charged hydrophilic PHPMA-TT copolymer at a concentration of reactive polymer cp = 2 mg/mL. The coating efficiency was more than 1 order of magnitude higher than that obtained for positively charged vesicles coated by the uncharged hydrophilic polymer at the same cp.     

Synthesis of Functional Polymers by Post‐Polymerization Modification

Post‐polymerization modification is based on the direct polymerization or copolymerization of monomers bearing chemoselective handles that are inert towards the polymerization conditions but can be quantitatively converted in a subsequent step into a broad range of other functional groups. The success of this method is based on the excellent conversions achievable under mild conditions, the excellent functional‐group tolerance, and the orthogonality of the post‐polymerization modification reactions. This Review surveys different classes of reactive polymer precursors bearing chemoselective handles and discusses issues related to the preparation of these reactive polymers by direct polymerization of appropriately functionalized monomers as well as the post‐polymerization modification of these precursors into functional polymers.     

Thermal stabilities of polynitroaromatic compounds and their derivatives

The thermal stabilities of 33 polynitroaromatic compounds and their derivatives were determined using non-isothermal differential thermal analysis (DTA). For twelve of these, the thermal stabilities of their mixtures with 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene was also determined. The results obtained are discussed from a molecular structural point of view.The results obtained from DTA measurements are compared with the published data which were derived from the results of the application of the manometric method to the study of the thermal reactivity of polynitroaromatic compounds. The differences which exist between the conclusions reached on basis of DTA application, on the one hand, and those obtained on the basis of the application of the manometric method, on the other hand, are discussed.Using the published relationship for the calculation of the temperature limit (T_max) for the use of polynitroaromatic compounds as secondary thermostable explosives, T_max values are calculated for the compounds being measured. A relationship is derived between T_max and T_D the initial exothermal decomposition temperature obtained from the DTA of the studied compounds.     

Mixed Polymer‐Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles as Forward Osmosis Draw Agents of Tuned Hydrophilicity

We recently reported a polymer‐coated magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) draw agent for the forward osmosis (FO) water desalination process. The water flux was found to increase when the polymer poly(sodium acrylate) (PSA) was anchored to the MNP surface as compared to the polymer (or polyelectrolyte solution) alone, due to the polymer chains being stretched out and most of the hydrophilic groups on the polymer contributing to water flux. We herein report the use of a secondary polymer poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) PNIPAM to manipulate the PSA polymer conformation and influence inter‐ and intrachain interactions to enhance the efficiency of the FO draw agent. These PSA–PNIPAM‐coated MNPs generated a much higher water flux of ～11.66 LMH when compared to the 100 % PSA‐coated MNPs featuring a value of ～5.32 LMH under identical FO conditions. The osmotic pressure and water flux driven by the mixed polymer‐coated MNPs were found to be a strong function of the net polymer coverage on MNPs, that is, net available hydrophilic groups. Our new draw agent demonstrates potential for use in the water industry due to its improved efficiency and cost effectiveness as it uses only ～0.062 % (w/v) of the draw agent solution.     

Defect-free polymer multilayers prepared via chemoselective immobilization

In this paper, we investigated electrochemical properties of polymer multilayers on gold substrates using impedance spectroscopy. The multilayer was prepared by chemoselective ligation between aldehyde- and oxyamine-functionalized polymers via a layer-by-layer approach. The impedance spectra in a buffer solution in the absence of redox species revealed the formation of highly impermeable and defect-free films. The dielectric thickness of the polymer film, which is proportional to the reciprocal of capacitance, linearly increased as the number of deposition layer increased. The defect area of the polymer multilayer was obtained using the faradaic impedance with redox species. The surface coverage of eight polymer layers was determined to be 99.99%. Thus, the layer-by-layer deposition via chemoselective ligation offers a new way to prepare a highly insulating and defect-free polymer layer with finely tunable capacitance as a function of the number of deposition layers.     

Combinatorial synthesis of MUC1 glycopeptides: polymer blotting facilitates chemical and enzymatic synthesis of highly complicated mucin glycopeptides

The chemoselective polymer blotting method allows for rapid and efficient synthesis of glycopeptides based on a "catch and release" strategy between solid-phase and water-soluble polymer supports. We have developed a heterobifunctional linker sensitive to glutamic acid specific protease (BLase). The general procedure consists of five steps, namely (i) the solid-phase synthesis of glycopeptide containing BLase sensitive linker, (ii) subsequent deprotections and the release of the glycopeptide from the resin, (iii) chemoselective blotting of the glycopeptide intermediates in the presence of water-soluble polymers with oxylamino functional groups, (iv) sugar elongations using glycosyltransferases, and (v) the release of target glycopeptides from the polymer platform by selective BLase promoted hydrolysis. The combined use of the solid-phase chemical syntheses of peptides and the enzymatic syntheses of carbohydrates on water-soluble polymers would greatly contribute to the production of complicated glycopeptide libraries, thereby enhancing applicative research. We report here a high-throughput synthetic system for the various types of MUC1 glycopeptides exhibiting a variety of sugar moieties. It is our belief that this concept will become part of the entrenched repertoire for the synthesis of biologically important glycopeptides on the basis of glycosyltransferase reactions in automated and combinatorial syntheses.     

Peptide/protein-polymer conjugates: synthetic strategies and design concepts

This feature article provides a compilation of tools available for preparing well-defined peptide/protein-polymer conjugates, which are defined as hybrid constructs combining (i) a defined number of peptide/protein segments with uniform chain lengths and defined monomer sequences (primary structure) with (ii) a defined number of synthetic polymer chains. The first section describes methods for post-translational, or direct, introduction of chemoselective handles onto natural or synthetic peptides/proteins. Addressed topics include the residue- and/or site-specific modification of peptides/proteins at Arg, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Lys, Met, Phe, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr and Val residues and methods for producing peptides/proteins containing non-canonical amino acids by peptide synthesis and protein engineering. In the second section, methods for introducing chemoselective groups onto the side-chain or chain-end of synthetic polymers produced by radical, anionic, cationic, metathesis and ring-opening polymerization are described. The final section discusses convergent and divergent strategies for covalently assembling polymers and peptides/proteins. An overview of the use of chemoselective reactions such as Heck, Sonogashira and Suzuki coupling, Diels-Alder cycloaddition, Click chemistry, Staudinger ligation, Michael's addition, reductive alkylation and oxime/hydrazone chemistry for the convergent synthesis of peptide/protein-polymer conjugates is given. Divergent approaches for preparing peptide/protein-polymer conjugates which are discussed include peptide synthesis from synthetic polymer supports, polymerization from peptide/protein macroinitiators or chain transfer agents and the polymerization of peptide side-chain monomers.     

Preparation of capillary columns coated with linear polymer containing hydrophobic and charged groups for capillary electrochromatography

A linear polymer-coated capillary was prepared by in-capillary copolymerization of N-tert-butylacrylamide (TBAAm) with a charged monomer, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS), after the capillary pretreatment with a bifunctional reagent. The coated capillaries were applied in capillary electrochromatographic (CEC) separation of small neutral compounds. Hydrophobic groups in the linear polymer, which were immobilized onto the capillary surface, functioned as the stationary phase in reversed-phase CEC separation, and charged groups in the linear polymer generated electroosmotic flow (EOF) along the column. The coated capillaries were prepared by a simple procedure. Moreover, the reproducibility with respect to EOF rate and migration times of the solutes was excellent. The results for CEC separation of small molecules using the linear polymer-coated capillaries are presented.     

Interaction of surfactant with antistatic polymer thin layers

Thin layers made from three kinds of hydrophilic polymer were coated onto poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET) fibers to study the interaction of an anionic surfactant, sodiumn-dodecyl benzenesulfonate, with the polymer layers. The coated layers include a) poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) crosslinked with glutaraldehyde [nonionic], b) crosslinked, sulfated PVA [anionic], and c) polyethyleneimine crosslinked with poly(ethyleneglycol diglycidylether) [cationic]. All of these coatings were found to reduce the electrostatic charging of the PET cloths, indicating that they were effectively coated with the hydrophilic polymers. The PET cloth coated with the thin layers was immersed in the aqueous solution of surfactant at 40°C for different durations and the electrostatic voltage as well as the weight change were determined after drying. When the cloth coated with the nonionic or the anionic layer was brought into contact with the surfactant, neither the electrostatic voltage nor the weight of PET changed. On the contrary, immersion in the surfactant solution brought about an increase in both the electrostatic voltage and the weight for the PET coated with the cationic layer. This suggested that the surfactant molecules were bound to the cationic layer, in contrast to the nonionic and the anionic layer. It was concluded that the binding was due to ion complexing between the cationic groups in the polymeric layer and the sulfate groups in the surfactant molecules.     

Chemoselectivity in reactions of esterification

This review is devoted to the problem of chemoselective formation of ester functions in polyfunctional molecules. The review covers most typical approaches to chemoselective acylation of hydroxy groups in molecules containing an amino, mercapto, or another hydroxy functionality as well as chemoselective esterification of di- and polycarboxylic acids.     

Synthesis of polyesters with pendant oxetane groups by the chemoselective alternating copolymerization of 3‐ethyl‐3‐(glycidyloxymethyl)oxetane with carboxylic anhydride and its photochemical reaction

The synthesis of polyesters with pendant oxetane groups by the chemoselective alternating copolymerization of 3‐ethyl‐3‐(glycidyloxymethyl)oxetane (EGMO) with carboxylic anhydride and the photochemical reaction of the resulting polymer was examined. The alternating copolymerization of EGMO with phthalic anhydride proceeded chemoselectively with quaternary onium salts under appropriate reaction conditions, and the corresponding soluble polymers with pendant oxetane groups with number‐average molecular weights of 4700–7200 were obtained in 72–87% yields. Furthermore, the photochemical reaction of the resulting polymers was examined with certain photoacid generators in the film state upon UV irradiation, and it was found that the photocrosslinking reaction of the pendant oxetane groups proceeded smoothly to give the insoluble polymers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1952–1961, 2003     

Celite‐Polyaniline supported palladium catalyst for chemoselective hydrogenation reactions

Polyaniline coated on particles of celite is used as support to load palladium catalyst. This heterogenized Celite?PANI?Pd system, is used as an efficient catalyst for chemoselective hydrogenation reactions. The catalyst is characterized by usual spectral, analytical techniques and studied for hydrogenation reactions at ambient conditions. The mild reaction conditions allow the control over the reactions and excellent selectivity is achieved in number of conversions. Hydrogenation of a carbon–carbon double bond was favored over other polar π‐bond systems, while labile functional groups such as benzyl ether, benzyl esters, cyano, nitro and halogen remained unaffected. Primary amines were converted to N,N‐dimethyl amines with formaldehyde, the double bond of coumarin was selectively hydrogenated without opening of the lactone functionality.     

The effects of cross-linking and anodic surface roughening on quinone polymer/carbon electrodes

A polymer in which anthraquinone-2-carbonyl groups were bound to polyethyleneimine was coated onto a glassy carbon electrode. Electrodes of this kind were studied using cyclic voltammetry and pH 7 aqueous solutions. At pH <10 only those quinone units in contact with the carbon surface are electroactive. It was shown that anodic surface roughening increased the limited number of electroactive groups in the polymer film and gave more stable activity and narrower voltammetric peaks. Above pH 10 redox propagation through the layer is more rapid but the anionic product desorbs. This desorption was inhibited by cathodically cross-linking a layer of mixed polymers on a polyethyleneimine backboned polymer containing fluorenone units as well as anthraquinone units.     

Polymer bilayer formation due to specific interactions between beta-cyclodextrin and adamantane: a surface force study

The purposes of this study are to utilize the interactions between an adamantane end-capped poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and a cationic polymer of beta-cyclodextrin to build polymer bilayers on negatively charged surfaces, and to investigate the interactions between such layers. The association of this system in solution has been studied by rheology, light scattering, and fluorescence measurements. It was found that the adamantane-terminated PEO (PEO-Ad) mixed with the beta-cyclodextrin polymer gives complexes where the interpolymer links are formed by specific inclusion of the adamantane groups in the beta-cyclodextrin cavities. This results in a higher viscosity of the solution and growth of intermolecular clusters. The interactions between surfaces coated with a cationized beta-cyclodextrin polymer across a water solution containing PEO-Ad polymers were studied by employing the interferometric surface force apparatus (SFA). In the first step, the interaction between mica surfaces coated with the cationized beta-cyclodextrin polymer in pure water was investigated. It was found that the beta-cyclodextrin polymer adsorbs onto mica and almost neutralizes the surface charge. The adsorbed layers of the beta-cyclodextrin polymer are rather compact, with a layer thickness of about 60 A (30 A per surface). Upon separation, a very weak attractive force is observed. The beta-cyclodextrin solution was then diluted by pure water by a factor of 3000 and a PEO-Ad polymer was introduced into the solution. Two different architectures of the PEO-Ad polymer were investigated: a four-arm structure and a linear structure. After the adsorption of the PEO polymer onto the beta-cyclodextrin layer reached equilibrium, the forces were measured again. It was found that the weak repulsive long-range force had disappeared and an attractive force caused the surfaces to jump into contact, and that the compressed layer thickness had increased. The attractive force is interpreted as being due to a specific recognition between the hydrophobic adamantane groups on the PEO-Ad polymer and the hydrophobic cavity in the beta-cyclodextrin molecules. Furthermore, the attractive force observed on separation has increased significantly, which is a further indication of a specific interaction between the beta-cyclodextrin polymer and the adamantane groups.     

Fabrication of Co(OH)2 coated Pt nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for chemoselective hydrogenation of halonitrobenzenes

Co(OH)(2) coated platinum nanoparticles Pt/Co(OH)(2) were prepared by microwave assistance and hydrothermal method, and the prepared samples were composed of Pt nanoparticles with an average size of 1.8 nm coated uniformly in the thin Co(OH)(2) leaves based on the results of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Pt/Co(OH)(2) presented excellent catalytic performance in the chemoselective hydrogenation of halonitrobenzenes such as chloronitrobenzenes, bromonitrobenzene and iodonitrobenzene, and above 99.6% selectivity to haloanilines was achieved at complete conversion irrespective of the substrates used, even for iodonitrobenzene to which the dehalogenation is more easily to occur. Co(OH)(2) was confirmed to prohibit the dehalogenation effectively, and the Pt/Co(OH)(2) catalyst could be recycled for several times.     

Spectrophotometric determination of some bifunctional polynitroaromatic compounds with ethylenediamine

Summary Bifunctional polynitroaromatic compounds were determined spectrophotometrically after reaction with ethylenediamine in dimethylsulfoxide. In addition to two or more nitro groups, the compounds contained one or more amino-, methoxyl-, hydroxyl-, carboxyl-, or chloride groups. Spectral data are given for all compounds examined, most of which are of ordnance interest.

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Zusammenfassung Polynitroaromatische Verbindungen mit zweierlei funktionellen Gruppen wurden nach Umsetzung mit Äthylendiamin in Dimethylsulfoxid spektrophotometrisch bestimmt. Außer zwei oder mehr Nitrogruppen enthielten diese Verbindungen eine oder mehrere Amino-, Methoxyl-, Hydroxyl-, Carboxyl- oder Chlorgruppen. Die spektralanalytischen Daten aller untersuchten Verbindungen, denen meistens ballistisches Interesse zukommt, wurden angegeben.

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This work was performed under the auspices of the U. S. Energy Research & Development Administration, contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.