Cooperativity of Catechols and Amines in High‐Performance Dry/Wet Adhesives

The outstanding adhesive performance of mussel byssal threads has inspired materials scientists over the past few decades. Exploiting the amino‐catechol synergy, polymeric pressure‐sensitive adhesives (PSAs) have now been synthesized by copolymerizing traditional PSA monomers, butyl acrylate and acrylic acid, with mussel‐inspired lysine‐ and aromatic‐rich monomers. The consequences of decoupling amino and catechol moieties from each other were compared (that is, incorporated as separate monomers) against a monomer architecture in which the catechol and amine were coupled together in a fixed orientation in the monomer side chain. Adhesion assays were used to probe performance at the molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels by a combination of AFM‐assisted force spectroscopy, peel and static shear adhesion. Coupling of catechols and amines in the same monomer side chain produced optimal cooperative effects in improving the macroscopic adhesion performance.     

Mussel‐Inspired Materials: Self‐Healing through Coordination Chemistry

Improved understanding of the underwater attachment strategy of the blue mussels and other marine organisms has inspired researchers to find new routes to advanced materials. Mussels use polyphenols, such as the catechol‐containing amino acid 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), to attach to surfaces. Catechols and their analogues can undergo both oxidative covalent cross‐linking under alkaline conditions and take part in coordination chemistry. The former has resulted in the widespread use of polydopamine and related materials. The latter is emerging as a tool to make self‐healing materials due to the reversible nature of coordination bonds. We review how mussel‐inspired materials have been made with a focus on the less developed use of metal coordination and illustrate how this chemistry can be widely to make self‐healing materials.     

Nanomechanics of Poly(catecholamine) Coatings in Aqueous Solutions

Mussel‐inspired self‐polymerized catecholamine coatings have been widely utilized as a versatile coating strategy that can be applied to a variety of substrates. For the first time, nanomechanical measurements and an evaluation of the contribution of primary amine groups to poly(catecholamine) coatings have been conducted using a surface‐forces apparatus. The adhesive strength between the poly(catecholamine) layers is 30‐times higher than that of a poly(catechol) coating. The origin of the strong attraction between the poly(catecholamine) layers is probably due to surface salt displacement by the primary amine, π–π stacking (the quadrupole–quadrupole interaction of indolic crosslinks), and cation–π interactions (the monopole–quadrupole interaction between positively charged amine groups and the indolic crosslinks). The contribution of the primary amine group to the catecholamine coating is vital for the design and development of mussel‐inspired catechol‐based coating materials.     

Mussel‐Inspired Dendritic Polymers as Universal Multifunctional Coatings

A rapid and universal approach for multifunctional material coatings was developed based on a mussel‐inspired dendritic polymer. This new kind of polymer mimics not only the functional groups of mussel foot proteins (mfps) but also their molecular weight and molecular structure. The large number of catechol and amine groups set the basis for heteromultivalent anchoring and crosslinking. The molecular weight reaches 10 kDa, which is similar to the most adhesive mussel foot protein mfp‐5. Also, the dendritic structure exposes its functional groups on the surface like the folded proteins. As a result, a very stable coating can be prepared on virtually any type of material surface within 10 min by a simple dip‐coating method, which is as fast as the formation of mussel byssal threads in nature.     

Stereocontrolled Total Synthesis of (−)‐Stemaphylline

Homologation of readily available α‐boryl pyrrolidines with metal carbenoids is especially challenging even when good leaving groups (Cl⁻) are employed. By performing a solvent switch from Et₂O to CHCl₃, efficient 1,2‐metalate rearrangement of the intermediate boronate occurs with both halide and ester leaving groups. The methodology was used in the total synthesis of the Stemona alkaloid (−)‐stemaphylline in just 11 steps (longest linear sequence), with high stereocontrol (>20:1 d.r.) and 11 % overall yield. The synthesis also features a late‐stage lithiation–borylation reaction with a tertiary amine containing carbenoid.     

Potential‐Responsive Surfaces for Manipulation of Cell Adhesion,Release, and Differentiation

In living systems, interfacial molecular interactions control many biological processes. New stimuli‐responsive strategies are desired to provide versatile model systems that can regulate cell behavior in vitro. Described here are potential‐responsive surfaces that control cell adhesion and release as well as stem cell differentiation. Cell adhesion can be modulated dynamically by applying negative and positive potentials to surfaces functionalized with tailored monolayers. This process alters cell morphology and ultimately controls behavior and the fate of the cells. Cells can be detached from the electrode surface as intact clusters with different geometries using electrochemical potentials. Importantly, morphological changes during adhesion guide stem cell differentiation. The higher accessibility of the peptide under a positive applied potential causes phenotypic changes in the cells that are hallmarks of osteogenesis, whereas lower accessibility of the peptide promoted by negative potentials leads to adipogenesis.     

Marrying mussel inspired chemistry with SET‐LRP: A novel strategy for surface functionalization of carbon nanotubes

Surface functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with a thermo responsive polymer was achieved via combination of mussel inspired chemistry and surface initiated single electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET‐LRP). In this procedure, CNTs were first coated with polydopamine (PDA) through self polymerization under a rather mild condition. And then PDA functionalized CNTs bearing with amino and hydroxyl groups were further reacted with bromo isobutyryl bromide. Finally, a thermo responsive polymer poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) was introduced on the CNTs via SET‐LRP. The successful surface modification of CNT‐PDA‐PNIPAM was evidenced by a series of characterization techniques. The resulting CNT‐PDA‐PNIPAM showed significant enhancement of dispersibility in both aqueous and organic solvents. More importantly, these CNT‐polymer nanocomposites showed obvious thermo responsive behavior due to the surface coating CNTs with PNIPAM. As compared with previous methods, this method is not required oxidation of CNTs to introduce funcitonal groups for immobilization of the polymerization initiators. More importantly, this method could also be utilized for fabricating many other polymer nanocomposites because of the strong and universal adhesive of PDA to various materials. It is therefore, the novel strategy via marrying mussel inspired chemistry with SET‐LRP should be a simple, general and effective method for surface functionalization. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1872–1879     

Enantiospecific Trifluoromethyl‐Radical‐Induced Three‐Component Coupling of Boronic Esters with Furans

In the presence of trifluoromethylsulfonium reagents, boronate complexes derived from 2‐lithio furan and non‐racemic secondary and tertiary alkyl or aryl boronic esters undergo deborylative three‐component coupling to give the corresponding 2,5‐disubstituted furans with excellent levels of enantiospecificity. The process proceeds via the reaction of boronate complexes with a trifluoromethyl radical, which triggers 1,2‐metallate rearrangement upon single‐electron oxidation. Alternative electrophiles can also be used in place of trifluoromethylsulfonium reagents to effect similar three‐component coupling reactions.     

Facile preparation of a high‐capacity boronate‐affinity adsorbent based on low‐cost commercial supports for selective enrichment of cis‐diol‐containing biomolecules

Boronate‐affinity adsorbents have been regarded as favorable extraction adsorbents for the pretreatment of cis‐diol‐containing biomolecules owning to their specific selectivity, but most of them have low adsorption capacity and a tedious synthesis methods. In this study, a new boronate‐affinity material (PGMA@FPBA) with high adsorption capacity was synthesized via a “one‐pot” method based on a low‐cost commercial support. The PGMA@FPBA was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. The as‐prepared adsorbent showed good selectivity, high adsorption capacity (448 μmol/g for catechol), and fast adsorption equilibration (1 min) for cis‐diol‐containing biomolecules. Subsequently, as an example for application, the obtained PGMA@FPBA was used as a dispersive solid‐phase extraction (d‐SPE) adsorbent for enrichment of quercetin in red wine. The results indicated that the facile‐prepared boronate‐affinity adsorbent has great potential application for separation and enrichment of cis‐diol‐containing biomolecules in complex samples.     

An in situ Dynamic Continuum of Supramolecular Phosphoglycopeptides Enables Formation of 3D Cell Spheroids

Higher‐order assemblies of proteins, with a structural and dynamic continuum, is an important concept in biology, but these insights have yet to be applied in designing biomaterials. Dynamic assemblies of supramolecular phosphoglycopeptides (sPGPs) transform a 2D cell sheet into 3D cell spheroids. A ligand–receptor interaction between a glycopeptide and a phosphopeptide produces sPGPs that form nanoparticles, which transform into nanofibrils upon partial enzymatic dephosphorylation. The assemblies form dynamically and hierarchically in situ on the cell surface, and interact with the extracellular matrix molecules and effectively abolish contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL) of the cells. Integrating molecular recognition, catalysis, and assembly, these active assemblies act as a dynamic continuum to disrupt CIL, thus illustrating a new kind of biomaterial for regulating cell behavior.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of a Chiral Coordination Polymer with Circularly Polarized Visible Laser

Circular dichroism is known to be the feature of a chiral agent which has inspired scientist to study the interesting phenomena of circularly polarized light (CPL) modulated molecular chirality. Although several organic molecules or assemblies have been found to be CPL‐responsive, the influence of CPL on the assembly of chiral coordination compounds remains unknown. Herein, a chiral coordination polymer, which is constructed from achiral agents, was used to study the CPL‐induced enantioselective synthesis. By irradiation with either left‐handed or right‐handed CPL during the reaction and crystallization, enantiomeric excesses of the crystalline product were obtained. Left‐handed CPL resulted in crystals with a left‐handed helical structure, and right‐handed CPL led to crystals with a right‐handed helical structure. It is exciting that the absolute asymmetric synthesis of a chiral coordination polymer could be enantioselective when using CPL, and provides a strategy for the control of the chirality of chiral coordination polymers.     

Modular Assembly of Reversible Multivalent Cancer‐Cell‐Targeting Drug Conjugates

Herein is described a new modular platform for the construction of cancer‐cell‐targeting drug conjugates. Tripodal boronate complexes featuring reversible covalent bonds were designed to accommodate a cytotoxic drug (bortezomib), poly(ethylene glycol) (Peg) chains, and folate targeting units. The B‐complex core was assembled in one step, proved stable under biocompatible conditions, namely, in human plasma (half‐life up to 60 h), and underwent disassembly in the presence of glutathione (GSH). Stimulus‐responsive intracellular cargo delivery was confirmed by confocal fluorescence microscopy, and a mechanism for GSH‐induced B‐complex hydrolysis was proposed on the basis of mass spectrometry and DFT calculations. This platform enabled the modular construction of multivalent conjugates with high selectivity for folate‐positive MDA‐MB‐231 cancer cells and IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar range.     

An In‐tether Chiral Center Modulates the Helicity,Cell Permeability,and Target Binding Affinity of a Peptide

The addition of a precisely positioned chiral center in the tether of a constrained peptide is reported, yielding two separable peptide diastereomers with significantly different helicity, as supported by circular dichroism (CD) and NMR spectroscopy. Single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis suggests that the absolute configuration of the in‐tether chiral center in helical form is R, which is in agreement with theoretical simulations. The relationship between the secondary structure of the short peptides and their biochemical/biophysical properties remains elusive, largely because of the lack of proper controls. The present strategy provides the only method for investigating the influence of solely conformational differences upon the biochemical/biophysical properties of peptides. The significant differences in permeability and target binding affinity between the peptide diastereomers demonstrate the importance of helical conformation.     

Controlling the Helix Handedness of ααβ‐Peptide Foldamers through Sequence Shifting

Peptide foldamers containing both cis ‐β‐aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid and α‐amino acid residues combined in various sequence patterns (ααβ, αααβ, αβααβ, and ααβαααβ) were screened using CD and NMR spectroscopy for the tendency to form helices. ααβ‐Peptides were found to fold into an unprecedented and well‐defined 16/17/15/18/14/17‐helix. By extending the length of the sequence or shifting a fragment of the sequence from one terminus to another in ααβ‐peptides, the balance between left‐handed and right‐handed helix populations present in the solution can be controlled. Engineering of the peptide sequence could lead to compounds with either a strong propensity for the selected helix sense or a mixture of helical conformations of opposite senses.     

Highly Sensitive Temperature‐responsive Sensor Based on PS‐PDEA‐PS/C60‐MWCNTs for Reversible Switch Detection of Catechol

A new type of temperature‐responsive electrochemical sensor was constructed based on a glass carbon electrode modified by the composite containing temperature‐responsive polymer polystyrene‐poly N, N‐diethyl acrylamide‐polystyrene (PS‐PDEA‐PS) and fullerenes‐carboxylate multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (C₆₀‐MWCNTs). The sensor was used for the electrochemical detection of catechol (CC). When the temperature is higher than the critical temperature (LCST) of PS‐PDEA‐PS, the electrochemical behavior of CC can be detected, which it is in the “on” state. When the temperature is lower than LCST, the composite modified film is in the “off” state and the electrochemical behavior of CC was not detected. Under the best experimental conditions, the sensor has a good detection range for catechol from 4.0 to 135.0 μM, with a LOD of 1.45 μM. In addition, the proposed sensor has good stability and reproducibility, and was successfully applied to the determination of catechol in real tap water.     

Enhancing the Cell Permeability and Metabolic Stability of Peptidyl Drugs by Reversible Bicyclization

Therapeutic applications of peptides are currently limited by their proteolytic instability and impermeability to the cell membrane. A general, reversible bicyclization strategy is now reported to increase both the proteolytic stability and cell permeability of peptidyl drugs. A peptide drug is fused with a short cell‐penetrating motif and converted into a conformationally constrained bicyclic structure through the formation of a pair of disulfide bonds. The resulting bicyclic peptide has greatly enhanced proteolytic stability as well as cell‐permeability. Once inside the cell, the disulfide bonds are reduced to produce a linear, biologically active peptide. This strategy was applied to generate a cell‐permeable bicyclic peptidyl inhibitor against the NEMO‐IKK interaction.     

Development of Chemical Tools to Monitor and Control Isoaspartyl Peptide Methyltransferase Activity

We have established a coupled assay system targeting protein l ‐isoaspartyl methyltransferase (PIMT), a key enzyme in the metabolism of isoaspartyl peptides and proteins. The system utilizes a fluorogenic peptide probe containing an isoaspartyl residue at the P1′ position of the caspase‐3 recognition sequence. Following PIMT‐catalyzed methyl transfer reaction, the methylated probe is specifically cleaved by caspase‐3 to give fluorescence activation. High‐throughput screening of our chemical library with this assay system identified PIMT inhibitors that may be useful as leads in the design of chemical probes for controlling PIMT activity.     

Hydrogels with Reversible Mechanics to Probe Dynamic Cell Microenvironments

The relationship between ECM mechanics and cell behavior is dynamic, as cells remodel and respond to changes in their local environment. Most in vitro substrates are static and supraphysiologically stiff; thus, platforms with dynamic and reversible mechanical changes are needed. Herein, we developed hyaluronic acid‐based substrates capable of sequential photodegradation and photoinitiated crosslinking reactions to soften and then stiffen the hydrogels over a physiologically relevant range of moduli. Reversible mechanical signaling to adhered cells was demonstrated with human mesenchymal stem cells. In situ hydrogel softening (from ca. 14 to 3.5 kPa) led to a decrease in the cell area and nuclear localization of YAP/TAZ, and subsequent stiffening (from ca. 3.5 to 28 kPa) increased the cell area and nuclear localization of YAP/TAZ. Each photoreaction was cytocompatible and tunable, rendering this platform amenable to studies of dynamic mechanics on cell behavior across many cell types and contexts.     

Boryl (Hetero)aryne Precursors as Versatile Arylation Reagents: Synthesis through C?H Activation and Orthogonal Reactivity

(Pinacolato)boryl ortho‐silyl(hetero)aryl triflates are presented as a new class of building blocks for arylation. They demonstrate unique versatility by delivering boronate or (hetero)aryne reactivity chemoselectively in a broad range of transformations. This approach enables the unprecedented postfunctionalization of fluoride‐activated (hetero)aryne precursors, for example, as substrates in transition‐metal catalysis, and offers valuable new possibilities for aryl boronate postfunctionalization without the use of specialized protecting groups.     

De novo Design of Selective Membrane‐Active Peptides by Enzymatic Control of Their Conformational Bias on the Cell Surface

Selectively targeting the membrane‐perturbing potential of peptides towards a distinct cellular phenotype allows one to target distinct populations of cells. We report the de novo design of a new class of peptide whose ability to perturb cellular membranes is coupled to an enzyme‐mediated shift in the folding potential of the peptide into its bioactive conformation. Cells rich in negatively charged surface components that also highly express alkaline phosphatase, for example many cancers, are susceptible to the action of the peptide. The unfolded, inactive peptide is dephosphorylated, shifting its conformational bias towards cell‐surface‐induced folding to form a facially amphiphilic membrane‐active conformer. The fate of the peptide can be further tuned by peptide concentration to affect either lytic or cell‐penetrating properties, which are useful for selective drug delivery. This is a new design strategy to afford peptides that are selective in their membrane‐perturbing activity.