Role of the coulombic interaction in ligand-induced biopolymer aggregation

The interaction mechanisms responsible for the binding between metal complexes and biopolymers in aqueous solution, as well as the consequent aggregation process of biopolymers themselves, involve many factors, from geometrical aspects and hydrophobic contributions, as examples, to the electrostatic potential. In this paper aqueous solutions of a polynucleotide, polyadenylic acid (PolyA), which mimics the helix arrangement of RNA or single-stranded DNA but has a simpler structure, are used as a model system. The role of the electrostatic interactions in the binding process between some platinum(II) complexes and PolyA and in the aggregation among PolyA molecules is investigated, by means of elastic and quasielastic light scattering and electrophoretic mobility. The results show that the presence of large, planar aromatic moiety in the dicationic platinum(II) complexes is essential for the binding with PolyA and suggest that the consequent lowering of the local electrostatic barrier between PolyA molecules can be involved in triggering the aggregation process.     

Structure, stability and relaxivity of trinuclear triangular complexes

The self-assembly of a carbonylpyridine-based heptadentate ligand with Ln(III) results in the formation of triangular trinuclear europium complexes, which exhibit interesting luminescent properties in the solid state and in solution. With a view to developing multimodal responsive systems, we report here the preparation and characterisation of analogous complexes with Gd(III). The X-ray crystal structure of Gd(3)L2(3) indeed reveals the isostructurality with the Eu(III) complexes. A combination of (1)H NMRD and variable temperature studies yields the parameters elucidating the exchange of coordinated water and relaxivity properties. Conveniently, the competitive spectrophotometric titrations with EDTA and NTA are used to determine the thermodynamic stability constants of the europium complexes in aqueous media. In addition, the exchange reaction with EDTA is monitored with NMR and fluorimetry. The interactions of the Eu(III) trinuclear complex with some potentially interfering ligands are qualitatively investigated by means of luminescence titrations.     

Advances on supramolecular assembly of cyclometalated platinum(Ⅱ) complexes

Organoplatinum(Ⅱ) compounds have received enormous attention over the past decades due to their square-planar geometry as well as intriguing photo-physical properties.Self-assembly has emerged as an excellent approach to create well-ordered supramolecular architectures with tunable properties,which underpin the role of solvent-directed approach for the design of functional materials.In this minireview,the recent advances on supramolecular self-assembly of cyclometalated platinum(Ⅱ) complexes have been discussed.During the self-assembly process,non-covalent Pt-Pt and π-π interactions play crucial roles in controlling the structures and functions of the resulting assemblies.     

Self-assembly of hydrophobin and hydrophobin/surfactant mixtures in aqueous solution

The self-assembly of the protein hydrophobin, HFBII, and its self-assembly with cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants hexadecylterimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB, sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS, and hexaethylene monododecyl ether, C(12)E(6), in aqueous solution have been studied by small-angle neutron scattering, SANS. HFBII self-assembles in solution as small globular aggregates, consistent with the formation of trimers or tetramers. Its self-assembly is not substantially affected by the pH or electrolytes. In the presence of CTAB, SDS, or C(12)E(6), HFBII/surfactant complexes are formed. The structure of the HFBII/surfactant complexes has been identified using contrast variation and is in the form of HFBII molecules bound to the outer surface of globular surfactant micelles. The binding of HFBII decreases the surfactant micelle aggregation number for increasing HFBII concentration in solution, and the number of hydrophobin molecules bound/micelle increases.     

2]Catenanes and inclusion complexes derived from self-assembled rectangular Pd(II) and Pt(II) metallocycles

New inclusion complexes and [2]catenanes were self-assembled from a fluorescent diazapyrenium based ligand, a Pd(II) or Pt(II) complex, and cyclic or acyclic electron rich aromatic guests in aqueous and organic media. The molecular rectangles display a π-deficient cavity suitable to incorporate π-donor aromatic systems. The inclusion complexes between the metallocycles and phenylenic () and naphthalenic () derivatives were studied by NMR, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The crystal structure of () ? ·6PF(6) confirmed the insertion of the guest into the cavity of the metallocycle. Following the same self-assembly strategy, the use of polyethers , as π-donors resulted in the self-assembly of the [2]catenanes (,)·6PF(6). Single-crystal X-ray analysis of ()·6PF(6) revealed the [2]catenane structure being stabilized by π-stacking and [C-HO] interactions.     

Interactions of charged porphyrins with nonionic triblock copolymer hosts in aqueous solutions

The extent and locus of solubilization of guest and self-assembling surfactant host molecules in aqueous solutions are influenced by a variety of hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions, as well as by more specific interactions between the various species present. By using a combination of two-dimensional heteronuclear 13C[1H] NMR correlation experiments with pulsed-gradient NMR diffusion and proton cross-relaxation measurements, the locations and distributions of porphyrin guest molecules have been established unambiguously with respect to the hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties of a triblock copolymer species in solution. The interactions of tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin with the poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) and the poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) segments of amphiphilic PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymer species have been measured as functions of solution conditions, including temperature and pH. The porphyrin/PEO-PPO-PEO interactions are established to be selective and adjustable according to the different temperature-dependent hydrophilicities or hydrophobicities of the PEO and PPO triblock copolymer components. Furthermore, such interactions influence the self-assembly properties of the block-copolymer amphiphiles in solution by stabilizing molecular porphyrin/PEO-PPO-PEO complexes well above the critical micellization temperature of the triblock copolymer species under otherwise identical conditions.     

Multinuclear PtII Complexes: Why Three is Better Than Two to Enhance Photophysical Properties

The self-assembly of platinum complexes is a well-documented process that leads to interesting changes of the photophysical and electrochemical behavior as well as to a change in reactivity of the complexes. However, it is still not clear how many metal units must interact in order to achieve the desired properties of a large assembly. This work aimed to clarify the role of the number of interacting Pt^II units leading to an enhancement of the spectroscopic properties and how to address inter- versus intramolecular processes. Therefore, a series of neutral multinuclear Pt^II complexes were synthesized and characterized, and their photophysical properties at different concentration were studied. Going from the monomer to dimers, the growth of a new emission band and the enhancement of the emission properties were observed. Upon increasing the platinum units up to three, the monomeric blue emission could not be detected anymore and a concentration independent bright-yellow/orange emission, due to the establishment of intramolecular metallophilic interactions, was observed.     

Lipid-packaged linear iron(II) triazole complexes in solution: controlled spin conversion via solvophobic self-assembly

Linear Fe(II) 1,2,4-triazole complexes with lipid counteranions are newly developed. These complexes show sharp and reversible spin conversion in toluene, with temperatures significantly higher (by 20-100 K) than the spin crossover temperatures observed in the crystalline states. This is accounted for in terms of increased metal-ligand interactions in organic media, which is caused by solvophobic compaction of charged coordination chains. In atomic force microscopy, developed nanowires are observed for low spin (LS) complexes. On the other hand, fragmented nanostructures are seen for high spin (HS) complexes, indicating that the spin conversion in solution is governed by a self-assembly process. The lipid packaging of charged coordination chains thus provides powerful means to improve and regulate their functions via solvophobic self-assembly.     

Supramolecular Self-assembly of Amphiphilic Alkynyl-platinum(II) 2,6-Bis(N-alkylbenzimidazol-2'-yl) pyridine Complexes

Alkynylplatinum(II) bzimpy complexes of trimethylammonium-benzylethynyl ligand have been synthesized and characterized. Complexes with long alkyl chains have been found to exhibit interesting self-assembly properties in the acetonitrile solution. The amphiphilic nature of the complexes has led to the formation of nanorods, as revealed by electron microscopy experiments. Further increasing the polarity of the solvent media has given rise to the enhancement of low-energy emission.     

Chiral recognition by molecularly imprinted polymers in aqueous media

Summary Molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared using 2-vinylpyridine and/or methacrylic acid as functional monomers in a self-assembly imprinting protocol. The resulting polymers were analyzed in aqueous media, and the effects from the pH of the mobile phase and the degree of added organic solvent were investigated. The results are indicative of the importance of ionic bonds in conjunction with hydrophobic interactions in the formation of the complexes between the analyte and the polymers.     

Properties of polyethylene glycol supported tetraarylporphyrin in aqueous solution and its interaction with liposomal membranes

5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin was functionalized by covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains of various molecular weights, 350, 2000, and 5000 Da. The properties of PEG-functionalized tetraarylporphyrins in aqueous solution and their interactions with liposomes have been studied. Electronic absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence quenching were used to monitor aggregation of porphyrin chromophores and behavior of the attached PEG chains in the aqueous solution. The tendency for aggregation of porphyrin chromophores in aqueous solution and the efficiency of fluorescence quenching by KI decrease with increasing length of PEG chain linked to the porphyrin ring. The experimental results indicate that polymer clusters are present in aqueous solution of all pegylated porphyrins. The interactions between the pegylated porphyrins and phosphatidylcholine liposomes in the aqueous solution were studied using the fluorescence methods. The apparent binding constants of porphyrin chromophores to liposomes were determined. The degree of binding was found to be dependent on the molecular weight of the attached polymer.     

Amphiphilic self-assemblies decorated by nucleobases

Phosphatidyl-nucleosides are a class of functional amphiphiles, where a nucleic acid monomer is conjugated to a lipid skeleton. These derivatives self-organize in aqueous solution as assemblies of various size, shape, and interfacial curvature. This paper presents a comparison of the aggregation behavior of different 1-R,2-R-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidyl-nucleosides, where R = 8 (DiC8PN) or R = 12 (DLPN) and N is either adenosine (a purine) or uridine (a pyrimidine), a complementary pair in RNA. Surface tension, small angle neutron scattering, cryo-TEM, and circular dichroism are used to highlight and distinguish the impact of the hydrophobic assembler and of the base substitution on the solution phase behavior. Our main conclusion is that the nucleic functionalization provides an additional parameter to control self-assembly through specific interactions among the polar heads. Further nonideal effects are induced by mixing nucleolipids with complementary base substitution. We show that these contributions alter the aggregation thresholds and modulate properties of the aggregates on the mesoscale.     

Meso-四(对-酰氧基苯基)卟啉铂配合物的合成和性能

合成了meso-四(对-酰氧基苯基)卟啉铂配合物。采用UV-Vis、1HNMR、MS、光致发光光谱、DSC、热台偏光显微镜等分析测试技术对化合物的结构和性能进行了表征。结果表明,配合物在660nm附近有较强的三线态发射,磷光量子效率在0.183～0.211之间,三线态寿命为8.86～13.52μs。表明在卟啉铂meso位上连接长链酰氧基后,能够降低三线态寿命,减少配合物分子间的相互作用。同时长链酰氧基的引入赋予配合物液晶性质。这类卟啉铂配合物有望用作有机电致发光器件和线偏振发光器件的磷光材料。     

环糊精与表面活性剂主客体作用诱导的金纳米棒可控自组装

The self-assembly of colloidal nanocrystals has emerged as a powerful strategy for the bottom-up fabrication of functional materials and nanodevices. Recently, the self-assembly of gold nanorods (GNRs) has attracted significant attention because of their unique plasmonic properties, but the realization of their adjustable self-assembly of GNRs through facile and effective approaches remains challenging. In this work, the controllable self-assembly of GNRs in aqueous solution was realized through the host-guest interactions of cyclodextrins (CDs) and the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) molecules adsorbed on the surface of the GNRs. The self-assembly of GNRs was readily achieved by the addition of aqueous α-CD solutions with varied concentrations into aqueous dispersions of CTAB-stabilized GNRs. At a relatively low α-CD concentration, slow aggregation of the GNRs occurred, resulting in their side-by-side assembly. This was revealed by the blue shift of the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band in the absorption spectra and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. On the other hand, when a higher concentration of α-CD was added, fast aggregation of the GNRs occurred, resulting in their end-to-end assembly. This was revealed by the red shift in the LSPR band together with the TEM observations. If β-CD was employed instead of α-CD, the self-assembly of GNRs could also be induced, although a relatively higher concentration of β-CD was required to achieve the extent of aggregation similar to that induced by α-CD, indicating that the supramolecular host–guest interaction between CDs and the surfactant CTAB was crucial to the directed self-assembly of GNRs. Furthermore, the α-CD-induced assembly was inhibited on addition of excess CTAB, confirming that the supramolecular interaction of α-CD and CTAB played a key role in directing the self-assembly of the GNRs. Based on these experimental results, a possible mechanism for the α-CD-induced self-assembly of GNRs was proposed as follows: at a lower α-CD concentration, the gradual formation of the host-guest inclusion complex α-CD/CTAB led to the partial replacement of the highly charged CTAB bilayers adsorbed on the GNRs by the less charged complex, which resulted in a slow side-by-side assembly of the GNRs; at a higher α-CD concentration, the CTAB bilayers were quickly replaced by the α-CD/CTAB complex, and the CTAB molecules adsorbed at both ends of the GNRs were almost completely replaced, resulting in a fast end-to-end assembly of the GNRs. Additionally, on the basis of the hydrolysis of α-cyclodextrin catalyzed by α-amylase, the self-assembly of GNRs directed by the host-guest interaction could be used to realize the feasible detection of α-amylase in solutions. This self-assembly strategy mediated by the host-guest interaction may be extendable to other colloidal systems involving surfactants adsorbed on the surface of nanoparticles, and may open new avenues for the controllable self-assembly of non-spherical nanoparticles.     

Review: recent advances and future development of metal complexes as anticancer agents

Since the initial discovery of applications of platinum complexes in the clinical treatment of many kinds of cancers, the efficiency of platinum complexes in inhibiting the proliferation of various types of tumors surprised researchers working on the development of anticancer drugs. Meanwhile, despite the potent clinical treatment patients get from platinum complexes, there are also disadvantages including limited solubility in aqueous media and side effects like ototoxicity, myelosuppression, nephrotoxicity, and poor selectivity toward healthy cells. For this reason, efforts have been made to search for novel solutions. Non-platinum complexes (like Fe, Pd, Ru, Cu, Bi, Zn, etc.) were found with potential anticancer activities. We here review the properties of five metal complexes as anticancer agents and make comparisons among them in biological features and cytotoxic activity. Seeking the interrelation between microstructure and mechanism of anticancer, we hope this review provides distinct insights into future study of anticancer agents.     

Self-assembly and liquid-crystalline properties of 5-fluoroalkylporphyrins

We report three crystal structures of a synthetic 5-fluoroalkylporphyrin molecule that was programmed for self-assembly. All the X-ray structures of zincated and free-base porphyrins Zn2 b, Zn5 a, and 2 b revealed rigorous pi-pi stacking and extremely hydrophobic interactions. Other the other hand, the strong aggregation of 5-fluoroalkylporphyrins in solution was also found. Interestingly, the regular nanopore formation of the 5-fluoroalkylporphyrin was visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Importantly, the 5-fluoroalkylporphyrins possess liquid-crystalline properties that were confirmed by using a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM) techniques. By comparison, the self-assembly of non-fluorine-containing porphyrins with similar structure showed much lower aggregation ability, as investigated by NMR techniques. Additionally, no birefringent mesophase was observed for the non-fluorine-containing porphyrin.     

Formation mechanism of supramolecular hydrogels in the presence of L-phenylalanine derivative as a hydrogelator

A novel chiral hydrogelator, L-phenylalanine derivative can self-assemble in aqueous media at different pH values to form supramolecular hydrogels. The images of the FE-SEM indicate that different aggregates of TC(18)PheBu in morphology were formed, which further lead to the formation of spherical crystallites as observed by polarized optical microscope (POM). The FT-IR spectra of the supramolecular hydrogels reveal that intermolecular hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions are the driving forces for the self-assembly of TC(18)PheBu. Fluorescence spectra of TC(18)PheBu in aqueous solutions in the presence of pyrene as a probe further confirm the importance of hydrophobic interactions for the self-assembly. The circular dichroism (CD) spectra of TC(18)PheBu in supramolecular hydrogels in the presence of KF indicate that the hydrogen-bonding interaction can be disrupted by fluoride ions, which further confirm the importance of hydrogen bonding for the self-assembly of TC(18)PheBu.     

Poly(2-[dimethylamino]ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate)/DNA polyplexes in aqueous solutions

This study involves the investigation of the complexation ability of poly(2-[dimethylamino]ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA-b-PHPMA) amphiphilic pH and thermoresponsive block copolymers, and their quaternized counterparts QPDMAEMA-b-PHPMA, toward short DNA in aqueous solutions. The PDMAEMA-b-PHPMA amphiphilic block copolymers present various self-assembly characteristics when inserted into aqueous media, depending on the composition, the solubilization protocol, the acidity and the temperature of the aqueous media. Copolymer aggregates-DNA interactions and nanostructure formation after complexation are investigated by dynamic light scattering and intensity measurements in aqueous solutions in a fixed temperature range, utilizing two different solubilization protocols for the copolymers. Ethidium bromide assays by fluorescence spectroscopy and ζ-potential measurements were also utilized to investigate the structure and properties of the DNA/copolymer polyplexes. The interpretation of such physicochemical characterization provides extra comprehension of the novel (Q)PDMAEMA-b-PHPMA copolymers self-assembly characteristics and assesses their ability for DNA complexation, stabilization, and delivery.     

The separation of platinum and palladium by selective extraction of H(2)Pt(SCN)(6) and H(2)Pd(SCN)(4) using a polyTHF-impregnated filter

Platinum and palladium are known to form complexes with the thiocyanate ion in solution. The isolation and separation of both platinum and palladium as thiocyanate complexes is demonstrated by passing them through an organic-impregnated filter (OIF) prepared with polyTHF. Simultaneous extraction is performed by converting both metals into the extractable form. Sequential extraction is achieved by exploiting the difference in the rates of formation for the extractable complexes of the two metals. The extraction of both metals is rapid with quantitative recoveries of platinum with flow rates as high as 600 ml min⁻¹ in small samples, while recoveries from larger volume samples were considerably lower. Once extracted, the metals can be removed from the OIF by conversion to a non-extractable form with a high pH eluting solution. The rapid separation, isolation and preconcentration of both platinum and palladium from aqueous samples is demonstrated.