Organic fluorine compounds: a great opportunity for enhanced materials properties

Interactions of "organic fluorine" have gained great interest not only in the context of crystal engineering, but also in the systematic design of functional materials. The first part of this tutorial review presents an overview on interactions known by organic fluorine. This involves π-π(F), C-F···H, F···F, C-F···π(F), C-F···π, C-F···M(+), C-F···C=O and anion-π(F) interactions, as well as other halogen bonds. The effect of the exchange of H vs. F is discussed by means of several examples and a short introduction to the young field of "fluorous" chemistry is given. The second part is dedicated to numerous applications of fluorine and fluorous interactions. It is shown how application of fluorination is used to enable a number of reactions, to improve materials properties and even open up new fields of research.     

Cross-linked block copolymer micelles: functional nanostructures of great potential and versatility

Supramolecular self assembly techniques have provided a versatile means by which to selectively assemble polymer molecules into well-defined three dimensional core-shell nanostructures. The covalent stabilisation and tailoring of these dynamic nanostructures can be achieved using a range of chemistries within the assembly to afford robust functional nanoparticles. Many examples of the stabilisation, functionalisation and decoration of these nanoparticles have been reported in the literature and this tutorial review will focus on these recent developments and highlight their potential applications.     

A linear-hyperbranched supramolecular amphiphile and its self-assembly into vesicles with great ductility

A linear-hyperbranched supramolecular amphiphile was synthesized through the noncovalent coupling of adamantane-functionalized long alkyl chain (AD-C(n), n = 12, 18, 30) and hyperbranched polyglycerol grafted from β-cyclodextrin (CD-g-HPG) by the specific AD/CD host-guest interactions. The obtained supramolecular C(n)-b-HPGs self-assembled into unilamellar vesicles with great ductility that could be disassembled readily under a competitive host of β-CD.     

Complex coordinated functional groups: A great genes for nonlinear optical materials

Complex coordinated functional groups [MA_xB_y]（M = Central coordination element; A, B = P, O, S, Se,F, Cl, Br or I） are composed of different types of anions A, B jointly linked to the same central cation M,which are in high potential to tune the physical properties of materials, e.g., second-order susceptibility,energy gaps and birefringence. Recently, Compound containing complex coordinated functional groups have attracted great attention in the nonlinear optical（NLO） fiel...     

"The great escape" from antiaromaticity: reduction of strained pyrenes

The two-electron reduction of strained pyrenes ([7](2,7)pyrenophanes) with lithium metal leads to the formation of a new sigma-bond as a means to "escape" strained antiaromaticity.     

Polysaccharide conjugate vaccine:A kind of vaccine with great development potential

Diseases caused by microbial bacteria such as Haemophilus influenzae type b(Hib),Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis are still very serious disease,which has brought a lot of burden to many countries.Development of vaccine has brought hope for the prevention of such diseases.Polysaccharide conjugate vaccines have been shown to have very good effects in preventing such diseases.The polysaccharide co njugate vaccine adds the positive characteristics of protein antigens to the polysaccharide antigen,thereby improving the immunogenicity of the polysaccharide antigen,solving the problem that the polysaccharide vaccine cannot be effectively applicated in toddler or children,which greatly promoting the development of this vaccine.This review introduces the progress of polysaccharide conjugate vaccines.We introduce the typical polysaccharide conjugate vaccines currently on the market firstly,and then elucidate the protein carriers,the coupling chemistry methods and quality control that required in the preparation of polysaccharide conjugate vaccines.We can see that polysaccharide conjugate vaccine is a kind of vaccine with great development potential,which can be a sharp edge for us to prevent diseases.     

Proanthocyanidins: oligomeric structures with unique biochemical properties and great therapeutic promise

Proanthocyanidins represent a unique class of oligomeric and polymeric secondary metabolites found ubiquitously and in considerable amounts in plants and some algae. These substances exhibit a range of rather surprising physical and chemical properties which, once applied to living organisms, are translated into a multitude of biological activities. The latter include antioxidant properties, cancer chemoprevention, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects as well as some exceptional, yet highly interesting activities, such as anti-nutritional and antimicrobial activity. Despite the wide range of activities and possible medical/agricultural applications of proanthocyanidins, many questions still remain, including issues related to bioavailability, metabolism and the precise biochemical, extra- and intracellular targets and mode(s) of action of these highly potent materials. Among the various physical and chemical interactions of such substances, strong binding to proteins appears to form the basis of many of their biological activities. Once easy-to-use synthetic methods to produce appropriate quantities of pure proanthocyanidins are available, it will be possible to identify the prime biological targets of these oligomers, study oligomer-protein interactions in more detail and develop possible practical applications in medicine and agriculture.     

Shell cross-linked polymer micelles: stabilized assemblies with great versatility and potential

Shell cross-linked polymer micelles have been introduced within the past 3 years, and they have already demonstrated great promise as robust nanostructured core-shell nanospheres. The formation of cross-links throughout the shell of polymer micelles offers stability to the nanostructured assemblies, by providing reinforcement to the weak interactions that facilitate polymer micelle existence. Cross-linking can be accomplished by direct reaction between the chain segments located within the polymer micelle shell, or via addition of multi-functional cross-linking reagents. The dimensions, composition, and properties of each of the domains of the polymer micelles can be controlled by selection of diblock copolymer composition, conditions for polymer micelle assembly, and chemistry used for cross-linking. An overview of each of the examples of SCK nanospheres currently known is presented here.     

Dye induced great enhancement of broadband reflection from polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals

A series of polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (PSCLCs) films were prepared from cholesteric liquid crystal (Ch‐LC) mixtures containing different components such as non‐reactive LC monomer, polymerizable monomer, chiral dopant, dye, and photoinitiator upon polymerization. The influence of the polymerizable monomer and dye of Ch‐LC mixtures on the reflection properties was investigated. The reflection bandwidth for all the samples can be increased by photo‐polymerization, and the network upon polymerization derived from two different polymerizable monomers with both one and two functional groups is more effective than that from one polymerizable monomer for broadening the reflection band. Especially, a dye‐doped Ch‐LC film can reflect incident light with the bandwidth over the wavelength range of 550–2350 nm, which is due to a greater pitch gradient formed inside of Ch‐LC film. The gradient pitch network structure was firstly demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with the film prepared from high diacrylate monomer concentration and subsequently proved by using a wash‐out/refill method. The nematic liquid crystals monomers was infiltrated into the polymer network that was prefabricated by removing the low molar weight LCs from the original PSCLCs film, and SEM exhibited the existence of a pitch gradient across the film thickness. The refilled nematic liquid crystals film showed broadband reflection after polymerzition, too. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solid-phase and microwave-assisted syntheses of 2,5-diketopiperazines: small molecules with great potential

Diketopiperazines (DKPs) are a well-known class of heterocycles that have recently emerged as a promising biologically active scaffold. Solid-phase organic synthesis has become an important tool in the combinatorial exploration of these privileged structures, expediting the synthesis and, therefore, the discovery of active compounds. To date, certain DKPs have shown potent activities against a range of diseases and biological phenomena, including bacterial infections, various cancers, asthma, infertility, premature labor, and HIV. Recent applications of solid-phase DKP synthesis, with a particular focus on cyclative cleavage and microwave-assisted reactions, are highlighted herein.     

Plasma-particle momentum transfer under conditions of great knudsen numbers and thin plasma sheath

Particle drag force and thermophoresis results previous obtained are revised by including modified expressions for ion and electron components of the surface pressure. The present analysis shows that there is almost no difference between non-evaporating metallic and nonmetallic particles in their drags and there is only a little difference between those particles in their thermophoretic forces. The effect of evaporation on thermophoretic and drag forces is still marked, but the drag or thermophoretic force ratio with to without accounting for evaporation assumes somewhat different values from those obtained previously and depends notably on whether the particle is metallic or nonmetallic at high plasma temperatures.     

The effects of radiation chemistry on radiochemistry: when unpaired electrons defy great expectations

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - In liquid/liquid extraction fuel cycle scenarios, successful metal partitioning depends upon maintaining predictable ligand concentrations and...