Helix formation of poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives bearing amino groups at the meta position induced by optically active carboxylic acids

Two novel phenylacetylene derivatives bearing diethylaminomethyl groups at the meta position on phenyl groups [3‐(N,N‐diethylaminomethyl)phenyl]acetylene ( 1 ) and [3,5‐bis(N,N‐diethylaminomethyl)phenyl]acetylene ( 2 ) were synthesized and polymerized with [Rh(nbd)Cl]₂ (nbd: norbornadiene). Both monomers gave highly cis–transoidal stereoregular polymers that exhibited an induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the UV–visible region, probably because of a prevailing one‐handed helical conformation upon complexation with optically active carboxylic acids such as mandelic acid and lactic acid. The sign of the Cotton effects reflected the absolute configuration of the chiral acids. Therefore, these polymers can be used as a novel probe for determining the configuration of chiral acids. The polymers were stable in the presence of chiral acids in solution. The poly‐ 1 complexed with chiral acids exhibited a split‐type ICD, whereas the poly‐ 2 complexed with chiral acids showed a different, non‐split‐type ICD. The ICD pattern of the poly‐ 1 /chiral acids complexes dramatically changed with an increase in the concentration of the chiral acids, thus showing a non‐split‐type ICD similar to those of the poly‐ 2 /chiral acid complexes. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3180–3189, 2001     

Helicity induction on a poly(phenylacetylene) derivative bearing aza‐18‐crown‐6 ether pendants in water

A stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene) bearing the bulky aza‐18‐crown‐6 ether as the pendant (poly‐ 1 ) formed a predominantly one‐handed helical conformation upon complexation with various chiral compounds, such as amino acids, peptides, aminosugars, amines, and amino alcohols in water. The complexes exhibited an induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the UV–visible region of the polymer main chain. Therefore, poly‐ 1 can be used as a novel probe for determining the chirality of chiral compounds in water. The assay of 19 common free L ‐amino acids gave the same ICD sign at 0 °C except for L ‐phenylalanine. The effects of pH, temperature, guest concentration, and organic solvent content on the ICD during the complexation of poly‐ 1 with chiral compounds were also investigated. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1004–1013, 2003     

Grafting polymerization of single‐handed helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s on graphene oxide and their application in enantioselective separation

We herein report a “grafting from” strategy to immobilize optically active helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s onto graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. After covalently bounding alkyne‐Pd(II) initiator onto GO nanosheets, the designed GO/polymer composites P1 @GO and P1 ‐b‐ P2 @GO featuring single‐handed helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s growing from GO nanosheets were prepared by sequential addition of the chiral and achiral isocyanide monomers. Post‐synthetic hydrolysis rendered P1 ‐b‐ P3 @GO to improve the hydrophilicity. The successful covalent bonding of poly(phenyl isocyanide)s chains onto GO nanosheets was certified by several cross evidences including scan emission microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Circular dichroism spectra proved that the chiral information was introduced through the grafted single‐handed helical polymer chains successfully. In addition, the resulting GO/polymer composites were explored as a chiral additive to induce enantioselective crystallization of racemic organic molecules. Preferential formation of rod‐like L‐alanine crystals was induced by composites bearing right‐handed helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s. The enantiomeric excess value of the induced crystals reached 76%, displaying the potential in future applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2092–2103     

Unexpected Thermally Stable,Cholesteric Liquid‐Crystalline Helical Polyisocyanides with Memory of Macromolecular Helicity

The achiral sodium salt of poly(4‐carboxyphenyl isocyanide) (poly‐ 1 –Na) folds into a one‐handed helix induced by optically active amines in water. The induced helicity remains when the optically active amines are completely removed, and further modification of the side groups to amide residues is possible without loss of memory of macromolecular helicity. Although the helical poly‐ 1 –Na loses its chiral memory at high temperature, helical polyisocyanides modified with achiral primary amines, which no longer have any chiral components, keep their memory perfectly even at 100 °C in N,N‐dimethylformamide in some cases and exhibit cholesteric liquid‐crystalline phases, thus providing a robust scaffold with heat resistance to which a variety of functional groups can be introduced.     

Helicity Induction and Memory of the Macromolecular Helicity in a Polyacetylene Bearing a Biphenyl Pendant

A novel, cis‐transoidal poly‐(phenylacetylene) bearing a carboxybiphenyl group as the pendant (poly‐ 1 ) was prepared by polymerization of (4′‐ethoxycarbonyl‐4‐biphenylyl)acetylene with a rhodium catalyst followed by hydrolysis of the ester groups. Upon complexation with various chiral amines and amino alcohols in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the polymer exhibited characteristic induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the UV/Vis region due to the predominantly one‐handed helix formation of the polymer backbone as well as an excess of a single‐handed, axially twisted conformation of the pendant biphenyl group. Poly‐ 1 complexed with (R)‐2‐amino‐1‐propanol showed unique time‐dependent inversion of the macromolecular helicity. Furthermore, the preferred‐handed helical conformation of poly‐ 1 induced by a chiral amine was further “memorized” after the chiral amine was replaced with achiral 2‐aminoethanol or n‐butylamine in DMSO. In sharp contrast to the previously reported memory in poly((4‐carboxyphenyl)acetylene), the present helicity memory of poly‐ 1 was accompanied by memory of the twisted biphenyl chirality in the pendants. Unprecedentedly, the helicity memory of poly‐ 1 with achiral 2‐aminoethanol was found to occur simultaneously with inversion of the axial chirality of the biphenyl groups followed by memory of the inverted biphenyl chirality, thus showing a significant change in the CD spectral pattern.     

Optically Active Helical Poly[(S)‐3‐vinyl‐2,2′‐dihydroxy‐1,1′‐binaphthyl]: New Ligand for Asymmetric Addition of Diethylzinc to Aryl Aldehyde

Poly[(S)‐3‐vinyl‐2,2′‐dihydroxy‐1,1′‐binaphthyl] (L*) was obtained by taking off the protecting groups of poly[(S)‐3‐vinyl‐2,2′‐bis(methoxymethoxy)‐1,1′‐binaphthyl] (poly‐ 1 ). L* was proved to keep a stable helical conformation in solution. The application of helical L* in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes has been studied. The catalytic system employing 10 mol% of L* and 150 mol% of Ti(OⁱPr)₄ was found to promote the addition of diethylzinc to a wide range of aromatic aldehydes, giving up to 99% enantiomeric excess (ee) and up to 93% yield of the corresponding secondary alcohol at 0°C. The chiral polymer can be easily recovered and reused without loss of catalytic activity as well as enantioselectivity.     

The Helix to Super‐Helix Transition in the Self‐Assembly of π‐Systems: Superseding of Molecular Chirality at Hierarchical Level

Higher‐order super‐helical structures derived from biological molecules are known to evolve through opposite coiling of the initial helical fibers, as seen in collagen protein. A similar phenomenon is observed in a π‐system self‐assembly of chiral oligo(phenyleneethylene) derivatives (S )‐ 1 and (R )‐ 1 that explains the unequal formation of both left‐ and right‐handed helices from molecule having a specific chiral center. Concentration‐ and temperature‐dependent circular dichroism (CD) and UV/Vis spectroscopic studies revealed that the initial formation of helical aggregates is in accordance with the molecular chirality. At the next level of hierarchical self‐assembly, coiling of the fibers occurs with opposite handedness, thereby superseding the command of the molecular chirality. This was confirmed by solvent‐dependent decoiling of super‐helical structures and concentration‐dependent morphological analysis.     

Nanospheres,Nanotubes, Toroids,and Gels with Controlled Macroscopic Chirality

The interaction of a highly dynamic poly(aryl acetylene) (poly‐ 1 ) with Li⁺, Na⁺_, and Ag⁺ leads to macroscopically chiral supramolecular nanospheres, nanotubes, toroids, and gels. With Ag⁺, nanospheres with M helicity and tunable sizes are generated, which complement those obtained from the same polymer with divalent cations. With Li⁺ or Na⁺, poly‐ 1 yields chiral nanotubes, gels, or toroids with encapsulating properties and M helicity. Right‐handed supramolecular structures can be obtained by using the enantiomeric polymer. The interaction of poly‐ 1 with Na⁺ produces nanostructures whose helicity is highly dependent on the solvation state of the cation. Therefore, structures with either of the two helicities can be prepared from the same polymer by manipulation of the cosolvent. Such chiral nanotubes, toroids, and gels have previously not been obtained from helical polymer–metal complexes. Chiral nanospheres made of poly(aryl acetylene) that were previously assembled with metal(II) species can now be obtained with metal(I) species.     

Chiral discrimination of β‐3‐homo‐amino acids using the kinetic method

Chiral discrimination of seven enantiomeric pairs of β‐3‐homo‐amino acids was studied by using the kinetic method and trimeric metal‐bound complexes, with natural and unnatural α‐amino acids as chiral reference compounds and divalent metal ions (Cu²⁺ and Ni²⁺) as the center ions. The β‐3‐homo‐amino acids were selected for this study because, first of all, chiral discrimination of β‐amino acids has not been extensively studied by mass spectrometry. Moreover, these β‐3‐homo‐amino acids studied have different aromatic side chains. Thus, the emphasis was to study the effect of the side chain (electron density of the phenyl ring, as well as the difference between phenyl and benzyl side chains) for the chiral discrimination. The results showed that by the proper choice of a metal ion and a chiral reference compound, all seven enantiomeric pairs of β‐3‐homo‐amino acids could be differentiated. Moreover, it was noted that the β‐3‐homo‐amino acids with benzyl side chains provided higher enantioselectivity than the corresponding phenyl ones. However, increasing or decreasing the electron density of the aromatic ring by different substituents in both the phenyl and benzyl side chains had practically no role for chiral discrimination of β‐3‐homo‐amino acids studied. When copper was used as the central metal, the phenyl side chain containing reference molecules (S)‐2‐amino‐2‐phenylacetic acid (L ‐Phg) and (S)‐2‐amino‐2‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐acetic acid (L ‐4′‐OHPhg) gave rise to an additional copper‐reduced dimeric fragment ion, [Cu^I(ref)(A)]⁺. The inclusion of this ion improved noticeably the enantioselectivity values obtained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nanospheres,Nanotubes, Toroids,and Gels with Controlled Macroscopic Chirality

The interaction of a highly dynamic poly(aryl acetylene) (poly‐ 1 ) with Li⁺, Na⁺_, and Ag⁺ leads to macroscopically chiral supramolecular nanospheres, nanotubes, toroids, and gels. With Ag⁺, nanospheres with M helicity and tunable sizes are generated, which complement those obtained from the same polymer with divalent cations. With Li⁺ or Na⁺, poly‐ 1 yields chiral nanotubes, gels, or toroids with encapsulating properties and M helicity. Right‐handed supramolecular structures can be obtained by using the enantiomeric polymer. The interaction of poly‐ 1 with Na⁺ produces nanostructures whose helicity is highly dependent on the solvation state of the cation. Therefore, structures with either of the two helicities can be prepared from the same polymer by manipulation of the cosolvent. Such chiral nanotubes, toroids, and gels have previously not been obtained from helical polymer–metal complexes. Chiral nanospheres made of poly(aryl acetylene) that were previously assembled with metal(II) species can now be obtained with metal(I) species.     

Majority‐Rules‐Type Helical Poly(quinoxaline‐2,3‐diyl)s as Highly Efficient Chirality‐Amplification Systems for Asymmetric Catalysis

A highly efficient majority‐rules effect of poly(quinoxaline‐2,3‐diyl)s (PQXs) bearing 2‐butoxymethyl chiral side chains at the 6‐ and 7‐positions was established and attributed to large ΔG_h values (0.22–0.41 kJ mol^?1), which are defined as the energy difference between P‐ and M‐helical conformations per chiral unit. A PQX copolymer prepared from a monomer derived from (R)‐2‐octanol (23 % ee) and a monomer bearing a PPh₂ group adopted a single‐handed helical structure (>99 %) and could be used as a highly enantioselective chiral ligand in palladium‐catalyzed asymmetric reactions (products formed with up to 94 % ee), in which the enantioselectivity could be switched by solvent‐dependent inversion of the helical PQX backbone.     

Synthesis and UCST‐type phase behavior of OEGylated poly(γ‐benzyl‐l‐glutamate) in organic media

A series of OEGylated poly(γ‐benzyl‐l ‐glutamate) with different oligo‐ethylene‐glycol side‐chain length, molecular weight (MW = 8.4 × 10³ to 13.5 × 10⁴) and narrow molecular weight distribution (PDI = 1.12–1.19) can be readily prepared from triethylamine initiated ring‐opening polymerization of OEGylated γ‐benzyl‐l ‐glutamic acid based N‐carboxyanhydride. FTIR analysis revealed that the polymers adopted α‐helical conformation in the solid‐state. While they showed poor solubility in water, they exhibited a reversible upper critical solution temperature (UCST)‐type phase behavior in various alcoholic organic solvents (i.e., methanol, ethanol, 1‐propanol, 1‐butanol, 1‐pentanol, and isopropanol). Variable‐temperature UV–vis analysis revealed that the UCST‐type transition temperatures (T_pts) of the resulting polymers were highly dependent on the type of solvent, polymer concentration, side‐ and main‐chain length. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1348‐1356     

Catalysts and temperature driven melt polycondensation reaction for helical poly(ester‐urethane)s based on natural L‐amino acids

Catalyst and temperature driven melt polycondensation reaction was developed for natural L‐amino acid monomers to produce new classes of poly(ester‐urethane)s. Wide ranges of catalysts from alkali, alkali earth metal, transition metal and lanthanides were developed for the condensation of amino acid monomers with diols to yield poly(ester‐urethane)s. A‐B Diblock and A‐B‐A triblock species were obtained by carefully choosing mono‐ or diols in model reactions. More than two dozens of transition metal and lanthanide catalysts were identified for the polycondensation to yield high molecular weight poly(ester‐urethane)s. Theoretical studies revealed that the carbonyl carbon in ester possessed low electron density compared to the carbonyl carbon in urethane which driven the thermo‐selective polymerization process. Optical purity of the L‐amino acid residues in the melt polycondensation process was investigated using D‐ and L‐isomers and the resultant products were analyzed by chiral‐HPLC and CD spectroscopy. CD analysis revealed that the amino acid based polymers were self‐assembled as β‐sheet and polyproline type II secondary structures. Electron and atomic force microscopic analysis confirmed the formation of helical nano‐fibrous morphology in poly(ester‐urethane)s. The newly developed melt polycondensation process is very efficient and optimized for wide range of catalysts to produce diverse polymer structures from natural L‐amino acids. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1065–1077     

Supramolecular Graft Copolymerization of a Polyester by Guest‐Selective Encapsulation of a Self‐Assembled Capsule

Repeating guest units of polyesters poly‐(R )‐ 2 were selectively encapsulated by capsule 1 (BF₄)₄ to produce supramolecular graft polymers. The encapsulation of the guest units was confirmed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The graft polymer structures were confirmed by the increase in the hydrodynamic radii and the solution viscosities of the polyesters upon complexation of the capsule. After the capsule was formed, atomic force microscopy showed extension of the polyester chains. The introduction of the graft chains onto poly‐(R )‐ 2 resulted in the main chain of the polymer having an M ‐helical morphology. The complexation of copolymers poly‐[(R )‐ 2 ‐co ‐(S )‐ 2 ] by the capsule gave rise to the unique chiral amplification known as the majority‐rules effect.     

Poly(methacrylamide‐co‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propanesulfonic acid) hydrogels: Investigation of pH‐ and temperature‐dependent swelling characteristics and their characterization

Novel poly(methacrylamide‐co‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐ 1‐propanesulfonic acid) (poly(MAAm‐co‐AMPS)) hydrogels were synthesized by free radical polymerization of methacrylamide (MAAm) and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) in deionized water at 60 °C by using ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS), N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide (MBAAm) and N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) as initiator, crosslinker, and activator, respectively. To investigate the effects of feed content on the pH‐ and temperature‐dependent swelling behavior of poly(MAAm‐co‐AMPS), molar ratio of MAAm to AMPS in feed was varied from 90/10 to 10/90. Structural characterization of gels was performed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using attenuated total reflectance (ATR) technique. Thermal and morphological characterizations of gels were performed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Although an apparent pH‐sensitivity was not observed for the poly(MAAm‐co‐AMPS) gels during the swelling in different buffer solutions, their temperature‐sensitivity became more evident with the increase in AMPS content of copolymer. Thermal stability of poly(MAAm‐co‐AMPS) gels increased with MAAm content. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2010     

Poly(p‐benzamide) having isopropyl‐substituted chiral tri(ethylene glycol) side Chain: Synthesis and helical conformation

Isopropyl‐substituted tri(ethylene glycol) is used as a chiral side chain of N‐substituted poly(p‐benzamide) in order to increase the difference of stability between the right‐ and left‐handed helical structures of the polymer. The target polymer is synthesized by the chain‐growth condensation polymerization of the corresponding monomer with an initiator using lithium 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexamethyldisilazide as a base. A circular dichroism (CD) study of the polymer reveals that the CD signal is due to an excess of a thermodynamically controlled right‐handed helical structure of the polymer, and that the replacement of the methyl group with a bulkier isopropyl group at the side chain of poly(p‐benzamide) increases the abundance of right‐handed helical structure in chloroform. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1623–1628     

Solvent‐induced helical conformation observed from a conjugated polymer poly(N‐octylcarbazole ethylene)

The formation of a cylinder‐like helical conformation induced by solvation was observed from a conjugated polymer poly(N‐octylcarbazole ethylene). The polymer was synthesized by McMurry condensation using N‐octyl‐3,6‐diformylcarbazole as monomer, in which the alkylcarbazolyl group was functioned as a turn angle. IR analysis indicated that the double bond in the polymer chain mainly takes a cis‐ conformation. Computer simulation revealed that the polymer could form into a hollow tubular nano‐structure with a cavity of less than 1 nm in diameter by folding its strand. The helical conformation formed by solvent induction was further proved by the measurements of circular dichroism (CD) spectrum, specific rotatory power and fluorescent (FL) spectra. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Macromolecular helicity inversion of poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives induced by various external stimuli

Unique macromolecular helicity inversion of stereoregular, optically active poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives induced by external achiral and chiral stimuli is briefly reviewed. Stereoregular, cis-transoidal poly(phenylacetylene)s bearing an optically active substituent, such as (1R,2S)-norephedrine (poly- 1 ) and β-cyclodextrin residues (poly- 2 ), show an induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the UV-visible region of the polymer backbone in solution due to a predominantly one-handed helical conformation of the polymers. However, poly- 1 undergoes a helix-helix transition upon complexation with chiral acids having an R configuration, and the complexes exhibit a dramatic change in the ICD of poly- 1 . Poly- 2 also shows the inversion of macromolecular helicity responding to molecular and chiral recognition events that occurred at the remote cyclodextrin residues from the polymer backbone; the helicity inversion is accompanied by a visible color change. A similar helix-helix transition of poly((R)- or (S)-(4-((1-(1-naphthyl)ethyl)carbamoyl)phenyl)acetylene) is also briefly described.     

Chiral separation of amides of amino acid on a (S)‐N‐(3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl)leucine‐N‐phenyl‐N‐propylamide‐bonded silica using nonaqueous capillary electrochromatography

(S)‐N‐(3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl)leucine‐N‐phenyl‐N‐propylamine‐bonded silica was used as a chiral stationary phase for separation of a set of racemic π‐acidic and π‐basic α‐amino acid amides in electrolyteless ACN‐water eluents by CEC in the RP and polar organic (PO) modes. The effect of the amount of water in the ACN‐water eluent on chiral separation was examined. As water is added to ACN, retention was shortened but resolution and selectivity deteriorated severely. Retention, enantioselectivity, and resolution factors obtained in 100% ACN were compared with those in an n‐hexane‐isopropanol eluent with a small amount of water by normal phase (NP) CEC. Much shorter retention times with comparable enantioselectivities were observed with 100% ACN, demonstrating the advantage of separation on (S)‐N‐(DNB)leucine‐N‐phenyl‐N‐propylamine‐bonded silica in PO‐CEC over NP‐CEC.     

Highly Enantioselective Extraction of Underivatized Amino Acids by the Uryl‐Pendant Hydroxyphenyl‐Binol Ketone

The hydroxyphenyl chiral ketone, (S)‐ 3 , reacts with D ‐amino acids bearing hydrophobic side chains exclusively over the L ‐amino acids in a two‐phase liquid–liquid extraction, and thus acts as a highly stereoselective extractant. Calculations for the energy‐minimized structures for the imine diastereomers and the comparison of the selectivities with other phenyl ketones, (S)‐ 4 and (S)‐ 5 , demonstrate that the hydrogen bond between the carboxylate group and the phenolic hydroxyl group contributes to the remarkable enantioselectivities. The multiple hydrogen bonds present in the imine of (S)‐ 3 reinforce the rigidity, and results in the difference between the stabilities of the imine diastereomers. The imine could be hydrolyzed in methanolic HCl solution, and the extraction of the evaporated residues revived the organic layer of (S)‐ 3 , which could enter into a new extractive cycle and leaves the D ‐amino acid with enantiomeric excess (ee) values of over 97 % in the aqueous layer.