A Shear-Thinning,Self-Healing,Dual-Cross Linked Hydrogel Based on Gelatin/Vanillin/Fe3+/AGP-AgNPs: Synthesis,Antibacterial, and Wound-Healing Assessment

A shear-thinning and self-healing hydrogel based on a gelatin biopolymer is synthesized using vanillin and Fe³⁺ as dual crosslinking agents. Rheological studies indicate the formation of a strong gel found to be injectable and exhibit rapid self-healing (within 10 min). The hydrogels also exhibited a high degree of swelling, suggesting potential as wound dressings since the absorption of large amounts of wound exudate, and optimum moisture levels, lead to accelerated wound healing. Andrographolide, an anti-inflammatory natural product is used to fabricate silver nanoparticles, which are characterized and composited with the fabricated hydrogels to imbue them with anti-microbial activity. The nanoparticle/hydrogel composites exhibit activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Burkholderia pseudomallei, the pathogen that causes melioidosis, a serious but neglected disease affecting southeast Asia and northern Australia. Finally, the nanoparticle/hydrogel composites are shown to enhance wound closure in animal models compared to the hydrogel alone, confirming that these hydrogel composites hold great potential in the biomedical field.     

Mirror helices and helicity switch at surfaces based on chiral triangular-shape oligo(phenylene ethynylenes)

The self‐assembly of triangular‐shaped oligo(phenylene ethynylenes) (OPEs), peripherally decorated with chiral and linear paraffinic chains, is investigated in bulk, onto surfaces and in solution. Whilst the X‐ray diffraction data for the chiral studied systems display a broad reflection centered at 2θ ～20° (λ=Cu_Kα), the higher crystallinity of OPE 3 , endowed with three linear decyl chains, results in a diffractrogram with a number of well‐resolved reflections that can be accurately indexed as a columnar packing arranged in 2D oblique cells. Compounds (S)‐ 1 a and (R)‐ 1 b —endowed with (S)‐ and (R)‐3,7‐dimethyloctyloxy chains—transfer their chirality to the supramolecular structures formed upon their self‐assembly, and give rise to helical nanostructures of opposite handedness. A helicity switch is noticeable for the case of chiral (S)‐ 2 decorated with (S)‐2‐methylnonyloxy chains which forms right‐handed helices despite it possesses the same stereoconfiguration for their stereogenic carbons as (S)‐ 1 a that self‐assembles into left‐handed helices. The stability and the mechanism of the supramolecular polymerization in solution have been investigated by UV/Vis experiments in methylcyclohexane. These studies demonstrate that the larger the distance between the stereogenic carbon and the aromatic framework is, the more stable the aggregate is. Additionally, the self‐assembly mechanism is conditioned by the peripheral substituents: whereas compounds (S)‐ 1 a and (R)‐ 1 b self‐assemble in a cooperative manner with a low degree of cooperativity, the aggregation of (S)‐ 2 and 3 is well described by an isodesmic model. Therefore, the interaction between the chiral coil chains conditions the handedness of the helical pitch, the stability of the supramolecular structure and the supramolecular polymerization mechanism of the studied OPEs.     

Absolute structure of the chiral pyrrolidine derivative (2S)‐methyl (Z)‐5‐(2‐tert‐butoxy‐1‐cyano‐2‐oxoethylidene)pyrrolidine‐2‐carboxylate,a compound with low resonant scattering

The enantiopure monopyrrolidine derivative (2S)‐methyl (Z)‐5‐(2‐tert‐butoxy‐1‐cyano‐2‐oxoethylidene)pyrrolidine‐2‐carboxylate, C₁₃H₁₈N₂O₄, ( 1 ), represents a potential ligand and an attractive intermediate for the synthesis of chiral metal complexes. At the molecular level, the compound features an intramolecular N—H…O hydrogen bond; neighbouring molecules interact via N—H…N contacts to form chains along [100]. Due to its elemental composition, resonant scattering of the target compound is entirely insignificant for diffraction experiments with Mo Kα and small even for Cu Kα radiation. A preliminary study with the harder radiation type confirmed the chiral space group and the suitability of the single crystal chosen; as expected, the results concerning the absolute structure remained completely inconclusive. A second data collection with the longer wavelength gave satisfactory quality indicators for the correct handedness of the molecule, albeit with high standard uncertainties. The absolute configuration has been assessed independently: CD spectra for both enantiomers of the target molecule were calculated and the spectrum for the S‐configured stereoisomer was in agreement with the experiment. The Cotton effect of ( 1 ) may be ascribed to π–π* transitions from HOMO to LUMO and from HOMO to LUMO+1. As both independent techniques agree with respect to the handedness of the target molecule, the absolute structure may be assigned with a high degree of confidence.     

A Liquid-Crystal Study of Heptalene

The chiral structure of heptalene is characterised, for a given configuration, by helicities, which are opposite in the direction (x) of the central C(5a)-C(10a) bond and in the direction (y) of a line perpendicular to it, passing through the C(3)-and C(8)-atoms. These two helicities can be experimentally established and differentiated by the handedness of the cholesteric mesophases induced in a biphenyl-type liquid crystal (LC) by chiral heptalenes with substituents favouring the x or y orientation along the nematic director of the LC.     

Asymmetric Strecker Reaction Arising from the Molecular Orientation of an Achiral Imine at the Single‐Crystal Face: Enantioenriched l‐ and d‐Amino Acids

Strecker synthesis has long been considered one of the prebiotic reactions for the synthesis of α‐amino acids. However, the correlation between the origin of chirality and highly enantioenriched α‐amino acids through this method remains a puzzle. In the reaction, it may be conceivable that the handedness of amino acids has been determined at the formation stage of the chiral intermediate α‐aminonitrile, that is, the enantioselective addition of hydrogen cyanide to an imine. Herein, an enantiotopic crystal surface of an achiral imine acted as an origin of chirality for the enantioselective formation of α‐aminonitriles by the addition of HCN. In conjunction with the amplification of the enantiomeric excess and multiplication of enantioenriched aminonitrile, a large amount of near enantiopure α‐amino acids, with the l ‐ and d ‐handedness corresponding to the molecular orientation of the imine, is reported.     

Rh-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of α,β- and β,β-Disubstituted Unsaturated Boronate Esters

A highly enantioselective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated boronate esters catalyzed by Rh-(S)-DTBM-Segphos complex has been developed. Both (Z)-α,β- and β,β-disubstituted substrates can be successfully hydrogenated to afford chiral boronates with excellent enantioselectivities, up to 98 % ee. Furthermore, the obtained chiral boronate esters, as important versatile synthetic intermediates are successfully transformed to the corresponding chiral alcohols, amines and other important derivatives with maintained enantioselectivities.     

The effects of the nature of catalyst and of the solvent on the stereoselectivity in amine-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of substituted cyclohexa-1,3-dienes from prenal and monoesters of ylidenemalonic acids

In the amine-catalyzed reactions of prenal with (Z)-5-methyl-2-(methoxycarbonyl)hexa-2,4-dienoic or (Z)-3-phenyl-2-(ethoxycarbonyl)prop-2-enoic acid chiral β-amino alcohols provide for higher enantiomeric purity of the resulting alkyl 4-methyl-6-(2-methylprop-1-enyl)-and 4-methyl-6-phenylcyclohexa-1,3-dienoates than that provided by related chiral amines without hydroxy group. The values ofee attained in nonpolar solvents are higher than those observed in the polar ones. Substituting stoichiometric amounts of a chiral 1-amino-3-methylbuta-1,3-diene for a combination of prenal with 0.1 equiv. of the corresponding chiral amine results in the products of much lower enantiomeric purity. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 84–92, January, 1998.     

Design and Synthesis of (13S)‐Methyl‐Substituted Arachidonic Acid Analogues: Templates for Novel Endocannabinoids

Two novel methyl‐substituted arachidonic acid derivatives were prepared in an enantioselective manner from commercially available chiral building blocks, and were found to be excellent templates for the development of (13S)‐methyl‐substituted anandamide analogues. One of the compounds synthesized, namely, (13S,5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)‐13‐methyl‐eicosa‐5,8,11,14‐tetraenoic acid N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)amide, is an endocannabinoid analogue with remarkably high affinity for the CB1 cannabinoid receptor.     

Reversal of Enantiomeric Retention Order by Using a Single N-Derivatized Dipeptide as Chiral Mobile Phase Additive and Porous Graphitised Carbon as Stationary Phase

In this work the three dipeptides, Z-l-alanyl-l-glutaric acid (Z-l-ala-l-glu), Z-l-phenylanyl-l-glutaric acid (Z-l-phe-l-glu) and Z-glycyl-l-glutaric acid (Z-gly-l-glu) were tested as chiral counter ions for enantiomeric resolution of amino alcohols. The influence of solute and counter ion structure upon retention and enantioselectivity was evaluated. The chiral counter ions were dissolved in a mixture of polar solvents, i.e., ethyl acetate, methanol and acetonitrile and the achiral solid phase used was porous graphitic carbon, marketed as Hypercarb. The enantioselectivities observed for the tested solutes were highly influenced by the used chiral counter ion structure. For example no enantioselectivity was observed for (R,S)-alprenolol using Z-l-ala-l-glu while a separation factor (α) of 1.59 was obtained using Z-l-phe-l-glu as chiral counter ion. High selectivity factors (α > 2.7) were observed between enantiomers of tertiary amines using Z-l-phe-l-glu as counter ion. Interestingly, the structure of the counter ion, as well as the charge on Z-l-phe-l-glu and the mobile phase solvent composition, influenced the retention order of the enantiomers.     

Chemistry of Ethanediyl S,S-Acetals 9-Asymmetric Synthesis of Chiral cis Allylic Alcohols

(2Z,1S)-1,3-diphenyl-2-propenol (3) is obtained from the chiral 5,6-dihydro-1,4-dithiin 1b in two steps and 60% enantiomeric excess. Combining our previously reported stereoselective double bond formation and this 1,4 asymmetric induction introduces a new route to chiral allylic alcohols with cis geometry from simple aldehydes and methyl ketones.     

Mxene-Based Supramolecular Composite Hydrogels for Antioxidant and Photothermal Antibacterial Activities

Bacterial infections and oxidative damage caused by various reactive oxygen species (ROS) pose a significant threat to human health. It is highly desirable to find an ideal biomaterial system with broad spectrum antibacterial and antioxidant capabilities. A new supramolecular antibacterial and antioxidant composite hydrogel made of chiral L-phenylalanine-derivative (LPFEG) as matrix and Mxene (Ti₃C₂T_x) as filler material is presented. The noncovalent interactions (H-bonding and π–π interactions) in between LPFEG and Mxene and the inversion of LPFEG chirality are verified by Fourier transform infrared and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The composite hydrogels show improved mechanical properties revealed by rheological analysis. The composite hydrogel system exhibits photothermal conversion efficiency (40.79%), which enables effective photothermal broad-spectrum antibacterial activities against both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. Furthermore, the Mxene also enables the composite hydrogel to exhibit excellent antioxidant activity by efficiently scavenging free radicals like DPPH•, ABTS•+, and •OH. These results indicate that the Mxene-based chiral supramolecular composite hydrogel, with improved rheological, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties has a great potential for biomedical applications.     

Optically Biaxial,Re‐entrant and Frustrated Mesophases in Chiral,Non‐symmetric Liquid Crystal Dimers and Binary Mixtures

Sixteen optically active, non‐symmetric dimers, in which cyanobiphenyl and salicylaldimine mesogens are interlinked by a flexible spacer, were synthesized and characterized. While the terminal chiral tail, in the form of either (R)‐2‐octyloxy or (S)‐2‐octyloxy chain attached to salicylaldimine core, was held constant, the number of methylene units in the spacer was varied from 3 to 10 affording eight pairs of (R & S) enantiomers. They were probed for their thermal properties with the aid of orthoscopy, conoscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray powder diffraction. In addition, the binary mixture study was carried out using chiral and achiral dimers with the intensions of stabilizing optically biaxial phase/s, re‐entrant phases and important phase sequences. Notably, one of the chiral dimers as well as some mixtures exhibited a biaxial smectic A (SmA_b) phase appearing between a uniaxial SmA and a re‐entrant uniaxial SmA phases. The mesophases such as chiral nematic (N*) and frustrated phases viz., blue phases (BPs) and twist grain boundary (TGB) phases, were also found to occur in most of the dimers and mixtures. X‐ray diffraction studies revealed that the dimers possessing oxybutoxy and oxypentoxy spacers show interdigitated (SmA_d) phase where smectic periodicity is over 1.4 times the molecular length; whereas in the intercalated SmA (SmA_c) phase formed by a dimer having oxydecoxy spacer the periodicity was found to be approximately half the molecular length. The handedness of the helical structure of the N* phases formed by two enantiomers was examined with the aid of CD measurements; as expected, these enantiomers showed optical activities of equal magnitudes but with opposite signs. Overall, it appears that the chiral dimers and mixtures presented herein may serve as model systems in design and developing novel materials exhibiting the apolar SmA_b phase possessing D_2h symmetry and nematic‐type biaxiality.     

Introducing Chirality into Nonionic Dendritic Amphiphiles and Studying Their Supramolecular Assembly

Chiral head groups have been introduced into water‐soluble hydroxyl‐terminated nonionic amphiphiles and the impact of the head group stereochemistry on the supramolecular ultrastructures has been studied. Enantiomeric isomers were compared with the achiral meso form and the racemic mixture by means of cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Structurally, all amphiphiles are composed of the first‐generation hydrophilic polyglycerol head group coupled to a single hydrophobic hexadecyl chain through an amide linkage and diaromatic spacer. The enantiomers aggregate to form twisted ribbons with uniform handedness, whereas the meso stereoisomer and racemic mixture produce elongated assemblies, namely, tubules and platelets, but without a chiral ultrastructure. Simulations on the molecular packing geometries of the stereoisomers indicate different preferential assembly routes that explain the individual supramolecular aggregation behavior.     

Mesomorphism,polymerization, and chirality induction in α‐cyanostilbene‐functionalized diacetylene‐assembled films: Photo‐triggered Z/E isomerization

Engineering of molecular stacking arrangement via environmental stimuli is of particular interest in stimuli‐responsive self‐assembling architectures. A novel dual photo‐functionalized diacetylene ((Z)‐CNBE‐DA) molecule was synthesized, in which photo‐responsive cyanostilbene moieties exhibited interesting Z‐E isomerization upon UV light irradiation and could be utilized to modulate mesomorphism, molecular stacking arrangement and resulting polymerization behavior. Rod‐like (Z)‐CNBE‐DA could self‐assemble into well‐defined lamellar structures and the helical polydiacetylene (PDA) chains could be formed upon irradiation with circularly polarized ultraviolet light (CPUL). However, the bent‐shaped (E)‐CNBE‐DA molecules only self‐assembled into irregular loose packing, inhibiting the formation of ordered helical PDA chains upon CPUL irradiation. In this work, we established the links between chemical structures, molecular packing engineering and photophysical properties, which would be of great fundamental value for the rational design of smart soft materials. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2458–2466     

Injectable and self-healing hydrogels with tissue adhesiveness and antibacterial activity as wound dressings for infected wound healing

The design of wound dressings with excellent self-healing ability, adequate adhesion, good biocompatibility, and potential antibacterial ability is of great significance for the healing of infected wounds arising from human activities. Herein, a series of multi-functional hydrogel dressings, poly(ionized isocyanoethyl methacrylate-glutamine)/poly(hexamethylene guanidine) (iG_x/PHMG_y) hydrogels, were obtained through homopolymerization of fully ionized isocyanoethyl methacrylate-glutamine (iIEM-Gln) in the presence of poly(hexamethylene guanidine) (PHMG), in which strong hydrogen bonds were formed among urea groups in the P (iIEM-Gln) chain to form a stable hydrogel network. The prepared iG_x/PHMG_y hydrogels exhibited adequate self-healing ability and tissue adhesion, which could be firmly adhered to the wound surface and remained intact during application. In addition, the presence of PHMG imparted good antibacterial activity to the hydrogels for the effective promotion of the wound healing in S. aureus infected skin wound on mice. Overall, this multi-functional hydrogel provides a facile and effective strategy for the design of infected wound dressings, and may show great potential in clinical applications.     

Conformational Kinetics in Chiral Poly(diphenylacetylene)s: A Dynamic P/M Memory Effect

Dynamic P/M (plus/minus) helical memory in chiral dissymmetric poly(diphenylacetylene)s (PDPA) is shown using a PDPA that bears the benzamide of (L)-alanine methyl ester as pendant. For a single chiral polymer, it is possible to obtain either P or M helical structures in a specific solvent without the presence of any chiral external stimuli. To do that, it is necessary to combine the conformational control at the pendant group with a high steric hindrance at the backbone. In this case, by thermal annealing in low-polar solvents, an anti-conformer is stabilized at the pendant which commands a P helix in the PDPA. Next, solvent removal followed by addition of a polar solvent such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), results in the kinetic conformationally trapped P helix. However, in this medium, the preferred handedness and the thermodynamic macromolecular helix for poly-(L)- 1 is M. This process also occurs in the opposite way. Electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) studies show that the dynamic memory effect is present both in ground and excited states.     

A Photo- and Thermo-Driven Azoarene-Based Circularly Polarized Luminescence Molecular Switch in a Liquid Crystal Host

The development of chiral optical active materials with switchable circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) signals remains a challenge. Here an azoarene-based circularly polarized luminescence molecular switch, (S, R, S)-switch 1 and (R, R, R)-switch 2 , are designed and prepared with an (R)-binaphthyl azo group as a chiral photosensitive moiety and two (S)- or (R)-binaphthyl fluorescent molecules with opposite or the same handedness as chiral fluorescent moieties. Both switches exhibit reversible trans/cis isomerization when irradiated by 365 nm UV light and 520 nm green light in solvent and liquid crystal (LC) media. In contrast with the control (R, R, R)-switch 2 , when switch 1 is doped into nematic LCs, polarization inversion and switching-off of the CPL signals are achieved in the resultant helical superstructure upon irradiation with 365 nm UV and 520 nm green light, respectively. Meanwhile, the fluorescence intensity of the system is basically unchanged during this switching process. In particular, these variations of the CPL signals could be recovered after heating, realizing the true sense of CPL reversible switching. Taking advantage of the unique CPL switching, the proof-of-concept for “a dual-optical information encryption system” based on the above CPL active material is demonstrated.     

pH-Responsive Phase Transition of Supramolecular Hydrogel Consisting of Glycosylated Amino Acetate and Carboxylic Acid Derivative

By addition of a carboxylated amino acetate (2) to a low-molecular-weight hydrogel (1) which has a unique thermally induced volume-phase transition character, a macroscopic pH-responsive feature is newly conferred on the supramolecular hydrogel. The direct observation of temperature-dependent behavior of the mixed hydrogel clearly showed that the thermally induced swelling-shrinkage type of the volume phase transition at pH 4 is shifted to the gel–sol transition at pH 7 by 10?mol% addition of 2 to the hydrogel 1. On the basis of the measurements by TEM, SEM, XRD and FT-IR, it is conceivable that incorporation of the anionic carboxylate of 2 slightly disturbs the packing of the hydrogen bond belt of the mixed hydrogel. Such a slight disturbance greatly leads to the sol–gel transition by elevating temperature, instead of the volume-phase transition. Introduction of dynamic characteristics to supramolecular systems in a macroscopic level may extend the potential of these materials in various fields.     

Synthesis,Isolation, and NMR-Spectroscopic Characterization of Fourteen (Z)-Isomers of Lycopene and of Some Acetylenic Didehydro- and Tetradehydrolycopenes

Eight (Z)-isomers of lycopene were prepared by stereocontrolled syntheses and fully characterized by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, mass, and UV/VIS spectroscopy: (5Z)-, (7Z)-, (15Z)-, (5Z,5′Z)-, (7Z,7′Z)-, (7Z,9Z)-, (9Z,9′Z)-, and (7Z,9Z,7′Z,9′Z)-lycopene. Six additional (Z)-isomers, namely (9Z)-, (13Z)-, (5Z,9′Z)-, (9Z,13′Z)-, (5Z,9Z,5′Z)-, and (5Z,13Z,5′Z)-lycopene, were isolated in small quantities from isomer mixtures by semiprep. HPLC and were identified by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy.     

Synthesis,Isolation, and Full Spectroscopic Characterization of Eleven (Z)-Isomers of (3R,3′R)-Zeaxanthin

Developmental efforts to improve the yield of the chemical synthesis of (3R,3′R)-zeaxanthin resulted in the isolation, partly by chromatography from reaction mixtures, and full spectroscopic characterization by ¹H-NMR, UV/VIS, and CD spectrosocpy of eleven (Z/E)-isomers of zeaxanthin: (7Z)-, (9Z), (13Z)-, (15Z)-, (7Z,7′Z)-, (9Z,9′Z)- (7Z,9Z,7Z)-, (7Z,11Z,7′Z)-, (9Z,13Z,9′Z)-, (7Z,9Z,7′Z,9′Z)-, and (7Z,9Z,11Z,7′Z,9′Z)-zeaxanthin. Five of these isomers were obtained by specific synthesis, namely the (7Z)-, (7Z,7′Z)-, (9Z,9′Z)-, (7Z,9Z,7′Z)-, and (7Z,9Z,7′Z-9Z)-isomers.