Aminosilane-based functionalization of two-photon polymerized 3D SU-8 microstructures

There is an increasing interest in functionalized complex 3D microstructures with sub-micrometer features for micro- and nanotechnology applications in biology. Depending primarily on the material of the structures various methods exist to create functional layers of simple chemical groups, biological macromolecules or metal nanoparticles. Here an effective coating method is demonstrated and evaluated on SU-8 based 3D microstructures made by two-photon polymerization. Protein streptavidin and gold nanoparticles (NP) were bound to the microstructures utilizing acid treatment-mediated silane chemistry. The protein surface density, quantified with single molecule fluorescence microscopy revealed that the protein forms a third of a monolayer on the two-photon polymerized structures. The surface coverage of the gold NPs on the microstructures was simply controlled with a single parameter. The possible degrading effect of the acid treatment on the sub-micrometer features of the TPP microstructures was analyzed. Our results show that the silane chemistry-based method, used earlier for the functionalization of large-area surfaces can effectively be adapted to coat two-photon polymerized SU-8 microstructures with sub-micrometer features.     

Thermal Degradation of Adsorbed Bottle-Brush Macromolecules: When Do Strong Covalent Bonds Break Easily?

The scission kinetics of bottle-brush molecules in solution and on an adhesive substrate is modeled by means of Molecular Dynamics simulation with Langevin thermostat. Our macromolecules comprise a long flexible polymer backbone with L segments, consisting of breakable bonds, along with two side chains of length N, tethered to segments of the backbone with grafting density σ_g. In agreement with recent experiments and theoretical predictions, we find that bond cleavage is significantly enhanced on a strongly attractive substrate even though the chemical nature of the bonds remains thereby unchanged. Our simulation results indicate that the mean life time of covalent bonds decreases by more than an order of magnitude upon adsorption even for brush molecules with comparatively short side chains . The distribution of scission probability along the bonds of the backbone is found to change significantly when the length and/or the grafting density of the side chains are varied. The tension, experienced by the covalent bonds is found to grow steadily with increasing σ_g. The mean life time declines with growing contour length L as , and also with growing side chain length N. The probability distribution of fragment lengths at different times is compatible with experimental observations and reveals a two-stage (initially fast, then slow) process with different rates. The variation of the mean length L(t) of the fragments with elapsed time characterizes the thermal degradation process as a first order reaction.     

Erstes Beispiel einer H-Verschiebung in ‘Thiocarbonyl-aminiden’ (N-(Alkylidensulfonio)aminiden)

First Example of an H-Shift in ‘Thiocarbonyl Aminides’ (N-(Alkylidenesulfonio)aminides) Reaction of benzyl azide ( 15a ) with the sterically hindered C?S group of 4,4-dimethyl-1,3-thiazole-5(4H)-thiones 14 (Scheme 3) and 1,1,3,3-tetramethylindane-2-thione ( 17 , Scheme 4) at 80° leads to the corresponding imines in high yield, without formation of any by-product. In contrast, 15a and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thioxocyclobutanone ( 7 ) under the same conditions yielded, in addition to imine 19 , products 20a and 21 (Scheme 5). For the formation of 20a , a reaction mechanism via [1,4]-H shift in the intermediate ‘thiocarbonyl aminides’ 23 is proposed (Scheme 6). Product 21 as well as the dithiazole derivative 22 , which is formed only in the reaction with 4-nitrobenzyl azide ( 15c ), are formal adducts of the dipole 23 . Whereas precedents are known for the formation of cycloadducts of type 22 , the pathway to 21 is not known. Two possible mechanisms of its formation are proposed in Schemes 8 and 9.     

The comparison of geometric and electronic properties of molecular surfaces by neural networks: Application to the analysis of corticosteroid-binding globulin activity of steroids

Summary It is shown how a self-organizing neural network such as the one introduced by Kohonen can be used to analyze features of molecular surfaces, such as shape and the molecular electrostatic potential. On the one hand, two-dimensional maps of molecular surface properties can be generated and used for the comparison of a set of molecules. On the other hand, the surface geometry of one molecule can be stored in a network and this network can be used as a template for the analysis of the shape of various other molecules. The application of these techniques to a series of steroids exhibiting a range of binding activities to the corticosteroid-binding globulin receptor allows one to pinpoint the essential features necessary for biological activity.     

Capillary electrophoresis study of systemin peptides spreading in tomato plant

Systemin (Sys) is an 18‐aa plant peptide hormone involved in the regulation of plant's defensive response. Sys is considered as a fast‐spreading systemic wound signal. We developed a simple and rapid CE method to monitor the spreading of Sys peptides through tomato plant. A 1,2,3‐triazole‐linked AZT‐systemin conjugate was designed as a model to study the possibility of translocating small cargo molecules 3'‐Azido‐2',3'‐dideoxythymidine by systemin. The Sys peptides (Sys, N‐propiolyl Sys, and AZT‐systemin conjugate) were injected into the stem and leaves of mature tomato plant. Its transportation throughout the plant tissue was traced by CE. The peptides were clearly visible in the crude tomato exudates and an optimum separation was achieved in 25 mM phosphate “buffer” at pH 2.5 and a voltage of 20 kV using uncoated fused silica capillary. CE analysis showed that Sys peptides are well separated from tomato plant exudates ingredients and are stable in tomato stem and leaf exudates for up to 24 h. CE study revealed that the Sys peptides are effectively spreading throughout tomato stem and leaves and the peptides could be directly detected in the crude plant matrixes. The translocation was strongly inhibited by sodium azide. The results showed that the established CE method can be used to characterize plant peptides spreading under plant physiological conditions.     

Mechanism of Catalyst Action in Interfacial Polycondensation of Chlorobisphenol and Isophthaloyl Chloride

The mechanism of action of quaternary ammonium salt catalysts in the synthesis of aromatic polyesters was investigated. The possibility of formation of compounds of these salts and bisphenols and their extraction in the form of an ion pair into the organic phase was investigated. The structure of the compounds obtained was determined.     

Impact of Heteroatom Substitution on Dual-State Emissive Rigidified 2-(2’-hydroxyphenyl)benzazole Dyes: Towards Ultra-Bright ESIPT Fluorophores**

2-(2’-Hydroxyphenyl)benzazole (HBX) fluorophores are well-known excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) emitters largely studied for their synthetic versatility, photostability, strong solid-state fluorescence and ability to engineer dual emission, thus paving the way to applications as white emitters, ratiometric sensors, and cryptographic dyes. However, they are heavily quenched in solution, due to efficient non-radiative pathways taking place as a consequence of the proton transfer in the excited-state. In this contribution, the nature of the heteroring constitutive of these rigidified HBX dyes was modified and we demonstrate that this simple structural modification triggers major optical changes in terms of emission color, dual emission engineering, and importantly, fluorescent quantum yield. Investigation of the photophysical properties in solution and in the solid state of a series of ethynyl-TIPS extended HBX fluorophores, along with ab initio calculations demonstrate the very promising abilities of these dyes to act as bright dual-state emitters, in both solution (even in protic environments) and solid state.