Controlling the Length of Cooperative Supramolecular Polymers with Chain Cappers

The design and the characterization of supramolecular additives to control the chain length of benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) cooperative supramolecular polymers under thermodynamic equilibrium is unraveled. These additives act as chain cappers of supramolecular polymers and feature one face as reactive as the BTA discotic to interact strongly with the polymer end, whereas the other face is nonreactive and therefore impedes further polymerization. Such a design requires fine tuning of the conformational preorganization of the amides and the steric hindrance of the motif. The chain cappers studied are monotopic derivatives of BTA, modified by partial N-methylation of the amides or by positioning of a bulky cyclotriveratrylene cage on one face of the BTA unit. This study not only clarifies the interplay between structural variations and supramolecular interactions, but it also highlights the necessity to combine orthogonal characterization methods, spectroscopy and light scattering, to elucidate the structures and compositions of supramolecular systems.     

Stable Heterometallic Cluster‐Based Organic Framework Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis

A series of stable heterometallic Fe₂M cluster‐based MOFs ( NNU‐31‐M , M=Co, Ni, Zn) photocatalysts are presented. They can achieve the overall conversion of CO₂ and H₂O into HCOOH and O₂ without the assistance of additional sacrificial agent and photosensitizer. The heterometallic cluster units and photosensitive ligands excited by visible light generate separated electrons and holes. Then, low‐valent metal M accepts electrons to reduce CO₂, and high‐valent Fe uses holes to oxidize H₂O. This is the first MOF photocatalyst system to finish artificial photosynthetic full reaction. It is noted that NNU‐31‐Zn exhibits the highest HCOOH yield of 26.3 μmol g^?1 h^?1 (selectivity of ca. 100 %). Furthermore, the DFT calculations based on crystal structures demonstrate the photocatalytic reaction mechanism. This work proposes a new strategy for how to design crystalline photocatalyst to realize artificial photosynthetic overall reaction.     

Electrophilic fluoroalkylthiolation induced diastereoselective and stereospecific 1,2-metalate migration of alkenylboronate complexes

A transition metal free process for conjunctive functionalization of alkenylboron ate-complexes with electrophilic fluoroalkylthiolating reagents is described, affording β-trifluoroalkylthiolated and difluoroalkylthiolated boronic esters in good yield and excellent diastereoselectivity. The potential applicability of the method was demonstrated by the preparation of a difluoromethylthiolated mimic 12 of a potential drug molecule PF-4191834 for the treatment of asthma.

A transition metal free process for conjunctive functionalization of alkenylboron ate-complexes with electrophilic fluoroalkylthiolating reagents affords β-tri- and difluoroalkylthiolated boronic esters in good yield and diastereoselectivity.

An electrophile-induced 1,2-metalate migration of an alkenylboron “ate” complex and subsequent base-promoted β-elimination to form a functionalized cis-alkene, now the so-called Zweifel reaction, was first reported by Zweifel and co-workers in 1967 (Fig. 1A).^1–3 The reaction was proposed to proceed via an initial attack of the π electron of the alkene moiety to iodine to generate a zwitterionic iodonium ion, which then undergoes a stereospecific 1,2-metalate to afford a β-iodoboronic ester, followed by anti-elimination upon treatment with a base to afford a cis-olefin. Thus, if the iodine is replaced by an alternative electrophilic reagent and the use of a base is omitted, an interrupted-Zweifel reaction for the preparation of a stereospecific β-functionalized boronic ester could be realized. Toward this end, Aggarwal reported the first example of such a reaction by employing PhSeCl as the electrophilic reagent.⁴ It was proposed that PhSeCl first reacts with an alkenylboronate complex to form a zwitterionic seleniranium ion. Subsequent diastereospecific 1,2-metalate migration affords the stereospecific β-seleno-alkylboronate (Fig. 1B). Likewise, shortly after, Denmark and co-workers reported an analogous Lewis-base catalysed enantioselective and diastereoselective carbosulfenylation of an alkenylboronate complex using N-arylthiosaccharin as the electrophile (Fig. 1C).⁵Open in a separate windowFig. 1The interrupted Zweifel reaction.In light of these discoveries and our recent success in the development of a toolbox of electrophilic fluoroalkylthiolating reagents including three trifluoromethylthiolating reagents α-cumyltrifluoromethane sulfenate,⁶N-trifluoromethylthio-saccharin⁷ and N-trifluoromethylthiodibenzenesulfonimide,⁸ and two difluoromethylthiolating reagents N-difluoromethylthiophthalimide⁹ and S-(difluoromethyl)benzenesulfonothioate,¹⁰ we wondered whether these electrophilic fluoroalkylthiolating reagents could also trigger the proposed stereospecific 1,2-metalatation of the alkenylboronate complex to afford β-fluoroalkylthiolated borane derivatives (Fig. 1D). The trifluoromethylthio (–SCF₃) and the difluoromethylthio (–SCF₂H) groups have gained great attention recently, partially because of their high and tuneable lipophilicity¹¹ that might improve the drug candidate''s cell membrane permeability and consequently, its overall pharmacokinetics.¹² Thus, the development of new efficient reactions for the incorporation of the trifluoromethylthio¹³ or difluoromethylthio groups¹⁴ would be of vital importance in facilitating medicinal chemists'' endeavours in new drug discovery. Herein, we report that by employing electrophilic difluoromethylthiolating reagent PhSO₂SCF₂H 2a as the electrophile, the proposed difluoromethylthiolating induced stereospecific 1,2-metalate migration of alkenyl boronate complexes occurred smoothly to afford β-difluoromethylthiolated boronic esters in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivity. Likewise, when electrophilic trifluoromethylthiolating reagent N-trifluoromethylthiosaccharin 7 was used, an analogous reaction for the diastereoselective formation of β-trifluoromethylthiolated boronic esters was successfully achieved.We began our study by examining the reaction of the electrophilic difluoromethylthiolating reagent 2a with the alkenylboronate complex which was generated in situ by mixing 1a and PhLi in diethyl ether. It was found that the reaction in CH₃CN occurred in full conversion after 12 hours at room temperature, affording the corresponding product 3a in 53% yield (Table 1, entry 1). When the amount of PhLi was increased to 1.3 equivalents, the yield was increased to 76%, while the yield decreased to 66% when 2.0 equivalents of PhLi were used, likely due to the decomposition of the product under strong basic conditions (Table 1, entries 1–5). We then further investigated the effect of the reaction temperature and the solvent. It was found that the temperature did not affect the reaction significantly since the yields of the desired products were decreased slightly to 72% and 70%, respectively, when the reactions were conducted at 0 °C or −15 °C (Table 1, entries 6 and 7). Likewise, the reaction was not sensitive to the polarity of the solvent since reactions conducted in less polar solvents such as THF or CH₂Cl₂ or nonpolar solvents like toluene occurred in slightly lower 60–73% yields (Table 1, entries 9–11). We also found that reaction using N-difluoromethylthiophthalimide as the electrophilic difluoromethylthiolating reagent gave the same product in a slightly lower yield (Table 1, entry 8).Optimization of conditions for the reaction of the alkenyl boronate complex with PhSO₂SCF₂H^a

A quantitatively controllable mesoscopic reliability model of an interdependent public transit network considering congestion,time-delay interaction and self-organization effects

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper establishes a multi-parameter controlling cascading failures (CFs) model for measuring interdependent public transit network (PTN) reliability under mesoscopic...     

Plasma metabolomics analysis of endogenous and exogenous metabolites in the rat after administration of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos

Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (LJF) is a typical herbal medicine and is used as a functional food. LJF, which has complex chemical compounds, has various biological effects. The global metabolomics, focusing on both the endogenous and exogenous metabolites, have not yet been investigated for LJF in normal healthy rats using LC–MS. In this study, plasma metabolomics was analyzed after the administration of LJF at different time intervals, and the exogenous metabolites were identified. Partial least squares discriminant analysis showed significant differences in chemical content in the dosed rats. Cholic acid, indoleacrylic acid, indolelactic acid, hippuric acid, N-acetyl-phenylalanine, and N-acetyl-serotonin significantly accumulated in the dosed rats. Lysophosphatidylethanolamine and lysophosphatidylcholine content, including plasmalogen, increased. There were 25 components of LJF, including 15 prototypes and 10 metabolites, that were identified. The 15 prototypes included phenolic acids, flavonoids, and iridoids, and their contents decreased with an increase in the administration time. Glucuronidation and sulfation of polyphenols were found for LJF. The exogenous glucuronide and sulfate metabolites—including dihydrocoumaric acid-sulfate, dihydrocaffeic acid-sulfate, dihydroferulic acid-sulfate, apigenin-glucuronide, apigenin-glucuronide-sulfate, isorhamnetin-glucuronide-sulfate, and others—were identified with a neutral loss of 176 and 80, respectively. The metabolic differences found in the study may serve as biomarkers of LJF consumption and promote the understanding of the mechanism of action of LJF.     

甲基环己烷在9∽15.5 eV能量区的真空紫外光电离研究

利用具有同步辐射源的反射式飞行时间质谱仪，研究甲基环己烷的真空紫外光电离和光解离. 观测到母体离子C₇H₁₄⁺和碎片离子C₇H₁₃⁺，C₆H₁₁⁺，C₆H₁₀⁺，C₅H₁₀⁺，C₅H₉⁺，C₄H₈⁺，C₄H₇⁺和C₃H₅⁺的光电离效率曲线. 测定甲基环己烷的电离能为9.80±0.03 eV，通过光电离效率曲线确定其碎片离子的出现势. 在B3LYP/6-31G(d)水平上对过渡态、中间体和产物离子的优化结构进行表征，并使用G3B3方法计算其能量. 提出主要碎片离子的形成通道. 分子内氢迁移和碳开环是甲基环己烷裂解途径中最重要的过程.     

Highly Efficient Synthesis of Monodisperse Poly(ethylene glycols) and Derivatives through Macrocyclization of Oligo(ethylene glycols)

A macrocyclic sulfate (MCS)‐based approach to monodisperse poly(ethylene glycols) (M‐PEGs) and their monofunctionalized derivatives has been developed. Macrocyclization of oligo(ethylene glycols) (OEGs) provides MCS (up to a 62‐membered macrocycle) as versatile precursors for a range of monofunctionalized M‐PEGs. Through iterative nucleophilic ring‐opening reactions of MCS without performing group protection and activation, a series of M‐PEGs, including the unprecedented 64‐mer (2850 Da), can be readily prepared. Synthetic simplicity coupled with versatility of this new strategy may pave the way for broader applications of M‐PEGs.     

Mechanokinetics of receptor–ligand interactions in cell adhesion

Receptor-ligand interactions in blood flow are crucial to initiate such biological processes as inflammatory cascade,platelet thrombosis,as well as tumor metastasis.To mediate cell adhesion,the interacting receptors and ligands must be anchored onto two apposing surfaces of two cells or a cell and a substratum,i.e.,two-dimensional(2D)binding,which is different from the binding of a soluble ligand in fluid phase to a receptor,i.e.,three-dimensional(3D) binding.While numerous works have been focused on3 D kinetics of receptor-ligand interactions in the immune system,2D kinetics and its regulations have been less understood,since no theoretical framework or experimental assays were established until 1993.Not only does the molecular structure dominate 2D binding kinetics,but the shear force in blood flow also regulates cell adhesion mediated by interacting receptors and ligands.Here,we provide an overview of current progress in 2D binding and regulations,mainly from our group.Relevant issues of theoretical frameworks,experimental measurements,kinetic rates and binding affinities,and force regulations are discussed.     

Topological structure of non-contractible loop space and closed geodesics on real projective spaces with odd dimensions

In this paper, we use Chas–Sullivan theory on loop homology and Leray–Serre spectral sequence to investigate the topological structure of the non-contractible component of the free loop space on the real projective spaces with odd dimensions. Then we apply the result to get the resonance identity of non-contractible homologically visible prime closed geodesics on such spaces provided the total number of distinct prime closed geodesics is finite.