Mechanism of N-octadecyl-N1-maleoyl-L-phenylalanine self-assembled into supramolecular structures

N-Octadecyl-N1-maleoyl-L-phenylalanine （ODMA-L-Phe） was synthesized through the condensation, deprotection and acid- ylation reaction of BOC-L-phenylalanine, octadecylamine and maleic anhydride. ODMA-L-Phe can self-assemble in some organic solvents and turned them into thermally reversible physical supramolecular organogels. The morphology of ODMA-L-Phe aggregates was characterized by polarized optical microscopy （POM） and field emission scanning electron microscope （FE-SEM）. The aggregates of ODMA-L-Phe were needle-like fibrils with diameters of approximately 100-200 nm. The mechanism of ODMA- L-Phe self-assembly in organic solvents was investigated using XH NMR and circular dichroism （CD）. The results indicated that hydrogen bonding was one of the main driving forces for the self-assembly of ODMA-L-Phe.     

纳米稀土磷酸盐(Gd,Y)PO4:Tb的室温固相合成及发光性能

三基色荧光灯用绿色发光材料,其发光效率对总的光通量影响很大[1],因而探索不同体系的绿色发光材料的合成将意义重大.由于Tb3 离子具有较好的特征绿色发射,所以研究铽的不同体系绿粉一直是人们所感兴趣的课题[2].稀土磷酸盐发光材料具有发光亮度高,合成温度适中,色坐标x值大等优点,因而成为当前材料科学的热门[3-5].     

离子自组装超分子液晶的研究进展

离子自组装超分子液晶是超分子体系中相对较新颖和引入注意的领域,它在新型功能材料的设计中占据非常重要的位置。本文主要介绍目前文献报道的由含铵离子的液晶分子或非液晶分子与含羧基的聚合物和含磺酸离子的聚合物自组装成超分子液晶及含金属离子(锌、铜、锂、氧钒基)的金属离子配位自组装超分子液晶两大类。     

多肽自组装技术及其在生物医学上的应用

多肽分子自组装广泛存在于自然界中。多肽具有良好的生物相容性和可调控的降解性能,并且利用多肽自组装技术,可以在分子水平上设计并调控聚集态的形状和结构,这在生物医学材料方面具有巨大的应用潜力。近年来关于多肽自组装的研究成为材料学、医学等领域中研究热点之一,并且在药物缓释载体、组织工程支架研究方面取得进展。本文介绍多肽分子自组装技术的概念,综述了多肽自组装技术在药物缓释载体材料、组织工程支架材料方面的应用。     

含吡啶基金属-超分子聚合物研究进展

金属-超分子聚合物是由金属离子与配体之间的相互作用形成的,是一类具有多样化几何构造和拓扑结构的新型功能高分子,它包括线型、接枝、交联、树枝等多种骨架结构.金属-超分子聚合物具有光、电、磁等特性,因此潜在的应用前景非常广阔,不仅可以在生物医用、分子器件、纳米材料,还可以在催化化学反应及吸附储氢等领域获得应用.由于吡啶基团为常用配体,且近年含吡啶基团的金属-超分子聚合物研究最为广泛,最为代表性,因此,本文以聚合物结构分类对近几年含吡啶基团的金属-超分子聚合物的研究进展作了简要综述.     

Electrocatalytic Determination of Sulfite at Immobilized Microdroplet Liquid|Liquid Interfaces: The EIC′ Mechanism

Liquid|liquid interfaces provide a natural boundary and a reactive interface where an organic phase is in contact with an aqueous analyte. The selectivity of ion transfer processes at liquid|liquid interfaces can help to provide sensitivity, introduce reactive reagents, or allow analyte accumulation at the electrode surface. In this study, microdroplet deposits of the organic liquid 4‐(3‐phenylpropyl)‐pyridine (PPP) with the ferrocenylmethyl‐dodecyldimethylammonium⁺ (FDA⁺) redox system are deposited onto a basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrode and employed to transfer anions from the aqueous into the organic phase. A clear trend of more hydrophobic anions transferring more readily (at more negative potentials) is observed and an ESI‐mass spectrometry method is developed to confirm the transfer. Subsequently, the electrocatalytic oxidation of sulfite, SO₃^2?, within the organic phase and in the presence of different electrolyte anions is investigated. Competition between sulfite transfer and inert anion transfer occurs. The electrocatalytic sulfite oxidation is suppressed in the presence of PF₆^? and occurs most readily in the presence of the hydrophilic nitrate anion. The resulting process can be classified as an electrocatalytic EIC′‐process (E: electron transfer; I: ion transfer; C: chemical reaction step). The effectiveness of the electrocatalytic process is limited by i) competition during anion transfer and ii) the liquid|liquid interface acting as a diffusion barrier. The analytical sensitivity of the method is limited to ca. 100 μM SO₃^2? (or ca. 8 ppm) and potential approaches for improvement of this limit are discussed.     

Liquid crystallinity in collagen systems in vitro and in vivo

Collagens are unique triple helical proteins present in large quantities in a fibrillar form in tissues like tendon, bone, skin, cornea, where type I collagen predominates. The passage from triple helical molecules to fibrils obeys to controlled assembly properties, both in vitro by pH raise and in vivo through enzymatic control. The passage from individual fibrils to ordered fibrillar arrays could rely on self-assembly processes as suggested by the liquid crystalline properties of collagen. The present review considers this question recalling the liquid crystalline ordering properties of collagen or procollagen at high concentrations and the question of molecular packing within fibrils. The presence of alignments, undulations and twist at a suprafibrillar level will be described both from basic data in living tissues and recent experiments in self assembled materials. The possible link between laboratory experiences and biological processes will be discussed.     

The effect of polymer architecture on the nano self-assemblies based on novel comb-shaped amphiphilic poly(allylamine)

Twelve novel poly(allylamine) (PAA)-based, comb-shaped amphiphilic polymers have been developed. Hydrophobic groups of cetyl, palmitoyl and cholesteryl were randomly grafted to PAA and quaternisation was carried out on some modified polymers. Polymers were characterised using ¹H NMR, elemental analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. All polymers formed nano self-assemblies in the aqueous solution with a positive zeta potential and were able to encapsulate a hydrophobic agent, methyl orange, in the core. The critical aggregation concentration (CAC) and the microviscosity were found to be dependent on the polymer hydrophobicity. Being the most hydrophobic polymer, cholesteryl-grafted PAA had the lowest CAC (0.02 mg mL⁻¹) and the highest microviscosity. They appeared to form dense nanoparticles and were transformed into novel nanostructures in the presence of free cholesterol. Palmitoyl-grafted polymers formed nanoparticles while cetyl-grafted polymers formed polymeric micelles. The flexibility of cetyl chains possibly resulted in the formation of multicore polymeric micelles.     

Self-assembled films of cellulose nanofibrils and poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">o</Emphasis>-ethoxyaniline)

Nanostructured films of poly(o-ethoxyaniline) (POEA) alternated with cellulose nanofibrils (CnF) were successfully produced by self assembly (SA) at different pH values and investigated by atomic force microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Results show that it was possible to build up films by alternating POEA and CnF layers with relatively precise architectural control by controlling the number of layers and pH. Film thickness had a dependence on pH which is a combination of the effects of the deposited amount for each POEA layer and the pH at which the absorption of the cellulose nanofibrils was carried out. Comparison of alternated layers of POEA and CnF with multi-immersions of POEA at different pH values, as measured by the ratio between slopes of the straight lines of deposited amount of polymer versus the number of self-assembled layers, shows that alternate deposition at pH 2 has a fourfold increase in the slope. Alternatively, at pH 5, there is no significant difference whether the deposition is alternated (POEA–CnF) or not (POEA).     

Controlled assembly of bacteria on chemical patterns using soft lithography

Highly ordered arrays of single living bacteria were obtained by selective adsorption of bacteria onto chemical patterns with micrometric resolution. The chemically engineered template surfaces were prepared with the combination of microcontact printing process and a simple incubation technique. This methodology can be used for fundamental studies of bacterium's inner mechanisms and sub-cellular organization as well as for interfacing living bacteria with artificial microsystems.