Selective Binding of Dopamine and Epinephrine in Water by Molecularly Imprinted Fluorescent Receptors

Catecholamines play important roles in biology but their structural similarity makes it challenging to construct synthetic receptors with selective binding. A combination of covalent and noncovalent binding groups in the hydrophobic core of water‐soluble nanoparticles enabled them to recognize dopamine and epinephrine with an association constant (K_a) of 3–4×10⁴ M^?1 in water, an order of magnitude higher than those of previously reported synthetic hosts. In addition, minute structural changes among analogues were detected including the addition or removal of a single hydroxyl or methyl group.     

Facile Synthesis of Bis(crown ether)benzils: Prospective Building Blocks for Metal Ion Sensors

A new facile synthetic route to benzils containing fragments of 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5, and 18-crown-6 by oxidation of corresponding stilbenes was developed. The first representative of a new family of fluorescent sensors was obtained by reaction of bis(15-crown-5)benzil with o-phenylenediamine. The latter exhibits great fluorescence enhancement upon association with K⁺ and Rb⁺ compared to Na⁺ and Cs⁺.     

Cucurbituril‐mediated immobilization of fluorescent proteins on supramolecular biomaterials

The reversible introduction of functionality at material surfaces is of interest for the development of functional biomaterials. In particular, the use of supramolecular immobilization strategies facilitates mild reaction and processing conditions, as compared to other covalent analogues. Here, the engineering of multicomponent supramolecular materials, beyond the use of a single supramolecular entity is proposed. Cucurbit[8]uril (Q8) mediated host–guest chemistry is combined with hydrogen bonding supramolecular 2‐ureido‐4‐pyrimidinone (UPy)‐based materials. The modular incorporation of a UPy‐additive that presents one guest to incorporate into the Q8 host allows for selective supramolecular functionalization at the water–polymer material interface. Supramolecular ternary complex formation at the material surface was studied by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which as a result of large overlap in atomic composition of the different components showed minor changes is surface composition upon complex formation. Surface MALDI‐ToF MS measurements revealed useful insights in the formation of complexes. Protein immobilization was monitored using both fluorescence spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, which successfully demonstrated ternary complex formation. Although proteins could selectively be immobilized onto the surfaces, control of the system's stability remains a challenge as a result of the dynamicity of the host–guest assembly. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3607–3616     

Intensity distribution in the vibronic Γ7(2 T 2g )→Γ8(4 A 2g ) transition of ReBr 6 2− in Hexahalogenostannate host crystals

The phosphorescence spectra of ReBr ₆ ^2– doped A₂SnX₆ (A = K, Rb, Cs; X = Cl, Br) have been measured at 10 K. The spectra consist of a weighted sum of progressions associated with the local modes of the ReBr ₆ ^2– center. By a fit to a generalized Lorentzian line shape function the totally symmetric distortion of the ₇(² T _2g ) excited state relative to the ₈(⁴ A _2g ) ground state has been determined.Dedicated to Professor Dr. H.-H. Schmidtke on the occasion of his 50th birthday.     

电极界面浓差极化对锂金属沉积的影响

锂金属作为下一代高能量密度电池的理想负极材料受到研究人员广泛关注。然而,锂枝晶生长引起的安全隐患和循环寿命短等问题严重影响了锂金属电池的实用化进程。本文以电化学现象和理论为依据,从浓差极化角度详细分析锂金属电沉积过程中枝晶生长、死锂形成和全电池失效机制,并对目前研究较多的多孔宿主电极中的浓差极化及枝晶抑制进行分析,提出锂金属界面浓差电池现象。本文得到的结论为研究人员更深入地探究锂金属保护策略提供了理论依据。     

Hybrid materials of MCM-41 functionalized by lanthanide (Tb, Eu) complexes of modified meta-methylbenzoic acid: Covalently bonded assembly and photoluminescence

Novel organic-inorganic mesoporous hybrid materials were synthesized by linking lanthanide (Tb³⁺, Eu³⁺) complexes to the mesoporous MCM-41 through the modified meta-methylbenzoic acid (MMBA-Si) using co-condensation method in the presence of the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant as template. The luminescence properties of these resulting materials (denoted as Ln-MMBA-MCM-41, Ln=Tb, Eu) were characterized in detail, and the results reveal that luminescent mesoporous materials have high surface area, uniformity in the ordered mesoporous structure. Moreover, the mesoporous material covalently bonded Tb³⁺ complex (Tb-MMBA-MCM-41) exhibits the stronger characteristic emission of Tb³⁺ and longer lifetime than Eu-MMBA-MCM-41 due to the triplet state energy of organic legend MMBA-Si matches with the emissive energy level of Tb³⁺ very well.     

Flexible host frameworks with diverse cavities in inclusion crystals of bile acids and their derivatives

We have systematically investigated structures and properties of inclusion crystals of bile acids and their derivatives. These steroidal compounds form diverse host frameworks having zero‐, one‐ and two‐dimensional cavities, causing various inclusion behaviors towards many organic compounds. The diverse host frameworks exhibit the following guest‐dependent flexibility. First, the frameworks mainly depend on the included guests in size and shape. The size‐dependence is quantitatively estimated by the parameter PCcavity, which is the volume ratio of a guest molecule to a host cavity. The resulting values of PCcavity lie in the range of 42–76%. Second, each of the host frameworks has its own range of the values. Some guests can employ two different frameworks with the boundary values, explaining formation of polymorphic crystals. Third, the host frameworks are selected by host–guest interactions through weak hydrogen bonds, such as NH/π and CH/O. The weak hydrogen bonds play an important role for various selective inclusion processes. Fourth, the host frameworks are dynamically exchangeable, resulting in intercalation and polymerization in the cavities. These static and dynamic structures of the frameworks demonstrate great potential of crystalline organic inclusion compounds as functional materials. © 2009 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 9: 124–135; 2009: Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ) DOI 10.1002/tcr.20171     

Use of β‐cyclodextrins to control the structure of water‐soluble copolymers with hydrophobic parts

In this article, we present the synthesis and characterization of water‐soluble polymers with hydrophobic moieties. The polymers were synthesized in aqueous solutions utilizing β‐cyclodextrins as solubility enhancers to bring the hydrophobic monomers into solution. Polymers were made with different spacing between polymer backbone and phenyl moiety by using styrene, allylbenzene, and 4‐phenyl‐1‐butene as hydrophobic moieties, respectively. The effect of the presence of CDs during synthesis as well as this difference in spacing was investigated by rebinding free β‐CDs to the polymers. The interactions between polymers and CDs were studied by ITC and this revealed some differences between the polymers. Polymers made in the presence of CDs showed a markedly stronger binding to free CDs. The same was observed with polymers with a longer spacing between backbone and phenyl moiety. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 6619–6629, 2009