Anti-fouling chemistry of chiral monolayers: enhancing biofilm resistance on racemic surface

This work reports the resistance to protein adsorption and bacterial biofilm formation by chiral monolayers of polyol-terminated alkanethiols surrounding micrometer-sized patterns of methyl-terminated alkanethiols on gold films. We discover that patterned surfaces surrounded by chiral polyol monolayers can distinguish different stages of biofilm formation. After inoculation on the surfaces, bacteria first reversibly attached on the chiral polyol monolayers. Over time, the bacteria detached from the polyol surfaces, and attached on the hydrophobic micropatterns to form biofilms. Interestingly, while both enantiomers of gulitol- and mannonamide-terminated monolayer resisted adsorption of proteins (bovine serum albumin, lysozyme, and fibrinogen) and confined biofilms formed on the micropatterns, the monolayers formed by the racemic mixture of either pair of enantiomers exhibited stronger antifouling chemistry against both protein adsorption and biofilm formation than monolayers formed by one enantiomer alone. These results reveal the different chemistries that separate the different stages of biofilm formation, and the stereochemical influence on resisting biofoulings at a molecular-level.     

Stereoselective synthesis of polyhydroxyl surfactants. Stereochemical influence on Langmuir monolayers

Herein is described the synthesis of surfactants featuring polyhydroxylated head groups. Three head groups were prepared via consecutive stereoselective dihydroxylations of a diene. By coupling of these with lipophilic tail groups six novel surfactants have been prepared. The monolayers prepared from four of these have been investigated at the air-water interface. Significant differences were observed between monolayers consisting of enantiomerically pure surfactants contra racemates as well as between diastereomers.     

Measuring cell adhesion on RGD-modified, self-assembled PEG monolayers using the quartz crystal microbalance technique

In this study, the suitability of a flow-through quartz crystal microbalance system for the detection of the adhesion of rMSCs and 3T3-L1 fibroblasts on different surfaces is demonstrated. Frequency shifts for rMSCs of -6.7 mHz x cell(-1) and -2.0 mHz x cell(-1) for 3T3-L1 cells could be detected on non-modified gold sensors, revealing that the frequency shift per cell is comparable to that of a static setup. Modifying the sensor surface with SAMs of thioalkylated omega-amine-terminated PEG derivatives led to cell-adhesion-resistant surfaces. Total frequency shifts of only -20 +/- 7 Hz showed that protein adsorption was also significantly reduced. Attaching 35 pmol x mm(-2) of the GRGDS cell adhesion motif to the SAMs induced specific cell adhesion due to RGD-integrin interactions; the resonance frequency dropped by 3.4 mHz x cell(-1). Furthermore, the kinetics of cell detachment could be determined. The corresponding processes were completed after 10 min for trypsin, and not before 90 min with GRGDS. Moreover, the detectability of cell adhesion was shown to increase after the addition of manganese cations. The total decrease in the resonance frequency was almost 80 Hz in the presence of Mn(2+) (6.4 mHz x cell(-1)). [image: see text] Staining the cytoskeleton of the rMSCs shows that the GRGDS-modified surfaces are almost completely covered with well-spread cells.     

Stereochemical aspects of the controlled ring-opening polymerization of chiral cyclic esters

The stereochemical aspects of controlled polymerization of lactide and β-butyrolactone are discussed. The physicochemical and thermal properties of these polymers are shown to be depending on the stereochemical structure of the macromolecular chain. Different types of processes involving change of enantiomeric composition in the course of the polymerization reaction are examined in function of different initiators used. The formation of stereocomplexes from stereocopolymers of various enantiomeric compositions is reported.     

Stereochemical models for rh-catalyzed amination reactions of chiral sulfamates

Oxidative C-H amination of chiral sulfamate esters using achiral Rh-carboxylate catalysts, PhI(OAc)(2), and MgO occurs in high yield and with good to excellent diastereocontrol. A number of examples are included to support a proposed transition state model that accounts for the observed stereoinduction. In addition, stereoselective intramolecular aziridination with substituted homoallyl sulfamates is demonstrated and is rationalized through an analogous stereochemical construct. [reaction: see text]     

Phase state effect on adhesion behavior of self-assembled monolayers

The effect of phase state of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on adhesion behavior was studied using a combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) methods. The phase state of SAMs was controlled by adjusting the reaction temperature. Order-to-disorder structural transitions in monolayers of n-alkyltrichlorosilanes resulted in dramatic increases in adhesion force and adhesion hysteresis, which represents the first report of alterations in adhesion properties due to phase changes of monolayers without any effect of chain length and surface heterogeneity. This increase in mechanical deformation of the disordered monolayer is understood to be caused by increases in (1) molecular contact between the AFM tip and a disordered monolayer due to the more deformable state of the latter and (2) monolayer deformation during unloading by the JKR probe lens. Adhesion hysteresis was found to have greater sensitivity toward the unloading rate for disordered monolayers. The occurrence of maximum hysteresis at faster rates proves that monolayer chain mobility increases with structural disorder, resulting in increased mechanical deformation.     

Simple lattice simulation of chiral discrimination in monolayers

A simulation method based on cellular automata on a hexagonal lattice is applied to model the behavior of chiral molecules on a surface, such as those in a monolayer of amphiphiles each having a single chiral center. The simulation method includes movement and orientation rules, with the objects ("molecules") on the lattice vertices possessing three different groups with one group pointing along each edge. Periodic boundary conditions are employed in the simulations. Interaction strengths are calculated between pairs of groups occupying the edges between vertices and summed for the entire system. The model successfully reproduces the formation of domains as a consequence of the movement rule. The movement rule can be adjusted to simulate homochiral discrimination or heterochiral discrimination for the case of racemic mixtures. The orientation rule results in a preference for orientations of the molecules that minimize the total interaction strength.     

Stereochemical aspects of asymmetric diels-alder reaction catalyzed by chiral alkoxyaluminum dichlorides

Clear stereochemical relationships were observed between the structure of chiral sources of catalysts and absolute configuration of the Diels-Alder adducts.     

Stereochemical study of chiral tautomeric flavorous furanones by vibrational circular dichroism

2-Substituted-3(2H)-furanone derivatives are industrially significant aroma compounds possessing a unique keto-enol tautomeric feature causing their racemization. Absolute configurations of two flavorous furanones, which have remained unclear for the past 40 years since their discovery, were clarified by the vibrational circular dichroism technique as well as chemical relay reactions. Odor evaluation of each enantiomer revealed relationships between their configurations and their odor activities.     

Observation of hierarchical chiral structures in 8-nitrospiropyran monolayers

The adsorption and self-organization of racemic mixture of 8-nitrospiropyran (SP8) molecules on Au(111) surfaces was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). The SP8 enantiomers, in spite of their low-symmetric and nonplanar molecular structures, formed well-ordered monolayers on Au(111). In the monolayers, we found two types of enantiomorphous, i.e., mirror-imaged, 2D chiral domains, denoted as lambda and delta phases. Both phases consist of periodically packed chiral quatrefoils. In the lambda domain, the quatrefoils are counterclockwise folded, while in the delta domain, the quatrefoils are clockwise folded. High-resolution STM images revealed that each chiral quatrefoil contains four heterochiral dimers and that each dimer is composed of two antiparallelly packed homochiral SP8 molecules. Therefore both of the two mirror-imaged 2D chiral structures are not chirally pure but racemic 2D crystals. A domain boundary, which serves as the glide reflection line between a lambda domain and a delta domain, was also observed along the [11] direction of the Au(111) substrate.     

Homo- and heterochirality of dissymmetric tetrahedra (chiral simplices). Stereochemical tunneling

This paper examines the possibility of classifying chiral simplices into homochiral subclasses. It is shown that chiral simplices can skip achiral intermediates to be transformed into another type of homochiral moleucles (stereochemical tunneling). A. V. Bogatskii Physiochemical Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 873–878, September–October, 1995. Translated by L. Smolina     

Asymmetric reduction of the carbonyl group by chiral hydrides. 1. Stereochemical considerations

Conclusions A quadrant rule is proposed for the enantioselective reduction of acetophenone by chiral hydrides based on LiAlH₄, NaBH₄, LiBH₄, and BH₃. This enables the configuration of the product to be explained and predicted, depending on the preferred conformations of the ligands in these hydrides.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 843–848, April, 1987.     

Solvent effects on amphotericin B monolayers

Monolayers of the antifungal antibiotic amphotericin B undergo the liquid expanded/liquid condensed state transition if spread from chloroform/methanol solvent. The transition disappeared after a long spreading time. The presence of the transition may be due to the retention of solvent and/or the presence of metastable aggregates of amphotericin B.     

Electroactive self-assembled monolayers that permit orthogonal control over the adhesion of cells to patterned substrates

This article describes an electroactive substrate that displays two independent dynamic functions for controlling the adhesion of cells. The approach is based on self-assembled monolayers on gold that are patterned into regions presenting the Arg-Gly-Asp peptide cell adhesion ligand. The patterned regions differ in the electrochemical properties of the linkers that tether the peptides to the monolayer. In this work, three distinct chemistries are employed that provide for release of the ligand on application of a negative potential, release of the ligand on application of a positive potential, and no change in response to a potential. Cells were allowed to attach to a monolayer patterned into circular regions comprising the three chemistries. Treatment with electric potentials of 650 or -650 mV resulted in the selective release of adherent cells only from regions that display the relevant electroactive groups. This example establishes the preparation of dynamic substrates with multiple functions and will be important to preparing model cultures derived from multiple cell types, with control over the temporal interactions of each cell population.     

Structure of the surface layer of mercury and adhesion of Langmuir monolayers on it

A model crystalline approximant of the surface layer (SL) structure of liquid mercury is formed using the algorithm, previously applied to form a crystalline approximant of the SL structure of water, the experimental data on the SL structure of mercury, and the stereochemical data for Hg atoms in the α-Hg crystalline phase and bulk liquid mercury. The correspondence of the metrics of the crystalline approximant proposed for the SL structure of mercury and Langmuir monolayers composed of organic molecules with hydrocarbon tails and different hydrophilic groups on liquid mercury to the position of molecules along mercury SL is shown.     

Temperature effects on chiral microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography employing the chiral surfactant dodecoxycarbonylvaline

Dodecoxycarbonylvaline (DDCV) microemulsions (1% and 4%, w/v) were employed to evaluate the retention mechanism of a series of enantiomers over a temperature range of 15-35 degrees C. From the acquired retention data, van't Hoff plots were constructed and enthalpy and entropy of transfer were calculated from the slope and intercept, respectively. Resolution, enantioselectivity, distribution coefficients and Gibb's free energy were also calculated, as well as between enantiomer differences in enthalpy, entropy and Gibb's free energy. Finally, comparisons were made between the microemulsion thermodynamic data and a corresponding set of micellar data. While the 4% DDCV microemulsion did not provide a linear van't Hoff relationship, the 1% DDCV microemulsion was linear over a temperature range of 15-30 degrees C. For the 1% DDCV microemulsion, the enthalpic contribution to retention was consistently favorable (deltaH < 0), whereas the entropic contribution varied from compound to compound. Finally, while the achiral attraction of the analytes was greater for the micellar phase, the microemulsion seemed to provide a suitable difference in entropy (and Gibb's free energy) between enantiomers to achieve chiral discrimination.     

Tuning of thermo-responsive self-assembly monolayers on gold for cell-type-specific control of adhesion

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold containing a thermo-responsive poly( N-isopropylacrylamide)-poly(ethylene glycol)-thiol copolymer were formed. These layers show considerable potential for inducing enzyme-free and gentle detachment of cultivated cells. In an effort to optimize detachment of cells, including strongly adhering ones, two approaches are presented. First, two thermo-responsive copolymers with different poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) contents of 15 wt % ("P15") and 19 wt % ("P19") were grafted to Au surfaces. Second, mixed monolayers were formed containing P19 and various concentrations of thiol bearing PEG. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) on pure and mixed P19 containing layers confirmed the expected layer compositions. Contact angle measurements showed good functionality of all surfaces prepared. Upon a temperature decrease below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the duration until cultivated fibroblasts detached from pure P19 surfaces was half of the one determined on P15. Strongly adherent human osteosarcoma cells could not be detached from pure P19 layers. Through co-adsorption of P19 and thiol-bearing PEG of a molar composition of 1:6, layers were formed that allowed good spreading of osteosarcoma cells above LCST and their efficient detachment below LCST.     

The chiral effects on the responses of osteoblastic cells to the polymeric substrates

In order to study the chiral effects of polylactides on responses of osteoblastic cells, poly(l-lactide) (PLLA), poly(d-lactide) (PDLA), poly(dl-lactide) (PDLLA) and the stereocomplex of PLLA and PDLLA (SC) films with different stereoforms were prepared. The surface properties of the four polylactide films were tested and the osteoblastic ROS 17/2.8 cells were cultured on the films. The protein adsorption behaviors of fibrinogen and bovine serum albumin on films were studied. The cell proliferation, total protein amount, DNA content and alkaline phosphatase activity of osteoblastic ROS 17/2.8 cells were evaluated. The results showed that the protein adsorption was dependant on the type of proteins. The observation of cell morphologies revealed that the PDLA film provide an unfavorable surface for cell attachment. The total protein amount, DNA content and ALP activity were closely related to the stereoforms of polylactide films. All the levels of total protein amount, DNA content and ALP activity of ROS 17/2.8 cells on PDLA film were decreased. The racemic stereocomplex of PLLA and PDLA showed relatively higher positive effects on both cell growth and proliferation.