Condensation of plasmid DNA by benzyl hydraphiles and lariat ethers: dependence on pH and chain length

Lariat ethers and hydraphiles have been studied by the use of gel electrophoresis to evaluate the complexation of a 10 kilobase plasmid DNA. Both receptor systems show behaviour that reflects differences in side or spacer chain lengths. In addition, the formation of complexes or aggregates (identified by transmission electron microscopy, TEM) is pH dependent. Some detergents and polyamines can affect the formation and/or deaggregation of the complexes which TEM shows form particles of a relatively uniform size (~100–150 nm) and density for a specific receptor.     

联苯型[11], [14]和[17]环系氮杂支链套索冠醚的合成

以碳酸钾为缩合剂, 2,2'-二羟基联苯分别与二对甲苯磺酸酯Ⅱa~c, Ⅳb,Ⅵb反应合成尚未见文献报道的联苯型单氮杂冠醚(1~3), 二氮杂冠醚9和11。3,9和11分别用氢溴酸去对甲苯磺酰基得到亚胺型氮杂冠醚4, 10和12。4与溴代烃RBr(R=-(CH2)3CH3, -CH2CH=CH2, -(CH2)7CH3, -(CH2)2O(CH2)2OC4H9)反应分别合成[11]环系氮支套索冠醚(5~8), 12与正溴丁烷反应合成[17]环系氮支冠醚13。以上13种化合物皆为新型未见文献报道, 其结构皆经元素分析, IR, ^1H NMR,MS确证。     

Facile and controllable one-step fabrication of molecularly imprinted polymer membrane by magnetic field directed self-assembly for electrochemical sensing of glutathione

Based on magnetic field directed self-assembly (MDSA) of the ternary Fe₃O₄@PANI/rGO nanocomposites, a facile and controllable molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor (MIES) was fabricated through a one-step approach for detection of glutathione (GSH). The ternary Fe₃O₄@PANI/rGO nanocomposites were obtained by chemical oxidative polymerization and intercalation of Fe₃O₄@PANI into the graphene oxide layers via π–π stacking interaction, followed by reduction of graphene oxide in the presence of hydrazine hydrate. In molecular imprinting process, the pre-polymers, including GSH as template molecule, Fe₃O₄@PANI/rGO nanocomposites as functional monomers and pyrrole as both cross-linker and co-monomer, was assembled through N–H hydrogen bonds and the electrostatic interaction, and then was rapidly oriented onto the surface of MGCE under the magnetic field induction. Subsequently, the electrochemical GSH sensor was formed by electropolymerization. In this work, the ternary Fe₃O₄@PANI/rGO nanocomposites could not only provide available functionalized sites in the matrix to form hydrogen bond and electrostatic interaction with GSH, but also afford a promoting network for electron transfer. Moreover, the biomimetic sensing membrane could be controlled more conveniently and effectively by adjusting the magnetic field strength. The as-prepared controllable sensor showed good stability and reproducibility for the determination of GSH with the detection limit reaching 3 nmol L⁻¹ (S/N = 3). In addition, the highly sensitive and selective biomimetic sensor has been successfully used for the clinical determination of GSH in biological samples.     

Studies on the hydrogenolysis of benzyl ethers

Selective hydrogenolysis of benzyl ethers can be achieved by the appropriate choice of the catalyst, solvent, and concentration, which facilitates the design of O-benzyl based protecting group strategies for the synthesis of natural products.     

Fabrication of cage-like particles via unstable seeded dispersion polymerization: A new concept in the polymerization-induced self-assembly

The formation mechanism of hollow micron-sized polystyrene (PS) particles having numerous dents on the surface, so-called cage-like particles, obtained from seeded dispersion polymerization (SDP) of 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate (EHMA) with low molecular weight (MW) PS particles stabilized by poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in the presence of hexadecane droplets was investigated. It was found that association of poly(2-ethylhexyl methacrylate) (PEHMA)/hexadecane phases which occurs due to the instability of the obtained composite particles followed by a diffusion of PS ellipsoidal particles into each other is the main process responsible for the production of such unique morphology. Time course monitoring of the SDP showed that diffusion of hexadecane and/or PS and/or PEHMA phase into PS/PEHMA/hexadecane composite particles through PS shell which happens based on Ostwald ripening is the main phenomenon which results in the formation of the dents on the surface of final particles. Moreover, the experimental results revealed that in this reaction system, the polymerization develops in a faster manner rather than the SDP employing seed particles having higher MWs. Furthermore, it was observed that particles with different surface morphologies can be produced by using different hydrocarbons. The elimination of small particles which are produced in addition to the cage-like ones via decreasing the concentration of the stabilizer was another interesting finding of this research. The acquired results showed that unstable SDP is expected to be a new concept in polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) which employs instability of a dispersion for self-assembly of polymeric particles, and therefore, production of polymeric unique objects.     

Tribracchial lariat ethers: Syntheses,binding, and formation of an intramolecular macroring-sidearm complex in the absence of any cation

Details of a new synthetic approach to 4,10,16-triaza-18-crown-6 (triaza-18-crown-6) are reported, along with the preparation and binding properties of the following derivatives having the indicated sidearms: CH₂CCH, CH₂CH₂OH, CH₂CH₂OCH₃, COCH₂OCH₃,CH₂COOCH₂CH₃, CH₂C₆H₅, and CH₂C₆H₄–2–NO₂. A key intermediate in the synthesis of triaza-18-crown-6 is 4-N-toluenesulfonyl-1,7,13-trioxa-4,10,16-triazacyclooctadecane-9,17-dione. This compound is found by solid state structure analysis to fold to form an intramolecular, doubly-hydrogen bonded complex in which the two N-H protons interact with the two tosyl group oxygens. Details of the structure are reported.This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late Dr C. J. Pedersen.     

Soft-graphoepitaxy using nanoimprinted polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane substrates for the directed self-assembly of PS-b-PDMS

We report here the fabrication of periodic sub-25 nm diameter size cylinder structures using block copolymer (BCP) directed self-assembly on nanoimprinted topographically patterned substrates. Tailored polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) films were spin coated onto silicon substrates and were patterned by nanoimprint lithography to produce topographies commensurable with the BCP domain spacing. The chemistry of the POSS was tuned to control the alignment and orientation of the BCP films. The substrates were used to direct the microphase separation (following toluene solvent annealing) of a hexagonal structure forming polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane (PS-b-PDMS) having a domain spacing of 42.6 nm and PDMS cylinder widths of 23.7 nm. On more hydrophilic POSS substrates the cylinders were obtained parallel to the substrate plane and aligned with the topography. In contrast, in more hydrophobic POSS patterns, the cylinders align perpendicular to the substrate plane. The use of these methods for the nanofabrication of vias, nanofluidic devices or interconnect structures of sub-25 nm feature size is discussed.     

Studies directed toward the synthesis of hamigeran B: a catalytic oxidative cyclization

An approach to the synthesis of hamigeran B is described. Key steps include a Tius-Nazarov cyclization and a palladium-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of an α-hydroxyenone.     

Effects of structural variation on the self-assembly of bis-urea based bolaamphiphiles

We report on the self-assembly in water of a set of bis-urea amphiphiles. A range of techniques, including dynamic light scattering, Cryo-TEM, SAXS, and MS are used to study the effect of structural variation on the morphology of the assemblies. The length, dispersity, and end-group of the ethylene glycol hydrophilic part of the molecule, as well as of the alkyl chain length are varied to tailor the morphology towards soluble wormlike micelles. Slight modification on molecular structures gave a large difference in self-assembly behavior in water, giving guidelines for the design of rodlike supramolecular fibers with novel functionalities, such as strain-stiffening and bioactivity.     

五氯化磷辅助下氨基酸的自组装成肽反应研究

L-α-氨基酸和D-α-氨基酸可与五氯化磷直接发生磷酰化反应，随后自组装成多肽，但β-氨基酸不能成肽，DL-α-氨基酸成肽困难；在SOCl2存在下，α-氨基酸也不能成肽，用电喷雾质谱研究了氨基酸的自组装反应，反应过程中有五元环状的氨基酸五配位磷中间体生成，使用硅烷基保护的氨基酸，在^31PNMR中可观察到五配位磷中间体。     

Comparative study of Ag(I) selective poly(vinyl chloride) membrane sensors based on newly developed Schiff-base lariat ethers derived from 4,13-diaza-18-crown-6

The six Schiff-base lariat ether chelates based on 4,13-diaza-18-crown ether, have been synthesized and explored as a neutral ionophores for preparing poly(vinyl chloride) based membrane sensors selective to silver(I). The addition of potassium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl) borate and various plasticizers, viz., o-NPOE, DBP, DBBP, DOP and CN has been found to substantially improve the performance of the sensors. The best performance was obtained with the sensor no. 5 having membrane of chelate (A₆) with composition (w/w) chelate (2.8%):PVC (45.7%):o-NPOE (48.6%):KTpClPB (2.8%). This sensor exhibits Nernstian response with slope 59.3 mV/decade of activity in the concentration range 5.6 × 10⁻⁸-1.0 × 10⁻¹ M Ag(I), performs satisfactorily over wide pH range of (3.0-8.0) with a fast response time (12 s). The sensor was also found to work satisfactorily in partially non-aqueous media up to 25% (v/v) content of acetonitrile, methanol or ethanol and can tolerate the concentration 1.0 × 10⁻² M of ionic (SDS, TBC) and nonionic (Triton X-100) surfactants. The proposed sensor can be used over a period of 4 months without significant drift in potentials. The response of the sensor was highly selective to Ag⁺ over a large number of cations and it could therefore be used for Ag⁺ estimation in blood of occupationally exposed persons.     

Chirality manipulation of supramolecular self-assembly based on the host-guest chemistry of cyclodextrin

Chiral materials have been of the interests of scientists for nearly a century. People have endeavored a great effort to manipulate the chirality of various self-assembled materials. Among these efforts, cyclodextrins are used only in recent years, although it has long been recognized that the chirality of cyclodextrin can be transferred to the guest. In this review, we for the first time summarize the recent advancement of the supramolecular chirality manipulation on the basis of the host-guest chemistry of cyclodextrins. By using the simple Harata-Kodaka's rule, natural cyclodextrins can be exploited in a dynamic manner to create chirality inversion materials through crystalline self-assembly, which is facile and environment-friendly. What is more, we also discussed the remarks on future outlooks at the end of this article and expect it to stimulate a rapid development on both the theory and application level.     

Selective surface activation of a functional monolayer for the fabrication of nanometer scale thiol patterns and directed self-assembly of gold nanoparticles

Application of a voltage bias between the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a silicon substrate causes the localized modification of a specially designed self-assembled monolayer (SAM), transforming a surface-bound thiocarbonate into a surface-bound thiol. The resulting surface-bound thiols are used to direct the patternwise self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). This methodology is applied to deposit individual AuNPs onto a surface with nanometer precision and to produce 10 nm lines of closely spaced AuNPs that are a single nanoparticle in width.     

Studies directed toward the synthesis of the scabrosins: validation of a tandem enyne metathesis approach

A synthetic approach to the scabrosin family of antibiotics using a ruthenium carbene-catalyzed tandem metathesis and a Pd(II)-catalyzed cyclization is described. The chiral propargyl amino acid is furnished through enantioselective phase-transfer propargylation. The synthesis of the cyclohexadiene ring system is achieved through ring synthesis using tandem enyne metathesis, previously developed in our lab. The complementary methods of methylene-free and 1,5-hexadiene-alkyne metatheses are compared. The indoline heterocycles are formed using a two-step chloroacetoxylation (Bäckvall reaction) with subsequent nucleophilic attack by an amide nucleophile. The indoline subunits were joined and cyclized to furnish the core diketopiperazine ring. The stereochemical assignment of intermediates is also discussed.     

Morphology transformation of micrometre-sized giant vesicles based on physical conditions for photopolymerisation-induced self-assembly

The physical conditions to vary the morphology of vesicles formed by amphiphilic poly(methacrylic acid)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate-random-methacrylic acid) were determined for the self-assembly induced by the nitroxide-mediated photocontrolled/living radical polymerisation performed in an aqueous methanol solution. The copolymer produced micrometre-sized spherical vesicles in the solution with a 30 wt% water content. The vesicles were transformed into a film-like morphology by decreasing the water content, whereas they were changed into nanometre-sized spherical vesicles by increasing it. The concentration of the growing polymer chain also varied the morphology. Large spherical vesicles formed at a low concentration were transformed into much smaller vesicles, followed by rod-like vesicles as a result of increasing the concentration. Furthermore, the stirring speed during the polymerisation-induced self-assembly dominated the morphology. Large elliptical vesicles produced at a low stirring speed changed into spherical vesicles, but decreased the size as the speed increased.     

DFT study of the carbon‐ and nitrogen‐pivot lariat crown ethers and their complexes with alkali metal cations: Na+, K+

In this work, a quantum mechanical research of five lariat crown ethers(LCEs), 2‐methoxy‐15‐crown‐5( A ), N‐methoxy‐4‐aza‐15‐crown‐5( B ), N‐methoxy‐4‐aza‐18‐crown‐6( C ), N‐methoxyethyl‐4‐aza‐18‐crown‐6( D ), N,N′‐bis(2‐metho xyethyl)‐4,13‐diaza‐18‐crown‐6( E ), which are based on either 15‐crown‐5 or 18‐crown‐6 frameworks and contain various pendant arms extending from either carbon or nitrogen atoms on the crown frameworks, had been done using density functional theory with B3LYP/6‐31G* method to obtain the electronic and geometrical structures of the LCEs and their complexes with alkali metal ions: Na⁺ and K⁺. The nucleophilicity of LCEs had been investigated by the Fukui functions. For complexes, the match between the cation and cavity size, the status of interaction between alkali metal ions and donor atoms in the LCEs, and the sidearm effect of the LCEs had been analyzed through the other calculated parameters, such as, highest occupied molecular orbital energy, lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy, and energy gaps. In addition, the enthalpies of complexation reaction had been studied by the calculated thermodynamic data (298 K). The calculated results are all in a good agreement with the experimental data for the complexes. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

1-Decanethiol, a new reagent for the odorless deprotection of aryl methyl ethers

1-Decanethiol has been found to be an excellent reagent for the deprotection of aryl methyl ethers. This newly developed protocol afforded the corresponding phenols in good to excellent yields. A clear advantage of 1-decanethiol over the more commonly used thiols is the easy extraction of both the deprotecting reagent and the reaction byproduct into the aqueous phase, which allows an essentially odorless work-up.     

The effects of alkali cation complexation on the fluorescence properties of crown ethers

The effects of alkali metal complexation on the fluorescence properties of two crown ethers (a podand and a coronand) were investigated. Metal ion binding leads to changes in fluorescence intensity along with slight shifts in the emission maxima. This is attributed to a rigidization of the fluorophore and an interaction of the metal ion with non-bonding electrons of the crown ethers. The effects on the spectra are more pronounced in fluorescence than in absorption.Fluorescence titration with metal ions provides a simple and sensitive means for the determination of complexation constants, which were found to be highly dependent upon the water content of the methanol solution. Halide counterions, in particular iodide, act as dynamic fluorescence quenchers withStern-Volmer constants that are different for the sodium and potassium complexes, respectively.

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Die Effekte der Komplexierung von Alkalimetallionen auf die Fluoreszenzeigenschaften von Kronenethern

Zusammenfassung Die Effekte der Komplexierung von Alkalimetallionen auf die Fluoreszenzeigenschaften zweier Kronenether (eines Podanden und eines Coronanden) wurden untersucht. Die Bindung des Metallions fürt zu Veränderungen in der Fluoreszenzintensität und zu Verschiebungen in den Emissionsmaxima. Dies wird einer gesteigerten Starrheit des Fluorophors und einer Wechselwirkung des Metallions mit nichtbindenden Elektronen des Kronenethers zugeschrieben. Die Auswirkungen auf die Spektren sind in der Fluoreszenz ausgeprägter als in der Absorption.Fluoreszenztitrationen mit Metallionen bieten eine einfache und empfindliche Möglichkeit zur Bestimmung von Komplexkonstanten, welche stark vom Wassergehalt der methanolischen Lösung abhängig befunden werden. Halogenidgegenionen, insbesonders Iodid, wirken als dynamische Fluoreszenzlöscher und weisenStern-Volmer-Konstanten auf, welche für die Natrium- bzw. Kalium-Komplexe verschieden sind.