Low‐molecular‐weight organic hydrogelators (LMHGs) that can rigidify water into soft materials are desirable in various applications. Herein, we report the excellent hydrogelating properties of a simple synthetic auxin–amino‐acid conjugate, naphthalene‐1‐acetamide of L ‐phenylalanine ( 1‐NapF , Mw=333.38 Da), which gelated water even at 0.025 wt %, thereby making it the most‐efficient LMHG known. Optically transparent gels that exhibited negligible scattering in the range 350–900 nm were obtained. A large shift from the theoretical pKa value of the gelator was observed. The dependence of the minimum gelator concentration (MGC) and the gel‐melting temperatures on the pH value indicated the importance of H‐bonding between the carboxylate groups on adjacent phenylalanine molecules in the gelator assembly. FTIR spectroscopy of the xerogels showed a β‐sheet‐like assembly of the gelator. Variable‐temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy demonstrated that π stacking of the aromatic residues was also partly involved in the gelator assembly. TEM of the xerogel showed the presence of a dense network of thin, high‐aspect‐ratio fibrillar assemblies with diameters of about 5 nm and lengths that exceeded a few microns. Rheology studies showed the formation of stable gels. The entrapment of water‐soluble dyes afforded extremely fluorescent gels that involved the formation of J‐aggregates by the dye within gel. A strong induced‐CD band established that the RhoB molecules were interacting closely with the chiral gelator aggregates. H‐bonding and electrostatic interactions, rather than intercalation, seemed to be involved in RhoB binding. The addition of chaotropic reagents, as well as increasing the pH value, disassembled the gel and promoted the release of the entrapped dye with zero‐order kinetics. 相似文献
A series of bis‐amides decorated with pyridyl and phenyl moieties derived from L ‐amino acids having an innocent side chain (L ‐alanine and L ‐phenyl alanine) were synthesized as potential low‐molecular‐weight gelators (LMWGs). Both protic and aprotic solvents were found to be gelled by most of the bis‐amides with moderate to excellent gelation efficiency (minimum gelator concentration=0.32–4.0 wt. % and gel–sol dissociation temperature Tgel=52–110 °C). The gels were characterized by rheology, DSC, SEM, TEM, and temperature‐variable 1H NMR measurements. pH‐dependent gelation studies revealed that the pyridyl moieties took part in gelation. Structure–property correlation was attempted using single‐crystal X‐ray and powder X‐ray diffraction data. Remarkably, one of the bis‐pyridyl bis‐amide gelators, namely 3,3‐Phe (3‐pyridyl bis‐amide of L ‐phenylalanine) displayed outstanding shape‐sustaining, load‐bearing, and self‐healing properties. 相似文献
A new fluorinated version of a cyclic β‐aminoalcohol gelator derived from 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroisoquinoline is presented. The gelator is able to gel various nonprotic solvents through OH???N hydrogen bonds and additional CH???F interactions due to the introduction of fluorine. A bimolecular lamellar structure is formed in the gel phase, which partly preserves the pattern of molecular organization in the single crystal. The racemate of the chiral gelator shows lower gelation ability than its enantiomer because of a higher tendency to form microcrystals, as shown by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The influence of fluorination on the self‐assembly of the gelator and the properties of the gel was investigated in comparison to the original fluorine‐free gel system. The introduction of fluorine brings two new features. The first is good recognition of o‐xylene by the gelator, which induces an in situ transition from gels of o‐xylene and of an o‐xylene/toluene mixture to identical single crystals with unique tubular architecture. The second is the enhanced stability of the toluene gel towards ions, including quaternary ammonium salts, which enables the preparation of a stable toluene gel in the presence of chloroaurate or chloroplatinate. The gel system can be used as a template for the synthesis of spherical gold nanoparticles with a diameter of 5 to 9 nm and wormlike platinum nanostructures with a diameter of 2 to 3 nm and a length of 5 to 12 nm. This is the first example of a synthesis of platinum nanoparticles in an organogel medium. Therefore, the appropriate introduction of a fluorine atom and corresponding nonbonding interactions into a known gelator to tune the properties and functions of a gel is a simple and effective tactic for design of a gel system with specific targets. 相似文献
The assembly of preformed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs ) onto the thermoresponsive poly(N ‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM )‐based microgels was achieved on the basis of the driving force of Au‐thiol chemistry. The loading amount of AuNPs can be controlled by varying the ratio of AuNPs relative to PNIPAM ‐based microgels. The as‐prepared PNIPAM /Au hybrid microgels showed well‐defined reversible swelling/deswelling transition in response to temperature, which can be employed to tune the plasmonic property of hybrid microgels. As the temperature was increased, the position of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR ) band red‐shifted to some extent mainly due to the increase in the local refractive index around AuNPs . 相似文献
Optical activity in inorganic colloidal materials was controlled through interactions of chiral molecules with the nanoparticle (NP) surface. An inversion of optical activity in the synthesis of mercury sulfide (HgS) NPs was demonstrated with an intrinsically chiral crystalline system in the presence of an identical chiral capping ligand. A continuous decrease in the positive first Cotton effect and an eventual reversal of CD profile were observed upon heating the aqueous solution of HgS NPs capped with N‐acetyl‐l ‐cysteine (Ac‐l ‐Cys) at 80 °C. Ac‐l ‐Cys afforded two bidentate coordination configurations with an almost mirror image of each other using the thiolate and either of carboxylate or acetyl–carbonyl groups on the HgS core. Experiment and calculation suggest that a shift in the distribution of the NP formation with energy in response to the combinations of ligand coordination structure and chiral crystalline surface is responsible for the inversion of optical activity. 相似文献
The gelating abilities of ricinelaidic acid (d ‐REA), the trans‐isomer of ricinoleic acid (d ‐RA), and a series of its alkylammonium and alkane‐α,ω‐diammonium salts have been examined in a wide range of organic liquids. The gelation efficiency of the trans acid is much better than that of the cis, although neither is as efficient as is the completely saturated molecular gelator analogue, (R)‐12‐hydroxystearic acid (d ‐12HSA). The formation of ammonium salts also improves the gelation ability of d ‐REA in high polarity liquids. The gelating properties are highly dependent upon the chain length of the alkyl group of the alkylammonium salts, but not very dependent on the chain length of the alkane‐α,ω‐diammonium salts. Structural insights from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and powder X‐ray diffraction indicate that the absence or presence of unsaturation, the incorporation of (charged) ammonium centers, and the different chain lengths of the alkylammonium salts lead to different packing arrangements and different strengths of H‐bonding interactions within the gel assemblies of the d ‐REA derivatives. Insights into the relationships among the various systematic structural changes to d ‐REA and the properties of their aggregated structures, including the gel states, are provided. 相似文献
The self‐assembly of an amphiphilic peptide molecule to form nanofibers facilitated by Ag+ ions was investigated. Ultrafine AgNPs (NPs=nanoparticles) with an average size of 1.67 nm were synthesized in situ along the fibers due to the weak reducibility of the ‐SH group on the peptide molecule. By adding NaBH4 to the peptide solution, ultrafine AgNPs and AuNPs were synthesized with an average size of 1.35 and 1.18 nm, respectively. The AuNPs, AgNPs, and AgNPs/nanofibers all exhibited excellent catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol, with turnover frequency (TOF) values of 720, 188, and 96 h?1, respectively. Three dyes were selected for catalytic degradation by the prepared nanoparticles and the nanoparticles showed selective catalysis activity toward the different dyes. It was a surprising discovery that the ultrafine AuNPs in this work had an extremely high catalytic activity toward methylene blue, with a reaction rate constant of 0.21 s?1 and a TOF value of 1899 h?1. 相似文献
The interaction of biocompatible, exponentially grown films composed of poly‐L ‐lysine (PLL) and hyaluronic acid (HA) polymers with gold nanoparticles and microcapsules is studied. Both aggregated and non‐aggregated nanoparticle states are achieved; desorption of PLL accounts for aggregation of nanoparticles. The presence of aggregates of gold nanoparticles on films enables remote activation by near‐infrared irradiation due to local, nanometer confined heating. Thermally shrunk microcapsules, which are remarkably monodisperse upon preparation but gain polydispersity after months of storage, are also adsorbed onto films. PLL polymers desorbed from films interact with microcapsules introducing a charge imbalance which leads to an increase of the microcapsule size, thus films amplify this effect. Multifunctional, biocompatible, thick gel films with remote activation and release capabilities are targeted for cell cultures in biology and tissue engineering in medicine.相似文献
A cost‐effective and sensitive colorimetric method was described for the determination of chromium(III) ion (Cr3+) by using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid functionalized gold nanoparticles (EDTA‐AuNPs) as a probe. The stable and dispersed EDTA‐AuNPs were prepared by reducing HAuCl4 with sodium borohydride in presence of EDTA as a capping agent. Upon the addition of Cr3+, the colour of EDTA‐AuNPs solution changed from red to violet, which was in response to the surface plasmon absorption of dispersed and aggregated EDTA‐AuNPs. The procedure allowed the determination of Cr3+ in the range of 0.1–1.0 mol/L. The limit of detection for Cr3+ was 0.08 mol/L. The relative standard deviation was 2.5 % for eight repeated measurements of 0.6 mol/L Cr3+ solution. The method was applied to the determination of Cr3+ in water samples. 相似文献
Thermosensitive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm)‐coated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared by self‐assembly of the azobenzene‐terminated PNIPAm on the surface of the α‐cyclodextrin (α‐CD)‐capped AuNPs via the host–guest molecular recognition between α‐CD and azobenzene. Reversible attachment–detachment of azobenzene‐terminated PNIPAm on the surface of α‐CD‐capped AuNPs was achieved when subjected to visible and UV light irradiation alternately, which endowed thermosensitive AuNPs with tunable smart properties.
Water‐dispersible and luminescent gadolinium oxide (GO) nanoparticles (NPs) were designed and synthesized for potential dual‐modal biological imaging. They were obtained by capping gadolinium oxide nanoparticles with a fluorescent glycol‐based conjugated carboxylate (H L ). The obtained nanoparticles (GO‐ L ) show long‐term colloidal stability and intense blue fluorescence. In addition, L can sensitize the luminescence of europium(III) through the so‐called antenna effect. Thus, to extend the spectral ranges of emission, europium was introduced into L‐ modified gadolinium oxide nanoparticles. The obtained EuIII‐doped particles (Eu:GO‐ L ) can provide visible red emission, which is more intensive than that without L capping. The average diameter of the monodisperse modified oxide cores is about 4 nm. The average hydrodynamic diameter of the L ‐modified nanoparticles was estimated to be about 13 nm. The nanoparticles show effective longitudinal water proton relaxivity. The relaxivity values obtained for GO‐ L and Eu:GO‐ L were r1=6.4 and 6.3 s?1 mM ?1 with r2/r1 ratios close to unity at 1.4 T. Longitudinal proton relaxivities of these nanoparticles are higher than those of positive contrast agents based on gadolinium complexes such as Gd‐DOTA, which are commonly used for clinical magnetic resonance imaging. Moreover, these particles are suitable for cellular imaging and show good biocompatibility. 相似文献
N‐Decanoyl‐L ‐alanine (DA) was mixed with either colorless 4,4′‐bipyridine (BP) or various derivatives such as chromogenic oligo(p‐phenylenevinylene) (OPV) functionalized with isomeric pyridine termini in specific molar ratios. This mixtures form salt‐type gels in a water/ethanol (2:1, v/v) mixture. The gelation properties of these two‐component mixtures could be modulated by variation of the position of the ′′N′′ atom of the end pyridyl groups in OPVs. The presence of acid–base interactions in the self‐assembly of these two‐component systems leading to gelation was probed in detail by using stoichiometry‐dependent UV/Vis and FTIR spectroscopy. Furthermore, temperature‐dependent UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy clearly demonstrated a J‐type aggregation mode of these gelator molecules during the sol‐to‐gel transition process. Morphological features and the arrangement of the molecules in the gels were examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Calculation of the length of each molecular system by energy minimization in its extended conformation and comparison with the XRD patterns revealed that this class of gelator molecules adopts lamellar organizations. Rheological properties of these two‐component systems provided clear evidence that the flow behavior could be modulated by varying the acid/amine ratio. Polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and XRD results revealed that the solid‐phase behavior of such two‐component mixtures (acid/base=2:1) varied significantly upon changing the proton‐acceptor part from BP to OPV. Interestingly, the XRD pattern of these acid/base mixtures after annealing at their associated isotropic temperature was significantly different from that of their xerogels. 相似文献
Polystyrene‐core–silica‐shell hybrid particles were synthesized by combining the self‐assembly of nanoparticles and the polymer with a silica coating strategy. The core–shell hybrid particles are composed of gold‐nanoparticle‐decorated polystyrene (PS‐AuNP) colloids as the core and silica particles as the shell. PS‐AuNP colloids were generated by the self‐assembly of the PS‐grafted AuNPs. The silica coating improved the thermal stability and dispersibility of the AuNPs. By removing the “free” PS of the core, hollow particles with a hydrophobic cage having a AuNP corona and an inert silica shell were obtained. Also, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were encapsulated in the core, which resulted in magnetic core–shell hybrid particles by the same strategy. These particles have potential applications in biomolecular separation and high‐temperature catalysis and as nanoreactors. 相似文献