手性水凝胶的制备与调控及其应用

手性水凝胶是新近涌现的一个研究领域,以其独特的手性响应性,可逆的吸收膨胀性能,在手性识别、手性分离、药物控制释放和微流控器件等方面均具有广泛的应用前景.因此,手性水凝胶已经成为近些年来材料科学、化学、生物医学等领域的研究热点,如何制备手性响应性好、形成过程可控、结构规整的水凝胶,并加以开发应用成为了研究中的重点.本文概述了手性水凝胶的制备方法,自组装机理,以及目前的应用状况,并展望了其未来的发展趋势.     

基于两亲性喹喔啉的超分子凝胶：手性信号反转以及多重响应手性光学开关

The regulation of supramolecular chirality has applications in various aspects including asymmetric catalysis, chiral sensing, optical materials and smart devices. Additionally, it provides opportunities for the simulation of important activities in living organisms and the clarification of their mechanisms. Herein, we synthesized a chiral gelator SQLG (styrylquinoxalinyl L-amino glutamic diamide) containing a π-conjugated headgroup by introducing the quinoxaline-derived moiety into L-glutamic diamide-based amphiphile via two simple condensation steps. SQLG self-assembled into nanofibers through multiple intermolecular interactions, including π–π stacking, hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interaction, leading to gelation of various organic solvents ranging from nonpolar to polar ones. Chirality transfer from the chiral center to the supramolecular level was observed when organogels formed, which manifested itself in circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The organogels formed in polar solvents such as N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and nonpolar solvents such as toluene exhibited opposite signals of supramolecular chirality, attributed to different hydrogen bonding strengths and thus two different types of gelator stacking modes of the gelators which was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Circular polarized luminescence (CPL) denotes left-handed or right-handed circularly polarized light with different intensities emitted by the chiral luminescent system, and it characterizes the chirality of the excited state, which finds potential application in fields such as 3D optical displays, optical data storage, polarization-based information encryption and bioencoding. Owing to the strong fluorescence and supramolecular chirality, the toluene gel emitted right-handed circular polarized luminescence upon excitation, while the gel formed in DMF did not exhibit CPL emission because of its relatively weak fluorescence. Furthermore, the organogels responded rapidly and distinctly to the stimulus of acid due to the proton-accepting sites in the quinoxaline skeleton. Utilizing NMR spectroscopy, we found that the two nitrogen atoms in the quinoxaline moiety could be protonated upon acidification. During the process, intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) was significantly strengthened and the driving forces of self-assembly underwent remarkable changes, resulting in the collapse of the yellow transparent organogel into a red dispersion. Meanwhile, transformation from nanofibers to nanospheres was observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). With change in stacking modes in the supramolecular assembly, a complete inversion of the CD signal was detected. The CPL signal was found to be switched off, which along with the other changes of the system could subsequently be recovered by neutralization of the entire system. Therefore, we constructed a chiroptical switch with multiple stimuli-responsiveness through the introduction of an acid-sensitive π-conjugated moiety into the L-glutamic diamide-based chiral amphiphile.     

手性溶剂诱导非手性物质手性的研究进展

手性溶剂诱导非手性物质产生手性是目前合成手性物质的主流方法之一。与传统的手性物质合成方法相比,手性溶剂诱导法不仅避免了使用昂贵的手性试剂,还能扩大合成手性物质的结构范围,具有潜在的应用前景。目前,手性溶剂诱导方法适用范围已经涵盖了有机小分子、低聚物和聚合物体系。本文主要对手性溶剂诱导方法发展的历史背景,手性溶剂诱导小分子及低聚物的手性,手性溶剂诱导非手性聚合物产生超分子手性,主要包括π-共轭聚合物和σ-共轭聚合物这几个方面展开了综述。     

D-，L-苯丙氨酸诱导非手性菁染料的手性组装

超分子手性与分子自组装是生命体中非常重要和有趣的现象．报道了D,L-苯丙氨酸等氨基酸在氯化钠溶液中通过非共价键相互作用诱导非手性菁染料（Pseudoisocyanine,PIC）J-聚集体超分子手性的形成．实验结果表明,诱导的手性菁染料PIC聚集体发色团在π-π^＊跃迁区域产生了特征的镜像圆二色性,其圆二色信号和强度强烈地依赖于氨基酸的绝对构型、浓度、侧链基团和溶液温度．原子力显微镜照片清楚地表明,^聚集体由相互交联的纳米纤维组成,诱导的圆二色性可能来源于纤维状聚集体的宏观螺旋排列．     

纳米颗粒增强的手性超分子水凝胶成骨性能

手性超分子水凝胶能够仿生细胞外手性微环境,在组织工程中具有特殊的意义,但其强度和稳定性较低,仍然面临着巨大的挑战.本文将无机羟基磷灰石纳米颗粒(HAP)引人到苯丙氨酸衍生物手性超分子水凝胶(LPF)中以改善其力学性能和生物功能.圆二色光谱和扫描电子显微镜结果显示,HAP掺入后LPF组装手性发生反转.与纯LPF水凝胶相比...     

苯丙氨酸衍生物手性凝胶的制备及其应用

手性超分子凝胶材料在传感器、人工触角、药物缓释、细胞培养等领域表现出潜在的应用前景。本文合成了一种新型的含偶氮苯官能团的D/L苯丙氨酸手性凝胶因子ALP和ADP,具有对称且完全相反的手性信号。该凝胶因子在多种有机溶剂和水混合溶剂中均可形成稳定的淡黄色凝胶,其中在DMSO和水混合溶剂中表现出最优的成凝胶性能,临界成胶浓度可达2.0mg/mL,表明该手性凝胶因子具有良好的成凝胶性能。手性凝胶可对热、光、pH等外界环境刺激产生响应,并伴有宏观上的凝胶-溶胶相互转变。手性凝胶因子自组装形成了不同螺旋纳米纤维结构,并发现L型手性纳米纤维相对于D型手性纳米纤维对细胞具有更好的粘附与增殖效果。     

超分子凝胶:结构多样性与超分子手性

超分子凝胶作为一种重要的软物质材料,在构建多重刺激响应性、光电功能,以及生物相容材料等功能软物质方面表现出了独特的优越性。超分子凝胶在形成过程中往往得到比较均一的纳米结构,且具有结构多样性;而另一方面,超分子凝胶的构筑单元大部分是手性分子,超分子凝胶也是实现手性在超分子层次/纳米层次表达的重要途径,尤其是手性传递、手性放大、不对称催化方面,同时超分子凝胶也是构筑手性纳米结构的重要手段。本文主要对超分子凝胶形成中的纳米结构以及形貌的多样性和超分子手性进行介绍,并展望该领域未来的发展方向。     

LCST类水凝胶开关效应的研究进展

本文综述了LCST水凝胶的研究进展,详细论述了水凝胶的各种体积相变机理,以及亲疏水基团、介质的离子性、pH值等因素对凝胶性能的影响,分析探讨了这类水凝胶的开关效应在药物控释、物质分离、酶的固定以及电磁感应元件等方面的应用。     

基于氢键作用由低分子量凝胶因子形成的超分子水凝胶

利用对羟基吡啶及均苯四甲酸合成的超分子单体, 基于分子间氢键作用, 在水中成功地制备出了具有温度响应性的超分子凝胶, 研究了制备条件对凝胶结构的影响.     

Inversion of the Supramolecular Chirality of Nanofibrous Structures through Co‐Assembly with Achiral Molecules

To understand the behavior of chiral nanostructures, it is of critical importance to study how achiral molecules regulate the chirality of such nanostructures and what the main driving forces for the regulation processes are. In this work, the supramolecular chirality of helical nanofibers consisting of phenylalanine‐based enantiomers is inverted by achiral bis(pyridinyl) derivatives through co‐assembly. This inversion is mainly mediated by intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between the achiral additives and the chiral molecules, which may induce stereoselective interactions and different reorientations for the assembled molecules, as confirmed by calculations. This work not only exemplifies a feasible method to invert the helicity of chiral nanostructures by the addition of achiral molecules, but also provides a method to explore their functions in environments where chiral and achiral molecules are in close proximity.     

Realizing Abundant Chirality Inversion of Supramolecular Nanohelices by Multiply Manipulating the Binding Sites in Molecular Blocks

The induction of diverse chirality regulation in nature by multiple binding sites of biomolecules is ubiquitous and plays an essential role in determining the biofunction of biosystems. However, mimicking this biological phenomenon and understanding at a molecular level its mechanism with the multiple binding sites by establishing an artificial system still remains a challenge. Herein, abundant chirality inversion is achieved by precisely and multiply manipulating the co-assembled binding sites of phenylalanine derivatives (D/LPPF) with different naphthalene derivatives (NA, NC, NP, NF). The amide and hydroxy group of naphthalene derivatives prefer to bind with the carboxy group of LPPF, while carboxylic groups and fluoride atoms tend to bind with the amide moiety of LPPF. All these diverse interaction modes can precisely trigger helicity inversion of LPPF nanofibers. In addition, synergistically manipulating the carboxy and amide binding sites from a single LPPF molecule to simultaneously interact with different naphthalene derivatives leads to chirality regulation. Typically, varying the solvent may switch the interaction modes and the switched new interaction modes can be employed to further regulate the chirality of the LPPF nanofibers. This study may provide a novel approach to explore chirality diversity in artificial systems by regulating the intermolecular binding sites.     

Emergence of Supramolecular Chirality by Flows

Hydrodynamic forces in stirred solutions induce chirality in some supramolecular species of J‐aggregates, as detected at the level of the electronic transition. However, the mechanism that explains the phenomenon remains to be elucidated, although the basic effect of hydrodynamic gradients of the shear rate is most probably the folding or bending of the nanoparticles in solution. Herein, we demonstrate a correlation between chiral flows in different regions of circular and square stirred cuvettes and the emergence of true circular dichroism (CD). The results show that chaotic flows lead to a racemic mixture of chiral shaped supramolecular species, and vortical flows to scalemic mixtures. In a magnetically stirred flask the descending and ascending flows are of different chiral sign and the CD reading depends on the weighting of these two flows of inverse chiral sign. The effect of the gradient of shear rates of the flows leading to chiral shape objects depends on the shape of the cuvette, which suggests that the flask shape and the controlled addition of reagents in defined regions of the stirred solutions may exert a control in self‐assembly processes.     

Assignment of the Absolute-Handedness Chirality of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Using Organic Molecule Supramolecular Structures

Supramolecular structures of organic molecules on planar nanocarbon surfaces, such as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), have been extensively studied and the factors that control them are generally well-established. In contrast, the properties of supramolecular structures on curved nanocarbon surfaces like carbon nanotubes remain challenging to predict and/or to understand. This paper reports an investigation into the first study of the supramolecular structures of 5,15-bisdodecylporphyrin (C12P) on chiral, concentrated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs; with right-handed helix P- and left-handed helix M-) surfaces using STM. Furthermore, the study is the first of its kind to experimentally assign the absolute-handedness chirality of SWNTs, as well as to understand their effect on the supramolecular structures of organic molecules on their surfaces. Interestingly, these SWNT enantiomers resulted in supramolecular structures of opposite chirality based on the handedness chirality. With molecular modelling, we predicted the absolute-handedness chirality of SWNTs, before demonstrating this experimentally.     

A Subtle Change in the Flexible Achiral Spacer Does Matter in Supramolecular Chirality: Two-Fold Odd-Even Effect in Polymer Assemblies

Precise control over the chirality and morphologies of polymer assemblies, a remaining challenge for both chemists and materials scientists, is receiving ever-increasing attention in the recent years. Herein, we report the subtle manipulation of the achiral spacers from the chiral stereocenter to the azobenzene (Azo) unit, of which the chiroptical consistency or chiroptical inversion of self-assemblies could be successfully controlled and present “two-fold” odd-even effect. Furthermore, morphological transitions from 0D spherical micelles, 1D worms, and nanowires to 3D vesicles, spindle- and dumbbell-shaped vesicles were also unexpectedly found to exhibit odd-even correlations. These observations were collectively elucidated by mesomorphic properties, stacking modes, chiroptical dynamics, and stimuli-responsive behaviors. Negligible modifications to the spacer structures can enable remarkable modulation of supramolecular chirality and anisotropic topologies in polymer assemblies, which is of great significance for the design of complex chiral functional polymers.     

Tuning the Supramolecular Chirality of Polyaniline by Methyl Substitution

A game of Twister : The induced helicity of polyaniline and its supramolecular structures could be tuned by the methyl substitution of one of the monomers. By copolymerization of aniline with m‐toluidine, the helicity of copolymer (PMANI) nanofibers was totally inverted compared to that of polyaniline (PANI), while copolymer nanofibers with o‐toluidine (POANI) had the same helicity as that of polyaniline (see picture).

     

Autoamplification of Molecular Chirality through the Induction of Supramolecular Chirality

The novel concept for the autoamplification of molecular chirality, wherein the amplification proceeds through the induction of supramolecular chirality, is presented. A solution of prochiral, ring‐open diarylethenes is doped with a small amount of their chiral, ring‐closed counterpart. The molecules co‐assemble into helical fibers through hydrogen bonding and the handedness of the fibers is biased by the chiral, ring‐closed diarylethene. Photochemical ring closure of the open diarylethene yields the ring‐closed product, which is enriched in the template enantiomer.