Molecular engineering of the polarity and interactions of molecular electronic switches

We have investigated and learned to control switching of oligo(phenylene ethynylene)s embedded in amide-containing alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on Au{111}. We demonstrate bias-dependent switching of the oligo(phenylene ethynylene)s as a function of the interaction between the dipole moment of the oligo(phenylene ethynylene)s and the electric field applied between the scanning tunneling microscope tip and the substrate. We are able to invert the polarity of the switches by altering their design-inverting their dipole moments. For appropriately designed switches and matrix molecules, the conductance states are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. These results further support the hypothesis that conductance switching in these molecules is due to hybridization changes at the molecule-substrate bonds due to tilting of the switch molecules.     

First-principles study of hydrogen adsorption in metal-doped COF-10

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), due to their low-density, high-porosity, and high-stability, have promising applications in gas storage. In this study we have explored the potential of COFs doped with Li and Ca metal atoms for storing hydrogen under ambient thermodynamic conditions. Using density functional theory we have performed detailed calculations of the sites Li and Ca atoms occupy in COF-10 and their interaction with hydrogen molecules. The binding energy of Li atom on COF-10 substrate is found to be about 1.0 eV and each Li atom can adsorb up to three H(2) molecules. However, at high concentration, Li atoms cluster and, consequently, their hydrogen storage capacity is reduced due to steric hindrance between H(2) molecules. On the other hand, due to charge transfer from Li to the substrate, O sites provide additional enhancement for hydrogen adsorption. With increasing concentration of doped metal atoms, the COF-10 substrate provides an additional platform for storing hydrogen. Similar conclusions are reached for Ca doped COF-10.     

Three-Dimensional Scaffolds for Light Emission

Organic fluorophores with highly efficient luminescence in both solution and solid states have attracted significant attention due to their ability to circumvent the limitations of aggregation-caused quenching and aggregation-induced emission type molecules. However, their development and wide-range applications are hampered by extremely complex synthetic methodologies and limited frameworks with dual-state emission (DSE) structural characteristics. In sharp contrast to the reported luminogens with big and planar π systems or highly conjugated and twisted structures, we discovered novel three-dimensional scaffolds in one molecule to achieve DSE. These molecules allowing for rapid access showed completely different molecular packing manners from those of planar conjugated molecules and exhibited excellent optoelectronic properties with diminished intermolecular π−π stacking interactions due to steric hindrance. Our findings should open new avenues for designing DSE molecules with new frameworks, which will enable more successful development of dual-state emitters for their broad applications in the future.     

Quantitative comparison of the relative cell permeability of cyclic and linear peptides

Cyclic peptides are of considerable interest as potential protein ligands. It has been postulated that cyclic molecules might be more cell permeable than their linear counterparts due to their reduced conformational flexibility. We report a study that tests this hypothesis by using a quantitative, reporter gene-based assay that measures the relative cell permeability of steroid conjugates of molecules of interest. We demonstrate that cyclic peptides are, in fact, not generally more permeable than their linear counterparts.     

Functional Rotaxanes in Catalysis

Mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs) have gained attention in the field of catalysis due to their unique molecular properties. Central to MIMs, rotaxanes are highly promising and attractive supramolecular catalysts due to their unique three-dimensional structures and the flexibility of their subcomponents. This Minireview discusses the use of rotaxanes in organocatalysis and transition-metal catalysis.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the First Steps of the Formation of Polysiloxane Layers at a Zinc Oxide Surface

Three different dissolved silane molecules adsorbed at a polar ZnO surface (000&1macr;) are studied by means of constant temperature molecular dynamics simulations. The adsorbed single silane molecules exhibit a different behavior depending on the chemical nature of their tail. For octyltrihydroxysilane molecules with their rather unpolar tail an orthogonal orientation at the polar metal oxide surface is statistically favored with all three polar hydroxide groups of the head being in contact with the polar ZnO surface and the unpolar tail remaining in the isopropanol phase. On the contrary, due to their highly polar tail, aminopropyltrihydroxysilane molecules show a more or less parallel orientation at the surface. Apart from some minor fluctuations two hydroxide groups as well as the amino group of the tail are in contact with the surface. The behavior of the thiolpropyltrihydroxysilane molecules is somehow located in between resulting in parallel as well as orthogonal orientations of the molecule at the surface. Though many of the results obtained for single adsorbed silane molecules can also be transferred to adsorbed silane molecules within whole layers a remarkable difference appears: Now even for aminopropyltrihydroxysilane molecules a mixture of parallel and orthogonal alignment of the molecules can be observed whereas some of the octyltrihydroxysilane molecules also show a parallel orientation.     

On conformation of molecules of aromatic polyamides in solutions

On the basis of experimental data concerning the equilibrium rigidity of molecules of aromatic polyamides, possible structures of molecules of poly-?-benzamide (PPBA) and other aromatic polyamides with phenyl rings included in the chain in the para position have been considered.It is shown that extremely high equilibrium rigidity of these polymer molecules is due to the coplanar trans-structure of their amide groups leading to a “crankshaft”-like conformation of the chain.The equilibrium rigidity of the chain estimated with the aid of this model is in good agreement with experimental data.It is shown that the main factors determining the equilibrium flexibility of the PPBA molecules are the inequality of valence angles at carbon and nitrogen atoms of the amide group and also a departure from coplanarity of the amide group due to thermal motion of the chain.     

The significance of induced circular dichroism

[reaction: see text] Achiral molecules or ions can display induced circular dichroism (ICD) within their absorption bands on association with chiral inducing molecules. The reverse process is equally important, although less appreciated: chiral inducing molecules, such as tartrates, can show significantly differing CD bands in different achiral environments. Therefore true ICD due to achiral molecules can only be demonstrated in the spectral region outside the absorption bands of the chiral inducing molecules. The case of tartrate-trisimidazoline helical assembly in aqueous solvent is discussed.     

Electron dopable molecular wires based on the extended viologens

Facile electron transfer in molecules with one dimension greatly exceeding the other two is essential in the development of new molecular electronic devices as these molecules can serve as so-called molecular wires. In this communication the electrochemical behavior of a series of molecules with multiple extended viologen moieties has been studied. We show that the electron transfer in the shortest wire is due to reduction of two identical communicating pyridinium moieties leading to a full charge delocalization, whereas the electron transfer in molecules with n≥ 2 is due to reduction of initially non-communicating centers. This was confirmed by digital simulation of cyclic voltammograms. All studied molecules accept reversibly at least four and up to ten electrons without any long-term chemical changes, which is a prerequisite for their future application. Chemical stability of these molecules after multiple electron transfer was confirmed by in situ UV-Vis spectroelectrochemical detection.     

About the effect of magnetic field on the quality of combustion of liquid organic fuel

The fundamentals of the influence of the shape of molecules of liquid organic fuel on the quality of the process of its combustion are described. The change in the shape of these molecules due to their diamagnetic properties at working up the fuel stream with magnetostatic field explains the discovered previously empirical regularities, which have the wide practical application in the devices with the fuel combustion.     

Diffusion controlled formation of husk-like microcapsules

 Solid microspheres consisting of thermal heterocomplex molecules made from heating a mixture of aspartic acid and proline were transformed into husk-like microcapsules in their aqueous suspensions when pH value increased. The thickness of the outer shell of the husk-like microcapsule decreased as pH increased. Formation of the husk-like microcapsules is discussed to be due to both diffusion of the constituent molecules from the inside of the microspheres and conformational changes of those molecules in the process. Received: 16 October 1996 Accepted: 16 January 1997     

Achieving room temperature phosphorescence from organic small molecules on amino acid skeleton

Room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) generated by small molecules has attracted great attention due to their unique potentials for biosensor, bioimaging and security protection. While, the design of RTP materials is extremely challenging for organic small molecules in non-crystalline solid state. Herein, we report a new strategy for achieving non-crystalline organic small molecules with RTP emission by modifying different phosphors onto diphenylalanine or phenylalanine derivatives. Benefiting from the skeletal structure of the amino acid derivatives, there are intermolecular hydrogen bond formation and rigidification effect, thereby minimizing the intermolecular motions and enhancing their RTP performance     

Computational study of the structure-directing effect of benzylpyrrolidine and its fluorinated derivatives in the synthesis of the aluminophosphate ALPO-5

Using a combination of computer modeling techniques, we have investigated the ability of benzylpyrrolidine and its fluorinated derivatives in ortho, meta, and para positions of the phenyl ring to direct the synthesis of the aluminophosphate AlPO-5. The o- and p-fluoro derivatives are not good templates because of the poor packing of the template molecules inside the AlPO-5 pores, due to a repulsion provoked by the fluorine atoms. However, benzylpyrrolidine and the m-fluoro derivative do direct the synthesis of AlPO-5, the latter being a better template due to higher electrostatic interactions with the framework. We demonstrate that, at least when the synthesis is performed with an excess of template molecules, the ability of organic templating molecules to direct the synthesis of microporous materials depends not on the host-guest interaction energy per unit of template molecules, as usually calculated, but on the density of interaction energy, i.e., the energy per formula unit of the microporous network. The packing density of molecules inside the channel system must be taken properly into account. From the calculated location of the benzylpyrrolidine molecules and their m-fluoro derivative inside the inorganic network, we would expect the formation of stable dimers.     

单一分布聚乙二醇的合成及其应用

聚乙二醇(PEG)经过对端基官能团化接枝到药物等生物活性分子上后,可提高药物等的水溶性、抗免疫原性、生物相容性和稳定性并降低毒性。工业级聚乙二醇由于杂质含量高尤其是其中二醇的含量过高、分子量分布过宽,不能直接用于药物等的改性。除利用聚合方法制备窄分布高纯度的聚乙二醇外,采用有机合成方法合成单一聚乙二醇链是有效的手段。对"单一链长(discrete length)"或者"单一分布(mono-disperse)"的聚乙二醇高分子聚合物的近年来主要合成方法的进展进行了综述并简介了其主要应用。     

Achieving room temperature phosphorescence from organic small molecules on amino acid skeleton

Room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) generated by small molecules has attracted great attention due to their unique potentials for biosensor, bioimaging and security protection. While, the design of RTP materials is extremely challenging for organic small molecules in non-crystalline solid state. Herein, we report a new strategy for achieving non-crystalline organic small molecules with RTP emission by modifying different phosphors onto diphenylalanine or phenylalanine derivatives. Benefiting from the skeletal structure of the amino acid derivatives, there are intermolecular hydrogen bond formation and rigidification effect, thereby minimizing the intermolecular motions and enhancing their RTP performance     

New nanomaterials for control of the luminescence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

New nanomaterials (ordered structures) have been proposed for control of the luminescence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by solubilization of the latter into ordered structures. These structures are formed by hydrophilic silver nanoparticles adsorbed on a cellulose matrix—filter paper—through their self organization and by molecules of a cationic surfactant—cetyltrimethylammonium bromide—in concentrations exceeding the critical micelle concentration. The observed enhancement of luminescence of solubilized pyrene molecules in the violet spectral range is due to the resonance of the electronic transitions of monomeric pyrene molecules in this range with a plasmon vibrations in silver nanoparticles.     

Chemoselective Bromodecarboxylation of α-Carboxy-α-cinnamoyl Ketene Cyclic Dithioacetals

Introduction α-Oxoketene dithioacetals(compound 1) are versatile synthons for organic synthesis due to their specially structural characteristic, that is, the masked ketene is conjugated with the convertible carbonyl in their molecules[1-8].     

Epidermal reconstructs: a new tool to study topical and systemic photoprotective molecules

In this study, we compared the effects of sunscreens and antioxidants on reconstructed epidermis made with or without melanocytes 24 h after UVB, UVA or UVA+B irradiation. For this purpose, we studied sunburn cells and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer formation, protein and lipid oxidation, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities and vitamin E levels. Topical sunscreens protected against direct cell death and thymine dimer formation whereas their protective effect against protein and lipid oxidation and antioxidant depletion was less marked partly due to the difficulty of spreading the cream. Antioxidant molecules protected against direct cell death and protein oxidation but not against thymine dimer formation. Since topical sunscreens and systemic antioxidant protected the skin differently, we speculate that their association might protect more efficiently against UV-induced damage. This model is relevant to study systemic molecules but is less practical, due to the technical limitations of studying topical molecules.     

Specific features of the formation of co-adsorption layers on metal surfaces with the participation of simple molecules: NH<Subscript>3</Subscript> + CO on Pt(111)

The co-adsorption of ammonia and carbon monoxide on the Pt(111) surface was studied at temperatures <300 K using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). The state of ammonia and carbon monoxide molecules in the co-adsorption layer was established to differ significantly from their state in individual adsorption layers. The adsorption of CO on a clean surface occurs with the primary filling of single-bound terminal sites, whereas the bridging sites are filled preferably by CO molecules in the presence of NH_3,ads. The symmetry axis of ammonia molecules adsorbed on the clean surface is parallel to the normal to the surface, whereas in the co-adsorption layers the interaction with CO_ads molecules results in the deviation of the symmetry axis toward the surface. Presumably, the observed changes in the state of adsorbed molecules are due to the donor-acceptor interaction inducing the electron density transfer from ammonia molecules across the metal surface to CO molecules.     

Semi-rigid analogues of the calcium antagonist verapamil: A molecular modelling study

Summary In this work the rigid-analogue approach has been used to obtain information on the active conformation(s) of the calcium antagonist verapamil. A series of semi-rigid analogues of verapamil were synthesized and their biological activities evaluated on guinea-pig heart and aorta. These molecules were analysed by means of molecular modelling techniques.On the basis of the pharmacological profile and conformational analysis of these compounds, two different models for negative inotropic and negative chronotropic activity are proposed. The two actions seem to be due to conformations of the molecules which differ in the orientation of their phenylethylamino groups.