Synthesis and characterization of chiral poly(l‐lactide‐b‐hexyl isocyanate) macromonomers with norbornenyl end groups and their homopolymerization through ring opening metathesis polymerization to afford polymer brushes

We report the synthesis of the novel half‐titanocene alkoxide complex bischloro‐η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl(bicyclo[2.2.1]‐hept‐5‐en‐2‐oxy) titanium (IV), [CpTiCl₂(O‐NBE)]. This complex was employed for the synthesis of chiral poly(l ‐lactide‐b‐hexyl isocyanate) diblock copolymer bearing a norbornene end group with sequential addition of monomers. The poly(hexyl isocyanate) block is chiral due to the last l ‐lactide unit of the poly(l ‐lactide) block. This macromonomer was polymerized towards a chiral polymer brush structure with polynorbornene backbone and chiral poly(l ‐lactide‐b‐hexyl isocyanate) side chains using Grubbs first‐generation catalyst. The polymers were characterized using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and their thermal properties were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 1102–1112     

Resolution and isolation of enantiomers of (±)‐isoxsuprine using thin silica gel layers impregnated with l‐glutamic acid,comparison of separation of its diastereomers prepared with chiral derivatizing reagents having l‐amino acids as chiral auxiliaries

Thin silica gel layers impregnated with optically pure l ‐glutamic acid were used for direct resolution of enantiomers of (±)‐isoxsuprine in their native form. Three chiral derivatizing reagents, based on DFDNB moiety, were synthesized having l ‐alanine, l ‐valine and S‐benzyl‐l ‐cysteine as chiral auxiliaries. These were used to prepare diastereomers under microwave irradiation and conventional heating. The diastereomers were separated by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography on a C₁₈ column with detection at 340 nm using gradient elution with mobile phase containing aqueous trifluoroacetic acid and acetonitrile in different compositions and by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) on reversed phase (RP) C₁₈ plates. Diastereomers prepared with enantiomerically pure (+)‐isoxsuprine were used as standards for the determination of the elution order of diastereomers of (±)‐isoxsuprine. The elution order in the experimental study of RP‐TLC and RP‐HPLC supported the developed optimized structures of diastereomers based on density functional theory. The limit of detection was 0.1–0.09 µg/mL in TLC while it was in the range of 22–23 pg/mL in HPLC and 11–13 ng/mL in RP‐TLC for each enantiomer. The conditions of derivatization and chromatographic separation were optimized. The method was validated for accuracy, precision, limit of detection and limit of quantification. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chiral SiO2 and Ag@SiO2 Materials Templated by Complexes Consisting of Comblike Polyethyleneimine and Tartaric Acid

A facile avenue to fabricate micrometer‐sized chiral (L ‐, D ‐) and meso‐like (dl ‐) SiO₂ materials with unique structures by using crystalline complexes (cPEI/tart), composed of comblike polyethyleneimine (cPEI) and L ‐, D ‐, or dl ‐tartaric acid, respectively, as catalytic templates is reported. Interestingly, both chiral crystalline complexes appeared as regularly left‐ and right‐twisted bundle structures about 10 μm in length and about 5 μm in diameter, whereas the dl ‐form occurred as circular structures with about 10 μm diameter. Subsequently, SiO₂@cPEI/tart hybrids with high silica content (>55.0 wt %) were prepared by stirring a mixture containing tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and the aggregates of the crystalline complexes in water. The chiral SiO₂ hybrids and calcined chiral SiO₂ showed very strong CD signals and a nanofiber‐based morphology on their surface, whereas dl ‐SiO₂ showed no CD activity and a nanosheet‐packed disklike shape. Furthermore, metallic silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were encapsulated in each silica hybrid to obtain chiral (D and L forms) and meso‐like (dl form) Ag@SiO₂ composites. Also, the reaction between L ‐cysteine (Lcys) and these Ag@SiO₂ composites was preliminarily investigated. Only chiral L ‐ and D ‐Ag@SiO₂ composites promoted the reaction between Lcys and Ag NPs to produce a molecular [Ag–Lcys]_n complex with remarkable exciton chirality, whereas the reaction hardly occurred in the case of meso‐like (dl ‐) Ag@SiO₂ composite.     

Impact of Cationic Charge Density and PEGylated Poly(amino acid) Tercopolymer Architecture on Their Use as Gene Delivery Vehicles. Part 1: Synthesis,Self‐Assembly,and DNA Complexation

The interaction of PEGylated poly(amino acid)s with their biological targets depends on their chemical nature and spatial arrangement of their building blocks. The synthesis, self‐assembly, and DNA complexation of ABC terblock copolymers consisting of poly(ethylene glycol), (PEG), poly(l ‐lysine), and poly(l ‐leucine), are reported. Block copolymers are produced by a metal‐free, living ring‐opening polymerization of respective amino acid N‐carboxyanhydrides using amino‐terminated PEG as macroinitiator: (PEG‐b‐p(l ‐Lys)_x‐b‐p(l ‐Leu)_y, PEG‐b‐p(l ‐Leu)_x‐b‐p(l ‐Lys)_y, and PEG‐b‐p((l ‐Lys)_x‐co‐p(l ‐Leu)_y). Sizes of self‐assembled nanoparticles depend on the formation method. The nanoprecipitation method proves useful for copolymers with the poly(l ‐lysine) block protected as trifluoroacetate, effective diameters range between 92 and 132 nm, while direct dissolution in distilled water is suitable for the deprotected copolymers, yielding effective diameters between 52 and 173 nm. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) analyses corroborate particle size analyses and show a distinct impact of the molecular architecture; the lowest CMC (8 µg mL⁻¹) is observed when the poly(l ‐leucine) segment forms the C‐block and the hydrophilic, disassembly driving poly(l ‐lysine) segment is short. DNA complexation, evaluated by gel motility and RiboGreen analyses, depends strongly on the molecular architecture. A more efficient DNA complexation is observed when poly(l ‐lysine) and poly(l ‐leucine) form individual blocks as opposed to them forming a copolymer.     

Homochiral MOF–Polymer Mixed Matrix Membranes for Efficient Separation of Chiral Molecules

Homochiral metal–organic framework (MOF) membranes have been recently reported for chiral separations. However, only a few high‐quality homochiral polycrystalline MOF membranes have been fabricated due to the difficulty in crystallization of a chiral MOF layer without defects on porous substrates. Alternatively, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), which combine potential advantages of MOFs and polymers, have been widely demonstrated for gas separation and water purification. Here we report novel homochiral MOF–polymer MMMs for efficient chiral separation. Homochirality was successfully incorporated into achiral MIL‐53‐NH₂ nanocrystals by post‐synthetic modification with amino acids, such as l ‐histidine (l ‐His) and l ‐glutamic acid (l ‐Glu). The MIL‐53‐NH‐l ‐His and MIL‐53‐NH‐l ‐Glu nanocrystals were then embedded into polyethersulfone (PES) matrix to form homochiral MMMs, which exhibited excellent enantioselectivity for racemic 1‐phenylethanol with the highest enantiomeric excess value up to 100 %. This work, as an example, demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating diverse large‐scale homochiral MOF‐based MMMs for chiral separation.     

A novel C2 symmetric chiral stationary phase with N‐[(4‐Methylphenyl)sulfonyl]‐l‐leucine as chiral side chains

In this study, a series of chiral stationary phases based on N‐[(4‐methylphenyl)sulfonyl]‐l ‐leucine amide, whose enantiorecognition property has never been studied, were synthesized. Their enantioseparation abilities were chromatographically evaluated by 67 enantiomers. The chiral stationary phase derived from N‐[(4‐methylphenyl)sulfonyl]‐l ‐leucine showed much better enantioselectivities than that based on N‐(4‐methylbenzoyl)‐l ‐leucine amide. The construction of C₂ symmetric chiral structure greatly improved the enantiorecognition performance of the stationary phase. The C₂ symmetric chiral stationary phase exhibited superior enantioresolutions to other chiral stationary phases for most of the chiral analytes, especially for the chiral analytes with C₂ symmetric structures. By comparing the enantioseparations of the enantiomers with similar structures, the importance of hydrogen bond interaction, π–π interaction, and steric hindrance on enantiorecognition was elucidated. The enantiorecognition mechanism of trans‐N,N′‐(1,2‐diphenyl‐1,2‐ethanediyl)bis‐acetamide, which had an excellent separation factor on the C₂ symmetric chiral stationary phase, was investigated by ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy and 2D ¹H‐¹H nuclear overhauser enhancement spectroscopy.     

Chiral Space Formed by (+)‐(1S)‐1,1′‐Binaphthalene‐2,2′‐diyl Phosphate: Recognition of Aliphatic L‐α‐Amino Acids

(+)‐(1S)‐1,1′‐Binaphthalene‐2,2′‐diyl hydrogen phosphate (bnppa) is one of the useful optical selectors. To disclose the molecular mechanism by which bnppa recognizes aliphatic L ‐α‐amino acids and separates them by fractional crystallization, X‐ray analyses of bnppa and of its salts with L ‐alanine, L ‐valine, L ‐norvaline, and L ‐norleucine have been undertaken. All the amino acids adopt energetically favorable conformations in the crystal structures. The conformations and the packing patterns of bnppa in these crystal structures are very similar. The bnppa molecules are packed in a specific way to form hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers that are well separated. Between bnppa molecules, at the interface of these hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers, a space with chirality is formed. This space, designated as chiral space, recognizes the optically active amino acids. The packing of bnppa is mainly governed by intermolecular CH⋅⋅⋅π interactions between naphthalene moieties. The chiral space is responsible for the molecular recognition by bnppa allowing fractional crystallization of the L ‐α‐amino acids.     

Synthesis of Chiral Oligomer‐Grafted Biodegradable Polyurethanes and Their Chiral‐Dependent Influence on Bone Marrow Stem Cell Behaviors

Chirality is one of the most fascinating and ubiquitous features in nature, especially in biological systems. The effects of chiral surfaces, especially in combination with degradable materials of good biocompatibility, on stem cell behaviors has not yet been tackled. In this communication, the chiral monomers N‐acryloyl‐l (d )‐valine (l (d )‐AV) are synthesized and are polymerized to obtain chiral (l (d )‐PAV‐SH) oligomers, which are covalently immobilized onto electron‐deficient poly(propylene fumarate) polyurethane (PPFU) via Michael addition. The PPFU‐l ‐PAV can interact more strongly and actively with bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) than PPFU‐d ‐PAV, leading to a larger cell spreading area, faster migration velocity, and stronger osteodifferentiation tendency.

     

Influence of stereoregularity and linkage groups on chiral recognition of poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives bearing L‐leucine ethyl ester pendants as chiral stationary phases for HPLC

Stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives bearing L ‐leucine ethyl ester pendants, poly‐1 and poly‐2a , were, respectively, synthesized by the polymerization of N‐(4‐ethynylphenylcarbamoyl)‐L ‐leucine ethyl ester ( 1 ) and N‐(4‐ethynylphenyl‐carbonyl)‐L ‐leucine ethyl ester ( 2 ) using Rh(nbd)BPh₄ as a catalyst, while stereoirregular poly‐2b was synthesized by solid‐state thermal polymerization of 2 . Their chiral recognition abilities for nine racemates were evaluated as chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after coating them on silica gel. Both poly‐1 and poly‐2a with a helical conformation showed their characteristic recognition depending on coating solvents and the linkage groups between poly(phenylacetylene) and L ‐leucine ethyl ester pendants. Poly‐2a with a shorter amide linkage showed higher chiral recognition than poly‐1 with a longer urea linkage. Coating solvents played an important role in the chiral recognition of both poly‐1 and poly‐2a due to the different conformation of the polymer main chains induced by the solvents. A few racemates were effectively resolved on the poly‐2a coated with a MeOH/CHCl₃ (3/7, v/v) mixture. The separation factors for these racemates were comparable to those obtained on the very popular CSPs derived from polysaccharide phenylcarbamates. Stereoirregular poly‐2b exhibited much lower chiral recognition than the corresponding stereoregular, helical poly‐2a , suggesting that the regular structure of poly(phenylacetylene) main chains is essential to attain high chiral recognition. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Metallosupramolecular Structures Derived from a Series of Diphosphine‐bridged Digold(I) Metalloligands with Terminal d‐Penicillamine

In this report, we describe our recent work on the development of a new family of chiral heteroleptic digold(I) metalloligands with mixed diphosphine and d ‐penicillaminate (d ‐pen), [Au₂(dppx)(d ‐pen‐S)₂]^2– (dppx = PPh₂(CH₂)_nPPh₂, n = 1–5) and their application for the construction of chiral multinuclear and metallosupramolecular structures. The reactions of the metalloligands with 3d metal ions produce a variety of chiral heterobimetallic structures retaining the digold(I) metalloligand structure, ranging from discrete trinuclear to infinite helix structures that depend on the type of dppx. In addition, monophosphine and triphosphine analogues of the metalloligands were designed, and their coordination behavior is discussed to show the essential properties and potential extensibility of this class of metalloligands.     

Self‐Reporting Inhibitors: A Single Crystallization Process To Obtain Two Optically Pure Enantiomers

Collection of two optically pure enantiomers in a single crystallization process can significantly increase the chiral separation efficiency but this is difficult to realize. Now a self‐reporting strategy is presented for visualizing the crystallization process by a dyed self‐assembled inhibitor made from the copolymers with tri(ethylene glycol)‐grafting polymethylsiloxane as the main chain and poly(N⁶‐methacryloyl‐l ‐lysine) as side chains. When applied with seeds together for the fractional crystallization of conglomerates, the inhibitors can label the formation of the secondary crystals and guide the complete separation process of two enantiomers with colorless crystals as the first product and red crystals as the second. This method leads to high optical purity of d /l ‐Asn?H₂O (99.9 % ee for d ‐crystals and 99.5 % for l ‐crystals) in a single crystallization process. It requires a small amount of additives and shows excellent recyclability.     

l‐Lysine‐derived ionic liquids as chiral ligands of Zn(II) complexes used in ligand‐exchange CE

Amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) with l ‐lysine (l ‐Lys) as anion were synthesized and applied as new chiral ligands in Zn(II) complexes for chiral ligand‐exchange CE. After effective optimization, baseline enantioseparation of seven pairs of dansylated amino acids was achieved with a buffer of 100.0 mM boric acid, 5.0 mM ammonium acetate, 3.0 mM ZnSO₄, and 6.0 mM [C₆mim][l ‐Lys] at pH 8.2. To validate the unique behavior of AAILs, a comparative study between the performance of Zn(II)‐l ‐Lys and Zn(II)‐[C₆mim][l ‐Lys] systems was conducted. In Zn(II)‐[C₆mim][l ‐Lys] system, it has been found that the improved chiral resolution could be obtained and the migration times of the three test samples were markedly prolonged. Then the separation mechanism was further discussed. The role of [C₆mim][l ‐Lys] indicated clearly that the synthesized AAILs could be used as chiral ligands and would have potential utilization in separation science in future.     

Phosgene‐free synthesis of polypeptides: Useful synthesis for hydrophobic polypeptides through polycondensation of activated urethane derivatives of α‐amino acids

We report a useful synthetic method of polypeptides using a series of urethane derivative of α‐amino acids (l ‐leucine, l ‐phenylalanine, l ‐valine, l ‐alanine, l ‐isoleucine, l ‐methionine), which are readily synthesized by N‐carbamoylation of tetrabutylammonium salts of α‐amino acids with diphenyl carbonate. Heating these urethane derivatives in N,N‐dimethylacetamide in the presence of n‐butylamine successfully gave the corresponding polypeptides with well‐defined structures through polycondensation with the elimination of phenol and CO₂. The matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry investigation showed that the resulting polypeptides had an n‐BuNH₂‐incorporated initiating end and an amino group at propagating end. These results strongly indicated that primary amines served as an initiator in this polycondensation system. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3726–3731     

Stimuli‐responsive chiral polyacetylene based on copolymerization of N‐propargylamide and propargylether

Copolymerization of propargylether having antipyrine group (PT) and N‐(tert‐butoxycarbonyl)‐l ‐valine‐N‐propargylamide (LA) was conducted with (nbd)Rh⁺[η⁶‐C₆H₅B^?(C₆H₅)₃] as a catalyst to obtain novel antipyrine‐functionalized chiral copolymer. The controllable secondary structure of the copolymers by different unit ratio or solvent environment led to a controlled fluorescence of the side‐chain antipyrine. Poly(LA₈₈‐co‐PT₁₂) exhibited a large specific rotation and a circular dichroism (CD) signal, while it emitted very stronger fluorescence. From CD and ultraviolet–visible spectra, the regular structure of poly(LA₈₈‐co‐PT₁₂) was destroyed, and the random coil was formed with temperature increase. The helical conformation of poly(LA₇₅‐co‐PT₂₅) disappeared by the addition of MeOH to CHCl₃ solution, while the fluorescence signal also became weaker than in CHCl₃ solution. It is suggested that the copolymer conformation much influenced the performance of chromophores. In the present study, the helix conformation could induce fluorescence enhancement. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chiral Carbon Dots Mimicking Topoisomerase I To Mediate the Topological Rearrangement of Supercoiled DNA Enantioselectively

Nanomaterials with enzyme‐mimetic activities are possible alternatives to natural enzymes. Mimicking enzymatic enantioselectivity remains a great challenge. Herein, we report that cysteine‐derived chiral carbon dots (CDs) can mimic topoisomerase I to mediate topological rearrangement of supercoiled DNA enantioselectively. d ‐CDs can more effectively catalyze the topological transition of plasmid DNA from supercoiled to nicked open‐circular configuration than l ‐CDs. Experiments suggest the underlying mechanism: d ‐CDs intercalatively bind with DNA double helix more strongly than l ‐CDs; the intercalative CDs can catalyze the production of hydroxyl radicals to cleave phosphate backbone in one strand of the double helix, leading to topological rearrangement of supercoiled DNA. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation show that the stronger affinity for hydrogen‐bond formation and hydrophobic interaction between d ‐cysteine and DNA than that of l ‐cysteine is the origin of enantioselectivity.     

Microstructural characterization of terpolymers of leucine, β‐benzyl aspartate,and valine

Three different characterization methods—¹³C NMR spectroscopy, a terminal terpolymerization model, and a probability analysis based on the Poisson distribution—were used to determine the microstructure of random terpolymers. The methods were used to determine the amino acid sequence distribution of random terpolymers prepared from the polymerization of N‐carboxyanhydrides that contained L ‐leucine, β‐benzyl‐L ‐aspartate, and L ‐valine. Poly(L ‐leucine‐L ‐aspartic acid‐L ‐valine) [poly(LDV)] was designed as a target specific substrate for the α₄β₁ integrin that recognizes the tripeptide sequence leucine‐aspartic acid‐valine (LDV). The presence of the tripeptide sequence LDV within the polymer was determined to be eight LDV triad sequences on average in terpolymers of approximately 100 kDa. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4328–4337, 2006     

Modeling the retention mechanism for high‐performance liquid chromatography with a chiral ligand mobile phase and enantioseparation of mandelic acid derivatives

The chromatographic retention mechanism describing relationship between retention factor and concentration of Cu²⁺(l ‐phenylalanine)₂ using chiral ligand mobile phase was investigated and eight mandelic acid derivatives were enantioseparated by chiral ligand exchange chromatography. The relationship between retention factor and concentration of the Cu²⁺(l ‐phenylalanine)₂ complex was proven to be in conformity with chromatographic retention mechanism in which chiral discrimination occurred both in mobile and stationary phase. Different copper(II) salts, chiral ligands, organic modifier, pH of aqueous phase, and conventional temperature on retention behavior were optimized. Eight racemates were successfully enantioseparated on a common reversed‐phase column with an optimized mobile phase composed of 6 mmol/L of l ‐phenylalanine or N,N‐dimethyl‐l ‐phenylalanine and 3 mmol/Lof copper(II) acetate or copper(II) sulfate aqueous solution and methanol.     

About formation of cycles in Sn(II) octanoate‐catalyzed polymerizations of lactides

At first, formation of cycles in commercial poly(l ‐lactide)s is discussed and compared with benzyl alcohol‐initiated polymerizations performed in this work. This comparison was extended to polymerizations initiated with 4‐cyanophenol and pentafluorothiophenol which yielded cyclic polylactides via end‐biting. The initiator/catalyst ratio and the acidity of the initiator were found to be decisive for the extent of cyclization. Further polymerizations of l ‐lactide were performed with various diphenols as initiators/co‐catalysts. With most diphenols, cyclic polylactides were the main reaction products. Yet, only catechols yielded even‐numbered cycles as main reaction products, a result which proves that their combination with SnOct₂ catalyzed a ring‐expansion polymerization (REP). The influence of temperature, time, co‐catalyst, and catalyst concentrations was studied. Four different transesterification reactions yielding cycles were identified. For the cyclic poly(l ‐lactide)s weight average molecular weights (M_w's) up to 120,000 were obtained, but ¹H NMR end group analyses indicated that the extent of cyclization was slightly below 100%. The influence of various parameters like structure of initiator and catalyst and temperature on the formation of cyclic poly(l ‐lactide)s has been investigated. Depending on the chosen conditions, the course of the polymerization can be varied from a process yielding exclusively linear polylactides to mainly cyclic polylactides. Three different reaction pathways for cyclization reactions have been identified. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1915–1925     

Synthesis and Conformation of Star‐Shaped Poly(γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamate)s on a Cyclotriphosphazene Core

The preparation of star‐shaped poly(γ‐benzyl‐L ‐glutamate)s by the ring‐opening polymerization of N‐carboxy anhydride γ‐benzyl‐L ‐glutamate (BLG‐NCA) with hexakis(4‐aminomethylphenoxy)‐ ( 4 ) and hexakis(4‐aminophenoxy)cyclotriphosphazenes ( 6 ), and the conformation of resulting polymers has been studied. The six amino groups in 4 can initiate the polymerization of BLG‐NCA to give star‐shaped polyglutamates ( 7 ) with narrow molecular weight distributions (M _w/M _n = 1.10–1.33). For the polymerization of BLG‐NCA with 6 , however, a high ratio of [BLG‐MCA]/[ 6 ] was required to obtain star‐shaped polyglutamates ( 8 ). The conformation of 7 changed from a β‐sheet form to a right‐handed α‐helix form, depending on the degree of polymerization per chain (DP _n/6). The helix content of hexa‐armed poly (γ‐benzyl‐L ‐glutamate‐co‐L ‐glutamic acid)s ( 9 ), prepared by partial hydrolysis of 7 , increased significantly compared with that of the corresponding linear analogue ( 10 ). As increasing of helix content of 9 , the fluorescence spectra of 8‐anilino‐1‐naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS), a fluorescence probe, shifted to a short wavelength accompanied by the enhancement of intensity, suggesting that star‐shaped polymers are liable to form hydrophobic domains. From these results and the structural feature of the cyclotriphosphazene core, the formation of a 3α‐helix bundle structure of polyglutamates on both sides of the phosphazene ring has been suggested.