Chemically Produced Excited States

Electronically excited states of organic molecules are formed in many chemical reactions. Such chemically produced excited states are (with one exception) identical to light produced excited states, and they undergo the molecular transformations expected of such states (“photochemistry without light”). The excited states can also be used in energy transfer experiments. This review covers the generation of chemically produced excited states, the chemical reactions they undergo, and the possible role of chemically produced excited states in biology.     

Chemically catalyzed asymmetric cyanohydrin syntheses

Over the past two decades, significant advances have been made towards developing chemically catalyzed asymmetric cyanohydrin syntheses. Preparations that were classically highly substrate specific, often using stoichiometric quantities of reagents, have been revolutionized by a new generation of catalysts. Methods currently available rival, and in many cases surpass, enzymatic procedures in terms of synthetic utility, generic applicability, and enantioselectivity. Such protocols are increasingly finding application in the syntheses of both biologically active natural products and therapeutically important synthetic compounds.     

The Role of Chemically Innocent Polyanions in Active,Chemically Fueled Complex Coacervate Droplets

Complex coacervation describes the liquid-liquid phase separation of oppositely charged polymers. Active coacervates are droplets in which one of the electrolyte's affinity is regulated by chemical reactions. These droplets are particularly interesting because they are tightly regulated by reaction kinetics. For example, they serve as a model for membraneless organelles that are also often regulated by biochemical transformations such as post-translational modifications. They are also a great protocell model or could be used to synthesize life–they spontaneously emerge in response to reagents, compete, and decay when all nutrients have been consumed. However, the role of the unreactive building blocks, e.g., the polymeric compounds, is poorly understood. Here, we show the important role of the chemically innocent, unreactive polyanion of our chemically fueled coacervation droplets. We show that the polyanion drastically influences the resulting droplets′ life cycle without influencing the chemical reaction cycle–either they are very dynamic or have a delayed dissolution. Additionally, we derive a mechanistic understanding of our observations and show how additives and rational polymer design help to create the desired coacervate emulsion life cycles.     

Chemically Controlled Condensation of Polyoxovanadates

A wide range of polyvanadates can be synthesized from aqueous solutions. Vanadium oxide gels V2O5 · nH2O are formed around the point of zero charge (pH 2). They exhibit a ribbon-like structure. Weak interactions between these ribbons lead to the formation of mesophases in which vanadium oxide gels or sols behave as nematic liquid crystals. Organic species can be easily intercalated between these oxide ribbons leading to the formation of hybrid nanocomposites made of alternative layers of organic and inorganic components. Hybrid materials can also be formed at a higher pH in the presence of large organic ions such as [N(CH3)4]+. They exhibit layered structures in which organic cations lie between polyoxovanadate planes. Such layered structures are not obtained in the presence of anions such as Cl– or I–. Cluster shell polyvanadates are then formed. They are made of negatively charged polyvanadate hollow spheres in which the negative anion is encapsulated. In this case the organic cations behave as counter ions for the formation of the hybrid crystalline network.     

Chemically Induced Sintering of Nanoparticles

We have observed solid‐state growth of pre‐existing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) upon exposure to trace (ppb) concentrations of reactive gases at room temperature. The consequent change in localized surface plasmon resonances alters the visible absorbance of dried, printed sensor spots made from inks of 10 nm‐AgNPs and provides a novel mechanism for trace detection and dosimetry of reactive gases. Colorimetric sensor arrays based on these AgNP inks offer dosimetric identification of acidic and oxidizing gases and other reactive vapors with limits of detection below ppb levels for 1 h exposures. For an array of AgNP inks with various capping agents, a unique color response pattern is observed for each specific analyte. Excellent discrimination among 11 reactive gases was demonstrated using standard chemometric methods. The chemically induced sintering of NPs paves the way for novel solid‐state sensors for the ultrasensitive detection of reactive gases and their application to the monitoring of trace airborne pollutants.     

Chemically reactive thin diffusion barriers

We assess the degree of protection against diffusion of an environmental pollutant afforded by a thin, chemically reactive surface film on a slab or membrane. For the case of an irreversible quasi-unimolecular reaction in such a surface film we derive a modified radiation boundary condition which adequately describes the presence of such a film. We show that the two extra parameters which appear in this boundary condition, an effective surface conductivity and an effective ambient concentration can be found from the permeation steady state flux and time lag through such a membrane. We compare our approximate boundary condition with that obtained for a chemically passive thin film and a newly derived boundary condition which exactly describes the transport in the composite medium — reactive film and body (slab or membrane). In certain instances such a thin, reactive film is effective as a diffusion barrier.     

Organic Electroanalysis with Chemically Modified Electrodes

Abstract

The analytical utility of electrodes modified with functionalized polymer films for the determination of aromatic amines is demonstrated. The analysis is based on the preconcentration of the protonated amines into a functionalized polymer film that contains styrene sulfonate groups. Good sensitivity and high reproducibility were obtained for concentrations down to 10^?5 M. Aliphatic amines do not interfere in the determination.     

Physically and Chemically Crosslinked Gelatin Gels

In this paper, we examine the rheological and the structural properties of different types of gelatin networks, physical, chemical and both. The physical gel is due to the formation of collagen type triple helices when cooling the solutions. Chemically crosslinked gels are obtained with a reagent, in our case the bis(vinylsulfonyl)methane (BVSM), kindly provided by Kodak Industrie (France). Each BVSM molecule provides two covalent bonds. The chemical reaction was followed by microcalorimetry (MicroDSC III from Setaram, Caluire, France). The relation between shear moduli and crosslinking for the three types of gels is discussed, in relation with theoretical models of randomly crosslinked systems.     

Swelling Behavior of Chemically Ion-Doped Hydrogels

Summary: Poly(acrylamide-co-N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide) gels were synthesized in the presence of pyranine fluoroprobe (trisodium 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonate). Pyranine binds to polymer chains through its OH group via radical addition. Thus, the final gels were doped with the pyranines having SO ions as side groups and Na⁺ as counter-ions. The swelling behavior of gels prepared with varying amounts of pyranine and monomer concentrations were studied. The swelling ratio of the synthesized gels did not exceed 35 except the 2 M gel containing 10⁻² M pyranine which are the concentrations for the abnormal swelling behavior. At this particular concentration of monomer (acrylamide) and pyranine, the mass ratio m/m₀, the mass of the swollen gel to the mass of the dried gel, reaches about 1300; a stepwise behavior was observed in the swelling kinetics. The swelling kinetics of polyacrylamide gels containing unbound (free) pyranine were compared with the swelling behavior of the gels containing chemically bound pyranine.     

A Study of Chemically Activated Ethylmethylether

The decomposition rate of the chemically activated ethylmethylether produced from dimethyl ether-oxygen-diazomethane photolysis at 3660Å have been measured to be 2～5×10⁶ sec^?1. By comparing the pressure dependent variation of rate constants with the RRKM calculation results, the strong collision behavior of dimethylether and the gaussian energy distribution of singlet methylene are determined.     

Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Chemically Active Particles

Chemically active motion is ubiquitous in many nature and artificial systems where each unit can move directionally by converting chemical energy into kinetic e...     

Chemically Programmable and Switchable CAR-T Therapy

Although macromolecules on cell surfaces are predominantly targeted and drugged with antibodies, they harbor pockets that are only accessible to small molecules and constitutes a rich subset of binding sites with immense potential diagnostic and therapeutic utility. Compared to antibodies, however, small molecules are disadvantaged by a less confined biodistribution, shorter circulatory half-life, and inability to communicate with the immune system. Presented herein is a method that endows small molecules with the ability to recruit and activate chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-Ts). It is based on a CAR-T platform that uses a chemically programmed antibody fragment (cp-Fab) as on/off switch. In proof-of-concept studies, this cp-Fab/CAR-T system targeting folate binding proteins on the cell surface mediated potent and specific eradication of folate-receptor-expressing cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.     

A Chemically Soldered Polyoxometalate Single-Molecule Transistor

Polyoxometalates have been proposed in the literature as nanoelectronic components, where they could offer key advantages with their structural versatility and rich electrochemistry. Apart from a few studies on their ensemble behaviour (as monolayers or thin films), this potential remains largely unexplored. We synthesised a pyridyl-capped Anderson–Evans polyoxometalate and used it to fabricate single-molecule junctions, using the organic termini to chemically “solder” a single cluster to two nanoelectrodes. Operating the device in an electrochemical environment allowed us to probe charge transport through different oxidation states of the polyoxometalate, and we report here an efficient three-state transistor behaviour. Conductance data fits a quantum tunnelling mechanism with different charge-transport probabilities through different charge states. Our results show the promise of polyoxometalates in nanoelectronics and give an insight on their single-entity electrochemical behaviour.     

Thermochemical Properties of Chemically Modified Zeolite

Zeolites chemically modified with 1, 4 or 6 M aqueous solutions of NaOH were studied by DTA, TG and ETA (emanation thermal analysis) in the temperature range 201–200°C. The structural changes in the modified zeolites at room temperature and in the modified zeolites annealed at 1000°C were studied by XRD analysis. Thermal analysis demonstrated dehydration, dehydroxylation, structural changes and a glass transition. A gradual loss in crystallinity of the chemically modified zeolites was also observed. XRD analysis revealed structural changes caused by chemical treatment and also by annealing.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chemically enhanced alpha-energy spectroscopy in liquids

Summary The determination of transuranic (TRU) content in nuclear wastes, reactor materials, process solutions, and various other matrices is required in support of material assessment, environmental restoration, and waste processing activities. We have found that direct measurement of TRU is possible using surface passivated ion implanted planar silicon diode detectors. The performance and durability of modern silicon diodes enables direct detection of alpha-particles, with retention of some spectral information, through small air gaps or under direct contact with liquid or solid samples. We will present results on the performance of silicon diode detectors for the determination of TRU in liquids.     

Chemically modified resins for solid-phase extraction

The packings most widely used for solid-phase extraction are hydrophobic and make poor surface contact with aqueous samples unless the resins are first treated with an activating organic solvent such as methanol. Insertion of an acetyl- or hydroxymethyl group into a porous polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin provides a more hydrophilic surface that is easily wetted by water alone. Small columns of the chemically modified resins were found to be very efficient for the solid-phase extraction of many types of organic solutes from aqueous samples. Comparative recovery studies showed that the modified resins are superior to both silica packings and unmodified organic resins for the solid-phase extraction of organic compounds, and especially for polar organics such as phenols.