Enhancing Gelation Ability of a Dendritic Gelator through Complexation with a Polyelectrolyte

Let's stick together : The gelation ability of a dendritic gelator has been enhanced by its complexation with a polyelectrolyte (see figure). This concept provides a route to construct novel functional or ordered materials by complexation of other low‐molecular‐mass functional species with polyelectrolytes.

     

The Synthesis of Amide Dendritic Gelators and its Self-assembly Behavior in MMA

Three kinds of amide dendritic gelators, G₁-C₁₂-G₁, G₂-C₁₂-G₂ and gelator-1, were synthesized, and their self-assemble behavior in methyl methacrylate (MMA) was firstly investigated. The structures of the amide dendritic gelators were confirmed by ¹H-NMR and Mass spectra (MS). The gelation ability of the amide dendritic gelators was researched through tube inversion experiment, the results of which showed that different structures led to quite different gelation ability, including gel-sol temperature and critical concentration to form a stable gel. SEM experiments showed that three kinds of gelator formed different gel morphologies in MMA, all of which were nanoscale gel. All the three amide dendritic gelators could not only form stable gel network at certain temperature with different concentrations in MMA, but also in each case, an optically transparent gel was formed, which indicated dendrimers in the MMA had a good compatibility.     

Water‐Regulated Self‐Assembly Structure Transformation and Gelation Behavior Prediction Based on a Hydrazide Derivative

Herein, we report the water‐regulated supramolecular self‐assembly structure transformation and the predictability of the gelation ability based on an azobenzene derivative bearing a hydrazide group, namely, N‐(3,4,5‐tributoxyphenyl)‐N′‐4‐[(4‐hydroxyphenyl)azophenyl] benzohydrazide (BNB‐t4). The regulation effects are demonstrated in the morphological transformation from spherical to lamellar particles then back to spherical in different solvent ratios of n‐propanol/water. The self‐assembly behavior of BNB‐t4 was characterized by minimum gelation concentration, microstructure, thermal, and mechanical stabilities. From the spectroscopy studies, it is suggested that gel formation of BNB‐t4 is mainly driven by intermolecular hydrogen bonding, accompanied with the contribution from π–π stacking as well as hydrophobic interactions. The successfully established correlation between the self‐assembly behavior and solubility parameters yields a facile way to predict the gelation performance of other molecules in other single or mixed solvents.     

Synthesis of Novel Dendrimers Containing Amino Acids and Peptides

Dendrimers are known for their well-defined, regular, highly branched architectures with a large number of functional groups1. Recently, dendrimers have been widely researched in different fields, such as molecular light havesting, catalysts, liquid cryst…     

Bifunctional Dendrimers: From Robust Synthesis and Accelerated One‐Pot Postfunctionalization Strategy to Potential Applications

A fourth wheel : Two sets of bifunctional AB₂C dendrimers having internal acetylene/azides and external hydroxy groups were constructed utilizing benign synthetic protocols. An in situ postfunctionalization strategy was successfully carried out to illustrate the chemoselective nature of these dendrimers. The dendrimers were also transformed into dendritic nanoparticles or utilized as dendritic crosslinkers for the fabrication hydrogels.

     

Core Functionality and Scaling Behavior of Lysine Dendrimers

Summary: A scaling exponent to describe the dependence of the hydrodynamic radius as a characteristic length of the molecule on the molecular weight, has been determined for low generation dendrimers with a thiacalixarene core and lysine dendrons. The hydrodynamic radius has been calculated from the diffusion coefficient measured by pulsed‐field‐gradient NMR spectroscopy. Scaling exponents of 2.0 for the lysine monodendron, 2.3 for a dendrimer with a bifunctional core, and 3.9 for a dendrimer with a tetrafunctional core have been determined. For a given structure of the dendrons, the scaling exponent reflects the functionality of the core of the dendrimers.

Hydrodynamic radius of lysine dendrons as a function of molar mass.     

Self‐Assembly of a Chiral Lipid Gelator Controlled by Solvent and Speed of Gelation

Glutamine derivative 1 with two‐photon absorbing units has been synthesized and was found to show gelation ability in some solvents. Its self‐assembly in the gel phase could be controlled by the solvent and speed of gelation. For example, in DMSO the organogelator self‐assembled into H‐aggregates with weak exciton coupling between the aromatic moieties. On the other hand, in DMSO/diphenyl ether (1:9, v/v) the molecules formed 1D aggregates, but with strong exciton coupling due to the small distance between the chromophores. Moreover, the formation of these two kinds of aggregates could be adjusted by the ratio of DMSO to diphenyl ether. In DMSO/toluene, DMSO/butanol, DMSO/butyl acetate, and DMSO/acetic acid systems similar results were observed. Therefore, conversion of the packing model occurs irrespective of the nature of the solvent. Notably, a unique sign inversion in the CD spectra could be realized by controlling the speed of gelation in the DMSO/diphenyl ether (1:9, v/v) system. It was found that a low speed of gelation induces the gelator to adopt a packing model with strong π–π interactions between the aromatic units. Moreover, the gels, when excited at 800 nm, emit strong green fluorescence and the quantum chemical calculations suggest that intramolecular charge transfer leads to two‐photon absorption of the gelator molecule.     

新型树枝状PNP铬催化剂的合成及催化性能

以1.0代聚酰胺-胺(PAMAM)为配体骨架,氯代二苯基膦为原料,通过取代反应合成了1种含有较大空间位阻的新型树枝状PNP配体,再以Cr Cl3(THF)3为络合试剂,通过络合反应合成树枝状PNP铬催化剂.采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、紫外-可见分光光度计(UV-Vis)、核磁共振波谱(NMR)、电喷雾电离质谱(ESI-MS)和元素分析等手段证实合成的新型树枝状PNP配体及其铬催化剂的结构与理论设计的结构一致.以甲基铝氧烷(MAO)为助催化剂,对乙烯齐聚反应进行了研究,考察了溶剂种类、反应温度、反应压力及Al/Cr摩尔比对该催化剂活性和选择性的影响.结果表明,以甲苯为溶剂,MAO为助催化剂,当反应温度为25℃,反应压力为0.9 MPa,Al/Cr摩尔比为500时,该催化剂的活性高达2.15×105g/(mol Cr·h),催化剂对乙烯三聚、四聚反应的选择性共达到36.76%.     

Chromophoric and Dendritic Phosphoramidites Enable Construction of Functional Dendrimers with Exceptional Brightness and Water Solubility

The fluorescence brightness of a molecular probe determines whether it can be effectively measured and its water solubility dictates if it can be applied in real‐world biological systems. However, molecules brighter than the most efficient fluorescent dyes or particles brighter than quantum dots are hard to come by, especially when they must also be soluble in water. In this report, chromophoric phosphoramidites are used in a solid‐state synthesis to construct functional dendrimers. When highly twisted chromophores are chosen and the proper spacers and dendrons are introduced, the resultant dendrimers emit exceptionally bright fluorescence. Chromophores, spacers, and dendrons are stitched together by efficient phosphoramidite reagents, which afford high‐yield water‐soluble phosphodiester linkages after deprotection. The resulting water‐soluble dendrimers are exceptionally bright.     

Enhancing Biocompatible Stability of DNA Nanostructures Using Dendritic Oligonucleotides and Brick Motifs

The use of DNA‐based nanomaterials in biomedical applications is continuing to grow, yet more emphasis is being put on the need for guaranteed structural stability of DNA nanostructures in physiological conditions. Various methods have been developed to stabilize DNA origami against low concentrations of divalent cations and the presence of nucleases. However, existing strategies typically require the complete encapsulation of nanostructures, which makes accessing the encased DNA strands difficult, or chemical modification, such as covalent crosslinking of DNA strands. We present a stabilization method involving the synthesis of DNA brick nanostructures with dendritic oligonucleotides attached to the outer surface. We find that nanostructures assembled from DNA brick motifs remain stable against denaturation without any chemical modifications. Furthermore, densely coating the outer surface of DNA brick nanostructures with dendritic oligonucleotides prevents nuclease digestion.     

Inside Cover: Bifunctional Dendrimers: From Robust Synthesis and Accelerated One‐Pot Postfunctionalization Strategy to Potential Applications (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 12/2009)

By taking advantage of “click” chemistry's chemoselective nature, a new platform of bifunctional AB₂C dendrimers, having acetylene/azide groups anchored within the interior and hydroxy groups on the periphery, has been realized. In their Communication on page 2126 ff. M. Malkoch and co‐workers reveal a simple synthetic route for two sets of frameworks. To illustrate the utility of AB₂C dendrimers they were used in a one‐pot postfunctionalization protocol, in the development of dendritic nanoparticles, and in the formation of hydrogels.

     

Noncovalent Macromolecular Architectures of Oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)s (OPVs): Role of End Functional Groups on the Gelation of Organic Solvents

Summary: Self-assembly of a few OPV derivatives having different end functional groups to aggregates, fibrous networks and organogels are discussed. OPV1 and OPV2 functionalized with ester moieties form gels in nonpolar hydrocarbon solvents whereas OPV3 with carboxylic acid groups form gel from THF and dichloromethane. OPV4 with dicyano moieties form aggregates but could not gelate solvents. AFM and TEM studies revealed considerable difference in the morphology of the self-assembled structures of OPV1-4 . From the optical, morphological and gelation data it is concluded that the nature of the end functional groups strongly influences upon the self-assembly and gelation properties of OPVs.     

A New Class of Dendritic Metallogels with Multiple Stimuli‐Responsiveness and as Templates for the In Situ Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles

A new class of poly(aryl ether) dendritic ligands containing a pyridine functionality at the focal point and the corresponding Ag^I complexes through metal–ligand coordination were designed, synthesized, and fully characterized. Compared with the dendritic ligands, the corresponding dendritic complexes exhibited much better gelation ability for various organic solvents at very low critical gelation concentrations. The gel–sol phase transition temperatures and morphologies could be finely tuned by binding silver ion to the ligand. A preliminary study revealed that multiple noncovalent interactions, such as Ag^I–pyridine coordination, solvophobic interaction, and π–π stacking, synergistically enable the formation of stable metallogels. Interestingly, these metallogels could intelligently respond to multiple external stimuli including temperature, chemicals, and shear stress, leading to gel–sol phase transitions. In addition, these dendritic metallogels were successfully applied as templates for the in situ formation and stabilization of silver nanoparticles without the use of any chemical reducing/stabilizing agents.