Supramolecular Assembly of Poly(propyleneimine) Dendrimers Driven By Simple Monovalent Counterions

The self‐assembly of semiglobular, positively charged poly(propyleneimine) (PPI) dendrimers with small monovalent counterions (e.g., Cl^?) in water/acetone mixtures was investigated. We showed that PPI dendrimers can assemble into hollow, spherical, single‐layered blackberry‐type structures mediated by the presence of monovalent counterions. The effects on the assembly of changing the solvent polarity and adjusting the pH were further investigated to confirm the presence of electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding as the driving forces. Results showed that PPI dendrimers form stable, hollow spheres in 5–20 % v/v acetone/water and that the size of the spheres decreases monotonically as the solvent polarity and/or the charge on the dendrimers (i.e., lower solution pH) increases. This is the first example to show that small monovalent counterions can trigger attraction among PPI dendrimers (or broadly defined polyelectrolytes) that is strong enough to bring them together to form large, stable supramolecular assemblies, which indicates that these organic macroions have similar solution behavior to more‐well‐defined inorganic molecular macroions.     

Dendronized supramolecular polymers self‐assembled from dendritic ionic liquids

The synthesis, structural, and retrostructural analysis of a library of self‐assembling dendrons containing triethyl and tripropyl ammonium, pyridinium and 3‐methylimidazolium chloride, tetrafluoroborate, and hexafluorophosphate at their apex are reported. These dendritic ionic liquids self‐assemble into supramolecular columns or spheres which self‐organize into 2D hexagonal or rectangular and 3D cubic or tetragonal liquid crystalline and crystalline lattices. Structural analysis by X‐ray diffraction experiments demonstrated the self‐assembly of supramolecular dendrimers containing columnar and spherical nanoscale ionic liquid reactors segregated in their core. Both in the supramolecular columns and spheres the noncovalent interactions mediated by the ionic liquid provide a supramolecular polymer and therefore, these assemblies represent a new class of dendronized supramolecular polymers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4165–4193, 2009     

Controlling the Structure and Length of Self‐Synthesizing Supramolecular Polymers through Nucleated Growth and Disassembly

Directing self‐assembly processes out‐of‐equilibrium to yield kinetically trapped materials with well‐defined dimensions remains a considerable challenge. Kinetically controlled assembly of self‐synthesizing peptide‐functionalized macrocycles through a nucleation–growth mechanism is reported. Spontaneous fiber formation in this system is effectively shut down as most of the material is diverted into metastable non‐assembling trimeric and tetrameric macrocycles. However, upon adding seeds to this mixture, well‐defined fibers with controllable lengths and narrow polydispersities are obtained. This seeded growth strategy also allows access to supramolecular triblock copolymers. The resulting noncovalent assemblies can be further stabilized through covalent capture. Taken together, these results show that self‐synthesizing materials, through their interplay between dynamic covalent bonds and noncovalent interactions, are uniquely suited for out‐of‐equilibrium self‐assembly.     

Supramolecular dendrimers: convenient synthesis by programmed self-assembly and tunable thermoresponsivity

We report here the noncovalent synthesis of thermosensitive dendrimers. Short oligoguanosine strands were linked to the focal point of a dendron by using "click chemistry", and quadruplex formation was used to drive the self-assembly process in the presence of metal ions. The dynamic nature of these noncovalent assemblies can be exploited to create combinatorial libraries of dendrimers as demonstrated by the co-assembly of two components. These supramolecular dendrimers showed thermoresponsive behavior that can be tuned by varying the templating cations or the number of guanines in the oligonucleotide strand.     

Dendrimeric siRNA for Efficient Gene Silencing

Programmable molecular self‐assembly of siRNA molecules provides precisely controlled generation of dendrimeric siRNA nanostructures. The second‐generation dendrimers of siRNA can be effectively complexed with a low‐molecular‐weight, cationic polymer (poly(β‐amino ester), PBAE) to generate stable nanostructures about 160 nm in diameter via strong electrostatic interactions. Condensation and gene silencing efficiencies increase with the increased generation of siRNA dendrimers due to a high charge density and structural flexibility.     

Noncovalent Synthesis of Protein Dendrimers

The covalent synthesis of complex biomolecular systems such as multivalent protein dendrimers often proceeds with low efficiency, thereby making alternative strategies based on noncovalent chemistry of high interest. Here, the synthesis of protein dendrimers using a strong but noncovalent interaction between a peptide and complementary protein is proposed as an efficient strategy to arrive at dendrimers fully functionalized with protein domains. The association of S‐peptide to S‐protein results in the formation of an active enzyme (ribonuclease S) and therefore serves as an ideal system to explore this synthetic approach. Native chemical ligation was used to couple four S‐peptides by means of their C‐terminal thioester to a cysteine‐functionalized dendritic scaffold, thus yielding a tetravalent S‐peptide wedge. A fully functional ribonuclease S tetramer was prepared by addition of four equivalents of S‐protein. Biophysical techniques (isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and mass spectrometry) and an enzymatic activity assay were used to verify the formation of the multivalent complex. The noncovalent synthetic strategy presented here provides access to well‐defined, dynamic, semisynthetic protein assemblies in high yield and is therefore of interest to the field of nanomedicine as well as biomaterials.     

Self‐assembly of a new class of amphiphilic poly(amidoamine) dendrimers and their electrochemical properties

Amphiphilic poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers consisting of a hydrophilic dendrimer core and hydrophobic aromatic dansyl or 1‐(naphthalenyl)‐2‐phenyldiazene (NPD) shells have been synthesized. These amphiphilic dendrimers from the zero generation to the third generation self‐assemble into vesicular aggregates in water. The self‐assembly behavior of these dendrimers strongly depends on their generations. The generation dependence has been further investigated by an exploration of their electrochemical properties. For the PAMAM–NPD aggregates, the photoisomerization process leads to a change in the aggregate size. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5512–5519, 2005     

Specific Intermolecular Interactions in the Supramolecular Structure of 5‐Hydroxy‐6‐Methyluracil: A DFT Study of the Hydrogen‐bonded Dimers

Studying the self‐assembly of uracil derivatives has great importance for biochemistry and nanotechnology. For example, modification of the sorbent surfaces by 5‐hydroxy‐6‐methyluracil (HMU ) enhances their adsorption activity. It is assumed that these changes are caused by the self‐assembly of the network‐like supramolecular associates of the uracil derivative on the sorbent surface. In the present work, the relative stabilities of 15 hydrogen‐bonded dimers HMU have been studied by the TPSSh /TZVP density functional theory method and the strengths of the noncovalent interactions analyzed in terms of the reduced density gradient and natural bond orbital approaches. It was found that the symmetric dimer stabilized by two intermolecular hydrogen bonds N1 –H∙∙∙O–C2 (dimer 1‐1) is the most stable. This suggests that the self‐assembly of HMU should occur through the intermediate formation of the dimer 1‐1. The results may be useful for understanding the processes of self‐assembly of the uracil derivatives and the rationalized design of the uracil‐based supramolecular structures with specific properties.     

Controlled MegaDalton assembly with locally stiff but globally flexible polyphenylene dendrimers

The divergent polyphenylene dendrimer synthesis of the largest chemically monodisperse molecules to date, up to 28 nm at 271.6 kDa for the sixth generation, is presented. Monodispersity, conformational flexibility, and an assembly behavior reminiscent of multimeric proteins for the locally stiff, macroporous dendrimers were evaluated with a combination of molecular and polymer characterization tools, namely size exclusion chromatography, atomic force microscopy, ultrahigh-mass MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, and dynamic light scattering. Remarkably, the high-precision MegaDalton assembly of shape-adaptable dendrimers occurs in the absence of electrostatic or hydrogen-bonding interactions and is the product of Lilliputian solvophobic interactions, mediated by the dendrimer arm size, shape, and stiffness. This covalent/noncovalent approach offers a general molecular shaping motif that is completely different than what has been previously accessible with conventional self-assembly.     

Self‐Assembly through Coordination and π‐Stacking: Controlled Switching of Circularly Polarized Luminescence

Multiple noncovalent interactions can drive self‐assembly through different pathways. Here, by coordination‐assisted changes in π‐stacking modes between chromophores in pyrene‐conjugated histidine (PyHis), a self‐assembly system with reversible and inversed switching of supramolecular chirality, as well as circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is described. It was found that l ‐PyHis self‐assembled into nanofibers showing P‐chirality and right‐handed CPL. Upon Zn^II coordination, the nanofibers changed into nanospheres with M‐chirality, as well as left‐handed CPL. The process is reversible and the M‐chirality can change to P‐chirality by removing the Zn^II ions. Experimental and theoretical models unequivocally revealed that the cooperation of metal coordination and π‐stacking modes are responsible the reversible switching of supramolecular chirality. This work not only provides insight into how multiple noncovalent interactions regulate self‐assembly pathways.     

Ferrocenyl amphiphilic Janus dendrimers as redox‐responsive micellar carriers

Amphiphilic Janus dendrimers have attracted increasing attention due to their asymmetric structures and various functional properties compared to the conventional symmetric macromolecules. Herein, a novel ferrocenyl‐terminated amphiphilic Janus dendrimer containing nine hydrophilic triethylene glycol branches was synthesized by two synthetic routes, namely the typical chemo selective coupling method and the mixed modular approach. Chemical redox triggers, namely Fe₂(SO₄)₃ as oxidant and ascorbic acid as reductant, could regulate the self‐assembly behavior of the Janus dendrimer in water through the redox‐switching between ferrocene and ferricinium cations, and the change of micelles formed were investigated and confirmed through scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The cargo‐loading property of the micelles self‐assembled by the Janus dendrimer was further proved by the successful fabrication of Rhodamine B (RhB)‐loaded micelles, and the oxidation‐triggered release behavior of the encapsulated RhB could be mediated by changing the concentration of oxidants. This work provides an effective approach to prepare ferrocenyl‐terminated amphiphilic Janus dendrimers and the self‐assembled micelles might be used as a promising molecular carrier in areas such as drug delivery and catalysis.     

Robust Ordered Bundles of Porous Helical Nanotubes Assembled from Fully Rigid Ionic Benzene‐1,3,5‐tricarboxamides

Size‐controlled and ordered assemblies of artificial nanotubes are promising for practical applications; however, the supramolecular assembly of such systems remains challenging. A novel strategy is proposed that can be used to reinforce intermolecular noncovalent interactions to construct hierarchical supramolecular structures with fixed sizes and long‐range ordering by introducing ionic terminals and fully rigid arms into benzene‐1,3,5‐tricarboxamide (BTA) molecules. A series of similar BTA molecules with distinct terminal groups and arm lengths are synthesized; all form hexagonal bundles of helical rosette nanotubes spontaneously in water. Despite differences in molecular packing, the dimensions and bundling of the supramolecular nanotubes show almost identical concentration dependence for all molecules. The similarities of the hierarchical assemblies, which tolerate certain molecular irregularities, can extend to properties such as the void ratio of the nanotubular wall. This is a rational strategy that can be used to achieve supramolecular nanotubes in aqueous environments with precise size and ordering at the same time as allowing molecular modifications for functionality.     

Nanodiamonds Used as a Platform for Studying Noncovalent Interaction by MALDI‐MS

作为一种新的,易于实现的快速分析方法,纳米金刚石被应用基于基质隔离激光解吸附电离质谱的非共价相互作用的研究中。表面覆盖有“饵分析物”的纳米金刚石被加入到含有“目标分析物”的溶液中,通过离心的方法进行分离,并用水清洗后再利用基质隔离激光解吸附电离质谱进行分析。同时,通过比较加入纳米金刚石前后的溶液的质谱图,亦可得到相关信息。这种平台可应用于分子间非共价相互作用的研究,并可进一步应用于选择性增强的基质隔离激光解吸附电离质谱分析中,一个例子就是表面覆盖聚赖氨酸的纳米金刚石在磷酸化多肽的质谱分析的应用。     

Superhydrogels of Nanotubes Capable of Capturing Heavy‐Metal Ions

Self‐assembly regulated by hydrogen bonds was successfully achieved in the system of lithocholic acid (LCA) mixed with three organic amines, ethanolamine (EA), diethanolamine (DEA), and triethanolamine (TEA), in aqueous solutions. The mixtures of DEA/LCA exhibit supergelation capability and the hydrogels consist of plenty of network nanotubes with uniform diameters of about 60 nm determined by cryogenic TEM. Interestingly, the sample with the same concentration in a system of EA and LCA is a birefringent solution, in which spherical vesicles and can be transformed into nanotubes as the amount of LCA increases. The formation of hydrogels could be driven by the delicate balance of diverse noncovalent interactions, including electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, steric effects, van der Waals forces, and mainly hydrogen bonds. The mechanism of self‐assembly from spherical bilayer vesicles into nanotubes was proposed. The dried hydrogels with nanotubes were explored to exhibit the excellent capability for capturing heavy‐metal ions, for example, Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Hg²⁺. The superhydrogels of nanotubes from the self‐assembly of low‐molecular‐weight gelators mainly regulated by hydrogen bonds used for the removal of heavy‐metal ions is simple, green, and high efficiency, and provide a strategic approach to removing heavy‐metal ions from industrial sewage.     

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.     

Self‐assembly: An intriguing relationship between structures of metal complexes and shapes of ancient Chinese characters

Self‐assembly is a fundamental principle, which generates structural organization on all scales from molecules to galaxies. In the field of chemistry and materials science, the self‐assembly process driven by noncovalent interactions offers considerable advantages over the stepwise bond formation in the construction of large supramolecular assemblies with different sizes and shapes. The structures of metal clusters are mainly constructed from the assembly of mononuclear metal center to dinuclear, trinuclear species, and so on. It is of interest that Chinese ancient people also used this concept to create and encrypt characters. Herein, we report on an intriguing relationship between structures of metal complexes and the shapes of ancient Chinese characters, in which the self‐assembly principle is clearly demonstrated.     

Hierarchical Self‐Assembly of Supramolecular Hydrophobic Metallacycles into Ordered Nanostructures

We describe herein the hierarchical self‐assembly of discrete supramolecular metallacycles into ordered fibers or spherical particles through multiple noncovalent interactions. A new series of well‐defined metallacycles decorated with long alkyl chains were obtained through metal–ligand interactions, which were capable of aggregating into ordered fibroid or spherical nanostructures on the surface, mostly driven by hydrophobic interactions. In‐depth studies indicated that the morphology diversity was originated from the structural information encoded in the metallacycles, including the number of alkyl chains and their spatial orientation. Interestingly, the morphology of the metallacycle aggregates could be tuned by changing the solvent polarity. These findings are of special significance since they provide a simple yet highly controllable approach to prepare ordered and tunable nanostructures from small building blocks by means of hierarchical self‐assembly.     

Adaptive Correction from Virtually Complex Dynamic Libraries: The Role of Noncovalent Interactions in Structural Selection and Folding

The hierarchical self‐assembling of complex molecular systems is dictated by the chemical and structural information stored in their components. This information can be expressed through an adaptive process that determines the structurally fittest assembly under given environmental conditions. We have set up complex disulfide‐based dynamic covalent libraries of chemically and topologically diverse pseudopeptidic compounds. We show how the reaction evolves from very complex mixtures at short reaction times to the almost exclusive formation of a major compound, through the establishment of intramolecular noncovalent interactions. Our experiments demonstrate that the systems evolve through error‐check and error‐correction processes. The nature of these interactions, the importance of the folding and the effects of the environment are also discussed.     

Multistimuli‐Responsive Supramolecular Assembly of Cucurbituril/Cyclodextrin Pairs with an Azobenzene‐Containing Bispyridinium Guest

A linear supramolecular architecture was successfully constructed by the inclusion complexation of α‐cyclodextrin with azobenzene and the host‐stabilized charge‐transfer interaction of naphthalene and a bispyridinium guest with cucurbit[8]uril in water, which was comprehensively characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, UV/Vis absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroism spectroscopy, dynamic laser scattering, and microscopic observations. Significantly, because it benefits from the photoinduced isomerization of the azophenyl group and the chemical reduction of bispyridinium moiety with noncovalent connections, the assembly/disassembly process of this supramolecular nanostructure can be efficiently modulated by external stimuli, including temperature, UV and visible‐light irradiation, and chemical redox.     

Supramolecular Organogels Based on Dendrons and Dendrimers

Dendrons and dendrimers have well‐defined, discrete structures that can be precisely controlled at the molecular lever. Owing to their unique architectures and multiple functionalities, dendritic molecules have shown intensive self‐assembly behavior and functional performance. In particular, they have been shown to be promising candidates for applications in the assembly of gel‐phase materials. Furthermore, the introduction of suitable functional moieties into the core, the branches, and/or the periphery of the dendritic gelators enables the construction of smart and functional supramolecular gel materials. Over the past decade, a number of dendritic organogelators that are based on poly(amino acid), poly(amide), and poly(aryl ether) dendrons, or together with multiple alkyl chains on the periphery, have been reported. This review describes the important developments in dendritic organogelators, with an emphasis on new strategies for the molecular design of dendritic gelators, understanding of driving forces for gel formation, and their evolution for potential applications in smart soft materials.