The promoting effect of a dicyanamide based ionic liquid in the selective hydrogenation of citral

Conventional supported heterogeneous palladium catalysts in combination with a dicyanamide based ionic liquid are highly active with excellent selectivity in enabling the one-pot synthesis of citronellal through citral hydrogenation.     

Ionic Liquids: New Perspectives for Inorganic Synthesis?

Ionic liquids are credited with a number of unusual properties. These include a low vapor pressure, a wide liquid‐phase range, weakly coordinating properties, and a high thermal/chemical stability. These properties are certainly of great interest for inorganic synthesis and the creation of novel inorganic compounds. On the other hand, the synthesis repertoire for preparing inorganic compounds has always been broad, ranging from syntheses in solutions and melts to solid‐state reactions, and from crystal growth in the gas phase to high‐pressure syntheses. What new aspects can ionic liquids then add to the synthesis of inorganic compounds? This Minireview uses some early examples to show that the use of ionic liquids indeed provides access to unusual inorganic compounds.     

Free-standing biomimetic polymer membrane imaged with atomic force microscopy

Fluid polymeric biomimetic membranes are probed with atomic force microscopy (AFM) using probes with both normal tetrahedrally shaped tips and nanoneedle-shaped Ag(2)Ga rods. When using nanoneedle probes, the collected force volume data show three distinct membrane regions which match the expected membrane structure when spanning an aperture in a hydrophobic scaffold. The method used provides a general method for mapping attractive fluid surfaces. In particular, the nanoneedle probing allows for characterization of free-standing biomimetic membranes with thickness on the nanometer scale suspended over 300-μm-wide apertures, where the membranes are stable toward hundreds of nanoindentations without breakage.     

How preparation and modification parameters affect PB‐PEO polymersome properties in aqueous solution

The effect of formation and modification methods on the physical properties of polymersomes is critical for their use in applications relying on their ability to mimic functional properties of biological membranes. In this study, we compared two formation methods for polymersomes made from polybutadiene‐polyethylene oxide diblock copolymers: detergent‐mediated film rehydration (DFR) and solvent evaporation (SE). DFR‐prepared polymersomes showed a three times higher permeability compared to SE‐prepared polymersomes as revealed by stopped‐flow light scattering. SE‐prepared polymersomes broke down faster to structures <50 nm diameter when processed with extrusion, which was more pronounced at 5 mg mL^?1, compared to 10, 20, and 25 mg mL^?1. Our results indicate that the bilayer of SE‐prepared polymersomes has a lower apparent fluidity. We also investigated the role of n‐octyl‐β‐d ‐glucopyranoside (OG), a detergent typically used for reconstitution of membrane proteins into lipid bilayers. Specifically, we compared dialysis and biobeads for OG removal to investigate the influence of these methods on bilayer conformation and polymer rearrangement following detergent removal. There was no significant difference found between method, temperature, or time within each method. Our findings provide insight on how biocompatible polymersome production affects the physical properties of the resulting polymersomes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1581–1592     

Ein synthetisches Kaffeearoma

Initiated by the experiences of World War I Hermann Staudinger tried to create a synthetic coffee flavor and asked his assistant Tadeusz Reichstein first with the isolation and analysis of the natural flavor followed by the development of a synthetic substitute. Reichstein worked from 1922 until 1932 to solve this task which proved to be very intricate. Since 1928 he worked closely together with Max Kerschbaum from “Haarman and Reimer”, then the leading company for artificial flavors. They finished their research without being able to create with their “Coffarom” a real substitute for the natural coffee flavor. Nevertheless this project is of significant interest for the history of chemistry because of the highly sophisticated microchemical methods applied as well as it is interesting as an early example of the cooperation between university‐based scientific research and industry‐sponsored applied chemistry. When Max Morgenthaler, working for the Nestlé company developed his “Nescafé”, the ascent of this firm to the biggest food producing conglomerate in the world began.