1D NMR Homodecoupled 1H Spectra with Scalar Coupling Constants from 2D NemoZS‐DIAG Experiments

A two‐dimensional liquid‐state NMR experiment cleanly separating chemical shifts and scalar couplings information is introduced. This DIAG experiment takes advantage of a drastic reduction of the spectral window in the indirect dimension to be quickly recorded and of a new non‐equidistant modulation of the selective pulse to improve the sensitivity of the broadband homodecoupling Zangger–Sterk sequence element by one order of magnitude. A simple automatic analysis results in 1D spectra displaying singlets and lists of the scalar couplings for first‐order multiplets. This facilitates the analysis of 1D spectra by resolving multiplets based on their differences in chemical shifts and coupling structures.     

A Ruthenium(II)–Copper(II) Dyad for the Photocatalytic Oxygenation of Organic Substrates Mediated by Dioxygen Activation

Dioxygen activation by copper complexes is a valuable method to achieve oxidation reactions for sustainable chemistry. The development of a catalytic system requires regeneration of the Cu^I active redox state from Cu^II. This is usually achieved using extra reducers that can compete with the Cu^II(O₂) oxidizing species, causing a loss of efficiency. An alternative would consist of using a photosensitizer to control the reduction process. Association of a Ru^II photosensitizing subunit with a Cu^II pre‐catalytic moiety assembled within a unique entity is shown to fulfill these requirements. In presence of a sacrificial electron donor and light, electron transfer occurs from the Ru^II center to Cu^II. In presence of dioxygen, this dyad proved to be efficient for sulfide, phosphine, and alkene catalytic oxygenation. Mechanistic investigations gave evidence about a predominant ³O₂ activation pathway by the Cu^I moiety.     

Solubility and Crystallizability: Facile Access to Functionalized π‐Conjugated Compounds with Chlorendylimide Protecting Groups

Functional π‐conjugated molecules are relevant for the preparation of new organic electronic materials with improved performance. However, their synthesis is often rendered difficult by their inherently low solubility, and the permanent attachment of solubilizing groups may change the properties of the material. Here, we introduced the chlorendylimidyl moiety as a new temporary protecting group for the straightforward large‐scale synthesis of protected quarter‐, sexi‐, octathiophene, and perylene bisimide diamine and dicarboxylic acid derivatives. The obtained chlorendylimides and chlorendylimidyl active esters were highly soluble in organic solvents, and optical spectroscopy confirmed the low tendency of the compounds to aggregate in solution. At the same time, they could be conveniently purified by recrystallization or precipitation. Single‐crystal X‐ray structures obtained for most compounds showed supramolecular motifs highlighting the role of the rigid, polychlorinated chlorendyl moieties in their crystallization. The obtained protected diamine and dicarboxylic acid derivatives were easily deprotected and converted into various amide‐substituted oligothiophenes and perylene bisimides that are of interest as new functional materials for organic electronic thin film or nanowire devices.     

An Accurate In Vitro Model of the E. coli Envelope

Gram‐negative bacteria are an increasingly serious source of antibiotic‐resistant infections, partly owing to their characteristic protective envelope. This complex, 20 nm thick barrier includes a highly impermeable, asymmetric bilayer outer membrane (OM), which plays a pivotal role in resisting antibacterial chemotherapy. Nevertheless, the OM molecular structure and its dynamics are poorly understood because the structure is difficult to recreate or study in vitro. The successful formation and characterization of a fully asymmetric model envelope using Langmuir–Blodgett and Langmuir–Schaefer methods is now reported. Neutron reflectivity and isotopic labeling confirmed the expected structure and asymmetry and showed that experiments with antibacterial proteins reproduced published in vivo behavior. By closely recreating natural OM behavior, this model provides a much needed robust system for antibiotic development.     

The Application of TD/GC/NICI–MS with an Al2O3-PLOT-S Column for the Determination of Perfluoroalkylcycloalkanes in the Atmosphere

A modified method for the quantitative determination of atmospheric perfluoroalkylcycloalkanes (PFCs) using thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography and detection by negative ion chemical ionization–mass spectrometry was developed. Using an optimized analytical system, a commercially available Al₂O₃ porous layer open tubular (PLOT) capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm) deactivated with Na₂SO₄ was used for separation of PFCs. Improvements in the separation of PFCs, the corresponding identification and the limit of detection of PFCs using this method and column are presented. The method was successfully applied to determine the atmospheric background concentrations of a range of PFCs from a number of samples collected at a rural site in Germany. The results of this study suggest that the method outlined using the Al₂O₃-PLOT-S capillary column has good sensitivity and selectivity, and that it can be deployed in a routine laboratory process for the analysis of PFCs in the future research work. In addition, the ability of this column to separate the isomers of one of the lower boiling PFCs (perfluorodimethylcyclobutane) and its ability to resolve perfluoroethylcyclohexane offer the opportunity for single-column analysis for multiple PFCs.     

On-chip multi-electrochemical sensor array platform for simultaneous screening of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite

In this work we report on the design, microfabrication and analytical performances of a new electrochemical sensor array (ESA) which allows for the first time the simultaneous amperometric detection of nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)), two biologically relevant molecules. The on-chip device includes individually addressable sets of gold ultramicroelectrodes (UMEs) of 50 μm diameter, Ag/AgCl reference electrode and gold counter electrode. The electrodes are separated into two groups; each has one reference electrode, one counter electrode and 110 UMEs specifically tailored to detect a specific analyte. The ESA is incorporated on a custom interface with a cell culture well and spring contact pins that can be easily interconnected to an external multichannel potentiostat. Each UME of the network dedicated to the detection of NO is electrochemically modified by electrodepositing thin layers of poly(eugenol) and poly(phenol). The detection of NO is performed amperometrically at 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl in phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH = 7.4) and other buffers adapted to biological cell culture, using a NO-donor. The network of UMEs dedicated to the detection of ONOO(-) is used without further chemical modification of the surface and the uncoated gold electrodes operate at -0.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl to detect the reduction of ONOOH in PBS. The selectivity issue of both sensors against major biologically relevant interfering analytes is examined. Simultaneous detection of NO and ONOO(-) in PBS is also achieved.     

An Efficient Photoinduced Deprotection of Aromatic Acetals and Ketals

A novel type of photodeprotection reaction of simple aromatic acetals and ketals is described. The deprotection is highly efficient under optimized conditions. The aromatic ring confers the photoreactivity to the compounds. The efficiency of the process depends on the structure of the acetal moiety. The common minor side reaction, the photooxidation, becomes the major reaction pathway in the cases of cyclic acetals. The use of photon as only reagent makes this procedure especially attractive for acetal deprotection.     

Electrochemical behaviour and voltammetric sensitivity at arrays of nanoscale interfaces between immiscible liquids

Arrays of nanoscale interfaces between immiscible electrolyte solutions were formed using silicon nitride nanopore array membranes. Nanopores in the range from 75 nm radius down to 17 nm radius were used to form the nano-interfaces. It was found that the liquid organic phase electrolyte solution filled the pores so that inlaid nano-interfaces were formed with the aqueous phase. Cyclic voltammetry at these nano-interface arrays demonstrated steady-state behaviour at the larger interfaces but the voltammetric wave-shape became progressively worse as the interface size decreased. It was found that the ion transfer currents were ca. 50% of those expected based on theoretical calculations, which is attributed to overlap of diffusion zones at adjacent nano-interfaces. Here, the separation between adjacent nano-interfaces was 20-times the interface radius. The analytical sensitivity for ion transfer from the aqueous to the 1,6-dichlorohexane organic phase was estimated from calibration plots of current density versus concentration of aqueous tetraethylammonium cation. The sensitivity was in the range of 65 μA cm(-2) μM(-1) (at 75 nm radius interfaces) to 265 μA cm(-2) μM(-1) (at 17 nm radius interfaces). The sensitivity depended directly on the inverse of the nano-interface radius, implying that smaller interfaces will provide better sensitivity, due to the enhanced flux of analyte arising from convergent diffusion to smaller electrochemical interfaces.     

Violet-to-blue tunable emission of aryl-substituted dispirofluorene-indenofluorene isomers by conformationally-controllable intramolecular excimer formation

Two series of DiSpiroFluorene-IndenoFluorene (DSF-IF) positional isomers, namely dispiro[2,7-diarylfluorene-9',6,9',12-indeno[1,2-b]fluorenes], (1,2-b)-DSF-IFs 1 and dispiro[2,7-diarylfluorene-9',6,9',12-indeno[2,1-a]fluorenes], (2,1-a)-DSF-IFs 2 have been synthesized. These violet-to-blue fluorescent emitters possess a 3π-2spiro architecture, which combines via two spiro links two different indenofluorene cores, that is, (1,2-b)-IF or (2,1-a)-IF and 2,7-substituted-diaryl-fluorene units. Due to their different geometric profiles, the two families of positional isomers present drastically different properties. The marked difference observed between the properties of (1,2-b)-DSF-IF (1) and (2,1-a)-DSF-IF (2) is discussed in terms of intramolecular π-π interactions occurring in (2,1-a)-DSF-IF (2) leading to conformationally-controllable intramolecular excimer formation. Indeed, the original geometry of the (2,1-a)-DSF-IF (2) family, with face-to-face "aryl-fluorene-aryl" moieties, leads to remarkable excimer emission through intramolecular π-π interactions in the excited state. Furthermore, the emission wavelengths can be gradually modulated by the control of the steric hindrance between the adjacent substituted phenyl rings. Thus, through a comparative and detailed study of the (1)H NMR, electrochemical and photophysical properties of DSF-IFs 1 and 2, we have evidenced the intramolecular π-π interactions occurring between the two "aryl-fluorene-aryl" moieties in the ground state and in the excited state. These properties have been finally correlated to the spectacular conformational change modeled by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Indeed, the two "aryl-fluorene-aryl" moieties switch from a staggered conformation in the ground state to an eclipsed conformation in the first excited state.