UV/Vis Action Spectroscopy and Structures of Tyrosine Peptide Cation Radicals in the Gas Phase

We report the first application of UV/Vis photodissociation action spectroscopy for the structure elucidation of tyrosine peptide cation radicals produced by oxidative intramolecular electron transfer in gas‐phase metal complexes. Oxidation of Tyr‐Ala‐Ala‐Ala‐Arg (YAAAR) produces Tyr‐O radicals by combined electron and proton transfer involving the phenol and carboxyl groups. Oxidation of Ala‐Ala‐Ala‐Tyr‐Arg (AAAYR) produces a mixture of cation radicals involving electron abstraction from the Tyr phenol ring and N‐terminal amino group in combination with hydrogen‐atom transfer from the C_α positions of the peptide backbone.     

Mineralization of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles for the determination of titanium in rat tissues

In order to draw appropriate conclusions about the possible adverse biological effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂—NPs), the so-called “dose?effect” relationship must be explored. This requires proper quantification of titanium in complex matrices such as animal organs for future toxicological studies. This study presents the method development for mineralizing TiO₂—NPs for analysis of biological tissues. We compared the recovery and quantification limits of the four most commonly used mineralization methods for metal oxides. Microwave-assisted dissolution in an HNO3–HF mixture followed by H₂O₂ treatment produced the best results for a TiO₂—NPs suspension, with 96 ± 8% recovery and a limit of quantification as low as 0.9 µg/L. This method was then used for the determination of titanium levels in tissue samples taken from rats. However, our tests revealed that even this method is not sensitive enough for quantifying titanium levels in single olfactory bulbs or hippocampus in control animals.     

Investigation of chloromethane complexes of cryptophane‐A analogue with butoxy groups using 13C NMR in the solid state and solution along with single crystal X‐ray diffraction

Host‐guest complexes between cryptophane‐A analogue with butoxy groups (cryptophane‐But) and chloromethanes (chloroform, dichloromethane) were investigated in the solid state by means of magic‐angle spinning ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The separated local fields method with ¹³C‐¹H dipolar recoupling was used to determine the residual dipolar coupling for the guest molecules encaged in the host cavity. In the case of chloroform guest, the residual dipolar interaction was estimated to be about 19 kHz, consistent with a strongly restricted mobility of the guest in the cavity, while no residual interaction was observed for encaged dichloromethane. In order to rationalize this unexpected result, we performed single crystal X‐ray diffraction studies, which confirmed that both guest molecules indeed were present inside the cryptophane cavity, with a certain level of disorder. To improve the insight in the dynamics, we performed a ¹³C NMR spin‐lattice relaxation study for the dichloromethane guest in solution. The system was characterized by chemical exchange, which was slow on the chemical shift time scale but fast with respect to the relaxation rates. Despite these disadvantageous conditions, we demonstrated that the data could be analyzed and that the results were consistent with an isotropic reorientation of dichloromethane within the cryptophane cavity. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

User‐Friendly Platinum Catalysts for the Highly Stereoselective Hydrosilylation of Alkynes and Alkenes

With a view to addressing the shortcomings of traditional catalysts, a new generation of outstanding N‐ heterocyclic carbene platinum(0) complexes for the hydrosilylation of unsaturated carbon–carbon bonds is reported. Their discovery and application to the stereoselective addition of various silanes to silylated alkynes, terminal acetylenes, and olefins is presented. Insights into the catalytic cycle and the origin of the stereoselectivity are also discussed.     

Total synthesis of the antibiotic 4-hydroxycyclopent-2-en-1-one acrylate derivative EA-2801

The first total synthesis of (±)-EA-2801, a naturally occurring 4-hydroxycyclopent-2-en-1-one acrylate produced by the fungus Trichoderma atroviridae UB-LMA, was achieved The synthesis started from furfuryl alcohol, manufactured industrially from furfural, produced from waste biomass such as corncobs or sugar cane bagasse. (±)-EA-2801 was synthesized in 5 steps and 71% overall yield starting from 4-hydroxycyclopent-2-en-1-one. Enantio-pure (R)- and (S)-EA-2801 were obtained from racemic mixture by preparative chiral supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC).     

Designing Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA)‐Based Bioinks for Visible Light Stereolithographic 3D Biofabrication

Bioinks play a key role in determining the capability of the biofabricatoin processes and the resolution of the printed constructs. Excellent biocompatibility, tunable physical properties, and ease of chemical or biological modifications of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) have made it an attractive choice as bioinks for biomanufacturing of various tissues or organs. However, the current preparation methods for GelMA‐based bioinks lack the ability to tailor their physical properties for desired bioprinting methods. Inherently, GelMA prepolymer solution exhibits a fast sol–gel transition at room temperature, which is a hurdle for its use in stereolithography (SLA) bioprinting. Here, synthesis parameters are optimized such as solvents, pH, and reaction time to develop GelMA bioinks which have a slow sol–gel transition at room temperature and visible light crosslinkable functions. A total of eight GelMA combinations are identified as suitable for digital light processing (DLP)‐based SLA (DLP‐SLA) bioprinting through systematic characterizations of their physical and rheological properties. Out of various types of GelMA, those synthesized in reverse osmosis (RO) purified water (referred to as RO‐GelMA) are regarded as most suitable to achieve high DLP‐SLA printing resolution. RO‐GelMA‐based bioinks are also found to be biocompatible showing high survival rates of encapsulated cells in the photocrosslinked gels. Additionally, the astrocytes and fibroblasts are observed to grow and integrate well within the bioprinted constructs. The bioink's superior physical and photocrosslinking properties offer pathways of tuning the scaffold microenvironment and highlight the applicability of developed GelMA bioinks in various tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.     

Interval-Valued Rank in Finite Ordered Sets

We consider the concept of rank as a measure of the vertical levels and positions of elements of partially ordered sets (posets). We are motivated by the need for algorithmic measures on large, real-world hierarchically-structured data objects like the semantic hierarchies of ontological databases. These rarely satisfy the strong property of gradedness, which is required for traditional rank functions to exist. Representing such semantic hierarchies as finite, bounded posets, we recognize the duality of ordered structures to motivate rank functions with respect to verticality both from the bottom and from the top. Our rank functions are thus interval-valued, and always exist, even for non-graded posets, providing order homomorphisms to an interval order on the interval-valued ranks. The concept of rank width arises naturally, allowing us to identify the poset region with point-valued width as its longest graded portion (which we call the “spindle”). A standard interval rank function is naturally motivated both in terms of its extremality and on pragmatic grounds. Its properties are examined, including the relationship to traditional grading and rank functions, and methods to assess comparisons of standard interval-valued ranks.     

Light-Responsive Oligothiophenes Incorporating Photochromic Torsional Switches

We present a quaterthiophene and sexithiophene that can reversibly change their effective π-conjugation length through photoexcitation. The reported compounds make use of light-responsive molecular actuators consisting of an azobenzene attached to a bithiophene unit by both direct and linker-assisted bonding. Upon exposure to 350 nm light, the azobenzene undergoes trans-to-cis isomerization, thus mechanically inducing the oligothiophene to assume a planar conformation (extended π-conjugation). Exposure to 254 nm wavelength promotes azobenzene cis-to-trans isomerization, forcing the thiophenic backbones to twist out of planarity (confined π-conjugation). Twisted conformations are also reached by cis-to-trans thermal relaxation at a rate that increases proportionally with the conjugation length of the oligothiophene moiety. The molecular conformations of quaterthiophene and sexithiophene were characterized by using steady-state UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and quantum-chemical modeling. Finally, we tested the proposed light-responsive oligothiophenes in field-effect transistors to probe the photo-induced tuning of their electronic properties.