Double‐crosslinked reversible redox‐responsive hydrogels based on disulfide–thiol interchange

We present novel redox‐responsive hydrogels based on poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) or poly(acrylamide), consisting of a reversible disulfide crosslinking agent N,N′‐bis(acryloyl)cystamine and a permanent crosslinking agent N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide for microfluidic applications. The mechanism of swelling/deswelling behavior starts with the cleavage and reformation of disulfide bonds, leading to a change of crosslinking density and crosslinking points. Raman and ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy confirm that conversion efficiency of thiol–disulfide interchange up to 99%. Rheological analysis reveals that the E modulus of hydrogel is dependent on the crosslinking density and can be repeatedly manipulated between high‐ and low‐stiffness states over at least 5 cycles without significant decrease. Kinetic studies showed that the mechanical strength of the gels changes as the redox reaction proceeds. This process is much faster than the autonomous diffusion in the hydrogel. Moreover, cooperative diffusion coefficient (D_coop) indicates that the swelling process of the hydrogel is affected by the reduction reaction. Finally, this reversibly switchable redox behavior of bulky hydrogel could be proven in microstructured hydrogel dots through short‐term photopatterning process. These hydrogel dots on glass substrates also showed the desired short response time on cyclic swelling and shrinking processes known from downsized hydrogel shapes. Such stimuli‐responsive hydrogels with redox‐sensitive crosslinkers open a new pathway in exchanging analytes for sensing and separating in microfluidics applications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 2590–2601     

Structure‐Directing Forces in Intercluster Compounds of Cationic [Ag14(CCtBu)12Cl]+ Building Blocks and Polyoxometalates: Long‐Range versus Short‐Range Bonding Interactions

Crystallization of [Ag₁₄(C?CtBu)₁₂Cl][BF₄] and different polyoxometalates in organic solvents yields a series of new intercluster compounds: [Ag₁₄(C?CtBu)₁₂Cl(CH₃CN)]₂[W₆O₁₉] ( 1 ), (nBu₄N)[Ag₁₄(C?CtBu)₁₂Cl(CH₃CN)]₂[PW₁₂O₄₀] ( 2 ), and [Ag₁₄(C?CtBu)₁₂Cl]₂[Ag₁₄(C?CtBu)₁₂Cl(CH₃CN)]₂[SiMo₁₂O₄₀] ( 3 ). Applying the same technique to a system starting from polymeric {[Ag₃(C?CtBu)₂][BF₄]?0.6 H₂O}_n and the polyoxometalate (nBu₄N)₂[W₆O₁₉] results in the formation of [Ag₁₄(C?CtBu)₁₂(CH₃CN)₂][W₆O₁₉] ( 4 ). Here, the Ag₁₄ cluster is generated from polymeric {[Ag₃(C?CtBu)₂][BF₄]?0.6 H₂O}_n during crystallization. In a similar way, [Ag₁₅(C?CtBu)₁₂(CH₃CN)₅][PW₁₂O₄₀] ( 5 ) has been obtained from {[Ag₃(C?CtBu)₂][BF₄]?0.6 H₂O}_n and (nBu₄N)₃[PW₁₂O₄₀]. The use of charged building blocks was intentional, because at these conditions the contribution of long‐range Coulomb interactions would benefit most from full periodicity of the intercluster compound, thus favoring formation of well‐crystalline materials. The latter has been achieved, indeed. However, as a most conspicuous feature, equally charged species aggregate, which demonstrates that the short‐range interactions between the “surfaces” of the clusters represent the more powerful structure direction forces than the long‐range Coulomb bonding. This observation is of significant importance for understanding the mechanisms underlying self‐organization of monodisperse and structurally well‐defined particles of nanometer size.     

SAXS in combination with a free liquid jet for improved time-resolved in situ studies of the nucleation and growth of nanoparticles

A new setup for fast in situ SAXS studies of early stages in the nucleation and growth of colloidal nanoparticles is presented. Evading the disturbing influence of container walls and minimizing the possibility of beam-induced reactions, the benefits of the setup are demonstrated exemplarily for the well-known synthesis of gold nanoparticles via the Turkevich method. Analysis with the new experimental setup reveals the initial rate of particle formation, and enables analysis of particle growth rates.     

Visualization of Protein‐Specific Glycosylation inside Living Cells

Protein glycosylation is a ubiquitous post‐translational modification that is involved in the regulation of many aspects of protein function. In order to uncover the biological roles of this modification, imaging the glycosylation state of specific proteins within living cells would be of fundamental importance. To date, however, this has not been achieved. Herein, we demonstrate protein‐specific detection of the glycosylation of the intracellular proteins OGT, Foxo1, p53, and Akt1 in living cells. Our generally applicable approach relies on Diels–Alder chemistry to fluorescently label intracellular carbohydrates through metabolic engineering. The target proteins are tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the EGFP and the glycan‐anchored fluorophore is detected with high contrast even in presence of a large excess of acceptor fluorophores by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM).     

Mechanochemical Synthesis of 3d Transition‐Metal–1,2,4‐Triazole Complexes as Precursors for Microwave‐Assisted and Thermal Conversion to Coordination Polymers with a High Influence on the Dielectric Properties

The complexes [MCl₂(TzH)₄] (M=Mn ( 1 ), Fe ( 2 ); TzH=1,2,4‐1H‐triazole) and [ZnCl₂(TzH)₂] ( 3 ) have been obtained by mechanochemical reactions of the corresponding divalent metal chloride and 1,2,4‐1H‐triazole. They were successfully used as precursors for the formation of coordination polymers either by a microwave‐assisted reaction or by thermal conversion. For manganese, the conversion directly yielded [MnCl₂TzH] ( 4 ), whereas for the iron‐containing precursor, [FeCl₂TzH] ( 6 ), was formed via the intermediate coordination polymer [FeCl(TzH)₂]Cl ( 5 ). For cobalt, the isotypic polymer [CoCl(TzH)₂]Cl ( 7 ) was obtained, but exclusively by a microwave‐induced reaction directly from CoCl₂. The crystal structures were resolved from single crystals and powders. The dielectric properties were determined and revealed large differences in permittivity between the precursor complexes and the rigid chain‐like coordination polymers. Whereas the monomeric complexes exhibit very different dielectric behaviour, depending on the transition metal, from “low‐k” to “high‐k” with the permittivity ranging from 4.3 to >100 for frequencies of up to 1000 Hz, the coordination polymers and complexes with strong intermolecular interactions are all close to “low‐k” materials with very low dielectric constants up to 50 °C. Therefore, the conversion procedures can be used to deliberately influence the dielectric properties from complex to polymer and for different 3d transition‐metal ions.     

Phase transition in Tl2TeO3: influence and origin of the thallium lone pair distortion

A new modification of thallium tellurite, beta-Tl(2)TeO(3), has been synthesized by methanolothermal reaction, and its phase transition has been studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. At a temperature of 440(10) degrees C an irreversible phase transition from a monoclinic structure (beta-Tl(2)TeO(3): P2(1)/c (No. 14), Z = 4, a = 8.9752(18) A, b = 4.8534(6) A, c = 11.884(2) A, beta = 109.67(2) degrees, V = 487.47(15) A3 at 25 degrees C) to an orthorhombic structure (alpha-Tl(2)TeO(3): Pban (No. 50), Z = 8, a = 16.646(2) A, b = 11.094(2) A, c = 5.2417(8) A, V = 968.0(3) A3 at 25 degrees C) is observed. Both structures are characterized by psi-tetrahedral TeO(3)(2-) anions. In the orthorhombic structure psi-trigonal bipyramidal [TlO(4)] units are found together with psi-tetrahedral [TlO(3)] units whereas in the monoclinic structure the coordination polyhedron around Tl(I) can be best described as a psi-square pyramide, psi-[TlO(4)]. The electronic structure of Tl(2)TeO(3) in both modifications has been studied to explain the influence of the lone pairs. It can be conclusively shown that the minimization of antibonding ns-metal/2p-oxygen interactions is the driving force for "lone pair" distortions which determines the structures of Tl(2)TeO(3).     

Steviosid aus Süßkraut

The diterpene glycoside stevioside is the most abundant among a group of sweet steviol glycosides, present in sweetleaf (Stevia rebaudiana), which is naturally occurring in Paraguay. It has already been used by the Guarani Indians as a sweetener. Since 2011 such “steviosides” have an EU approval as sweeteners E 960. They taste ca. 250 times sweeter than sucrose. Meanwhile, they have got a significant recognition, not least due to their use in Coca Cola life®. We describe the isolation of stevioside and rebaudioside A from dried leaves of the sweetleaf plant. The complete set of spectra for stevioside is reported. Based on students' laboratory work this project is a follow up of the book “Classics in Spectroscopy” by S. Berger und D. Sicker (Wiley‐VCH 2009).     

Mechanistic Insights into a Sustainable Mechanochemical Synthesis of Ettringite

Mechanochemistry offers an environmentally benign and facile synthesis method for a variety of cement paste constituents. In addition, these methods can be used to selectively tune the properties of cement components. The mineral ettringite is an important component of cementitious materials and has additional technological potential due to its ion exchange properties. Synthesis of ettringite via mechanochemistry is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional wet-chemical synthesis established in industry. This contribution explores the mechanism of a two-step mechanochemical synthesis of ettringite, which was previously found to greatly improve the reaction conversion as compared with one-pot synthesis. The crystallinity of Al(OH)₃ was found to decrease during the first stage of this mechanochemical synthesis. This was correlated to a significant decrease in the particle size of Al(OH)₃ in this stage. No other significant changes were found for the other components, suggesting that mechanochemical activation of Al(OH)₃ is responsible for the enhanced formation of ettringite by the two-step approach. The environmentally friendly approach developed for ettringite synthesis offers a versatile synthetic strategy, which can be applied to synthesise further cementitious materials.