Use of “living” radical polymerizations to study the structural evolution and properties of highly crosslinked polymer networks

Crosslinked polymer networks are used in a wide variety of applications. To use these materials effectively, a fundamental understanding of their structural evolution and the relationship between material properties and structure is essential. In this article, a novel technique employing “iniferters,” i.e., living radical polymerizations, to photopolymerize these networks is utilized to study the property and structural evolution of these highly desirable materials. Living radical polymerizations are used in this work since this technique avoids the problem of carbon radical trapping encountered while using conventional initiators. Dynamic mechanical measurements are performed on highly crosslinked methacrylate networks to glean information regarding their structural heterogeneity. By performing these measurements on homopolymerized samples at various stages of the reaction and on copolymerized samples of multifunctional methacrylates, the mechanical properties are characterized as a function of double bond conversion and comonomer composition. From such analyses, with respect to both temperature and frequency, quantitative conclusions regarding the structure of the networks are drawn. This effort is aimed at exploiting the living radical polymerizations initiated by p-xylylene bis(N,N-diethyl dithiocarbamate) (XDT), to study the mechanical property evolution and structural heterogeneity of crosslinked polymers which is nearly impossible otherwise. Polymers examined in this study include networks formed by homopolymerization of diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA) and polyethylene glycol 600 dimethacrylate (PEG600DMA) as well as copolymers of DEGDMA and PEG600DMA. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 2297–2307, 1997     

Terminal Ligand and Packing Effects on Slow Relaxation in an Isostructural Set of [Dy(H2dapp)X2]+ Single Molecule Magnets**

We report three structurally related single ion Dy compounds using the pentadentate ligand 2,6-bis((E)-1-(2-(pyridin-2-yl)-hydrazineylidene)ethyl)pyridine (H₂dapp) [Dy(H₂dapp)(NO₃)₂]NO₃ ( 1 ), [Dy(H₂dapp)(OAc)₂]Cl ( 2 ) and [Dy(H₂dapp)(NO₃)₂]Cl_0.92(NO₃)_0.08 ( 3 ). The (H₂dapp) occupies a helical twisted pentagonal equatorial arrangement with two anionic ligands in the axial positions. Further influence on the electronic and magnetic structure is provided by a closely associated counterion interacting with the central N−H group of the (H₂dapp). The slow relaxation of the magnetisation shows that the anionic acetates give the greatest slowing down of the magnetisation reversal. Further influence on the relaxation properties of compounds 1 and 2 is the presence of short nitrate-nitrate intermolecular ligand contact opening further lattice relaxation pathways.     

Total Synthesis of a Partial Structure from Arabinogalactan and Its Application for Allergy Prevention

Arabinogalactan, a microheterogeneous polysaccharide occurring in plants, is known for its allergy-protective activity, which could potentially be used for preventive allergy treatment. New treatment options are highly desirable, especially in a preventive manner, due to the constant rise of atopic diseases worldwide. The structural origin of the allergy-protective activity of arabinogalactan is, however, still unclear and isolation of the polysaccharide is not feasible for pharmaceutical applications due to a variation of the activity of the natural product and contaminations with endotoxins. Therefore, a pentasaccharide partial structure was selected for total synthesis and subsequently coupled to a carrier protein to form a neoglycoconjugate. The allergy-protective activity of arabinogalactan could be reproduced with the partial structure in subsequent in vivo experiments. This is the first example of a successful simplification of arabinogalactan with a single partial structure while retaining its allergy-preventive potential.     

An Aldehyde Responsive,Cleavable Linker for Glucose Responsive Insulins

A glucose responsive insulin (GRI) that responds to changes in blood glucose concentrations has remained an elusive goal. Here we describe the development of glucose cleavable linkers based on hydrazone and thiazolidine structures. We developed linkers with low levels of spontaneous hydrolysis but increased level of hydrolysis with rising concentrations of glucose, which demonstrated their glucose responsiveness in vitro. Lipidated hydrazones and thiazolidines were conjugated to the LysB29 side-chain of HI by pH-controlled acylations providing GRIs with glucose responsiveness confirmed in vitro for thiazolidines. Clamp studies showed increased glucose infusion at hyperglycemic conditions for one GRI indicative of a true glucose response. The glucose responsive cleavable linker in these GRIs allow changes in glucose levels to drive the release of active insulin from a circulating depot. We have demonstrated an unprecedented, chemically responsive linker concept for biopharmaceuticals.     

Synthesis of (±)-Desmarestene and (±)-Viridiene,the Two Sperm Releasing and Attracting Pheromones from the Brown Algae Desmarestia aculeata and Desmarestia viridis

Desmarestene 1 6-(1Z,3-butadienyl)-1,4-cycloheptadiene and viridiene 3 cis-3-(1Z, 3-butadienyl)-4-vinylcyclopentene are chemical messengers for male gametes of the brown algae Desmarestia aculeate and Desmarestia viridis. Total syntheses of 1 , 3 and their stereoisomers 1a , 3a - c are reported. Gas-chromatographic comparison of synthetic 1 and 3 with the corresponding natural products has established their structural identity.     

Highly Reproducible Flexible Ion-selective Electrodes for the Detection of Sodium and Potassium in Artificial Sweat

It is well known that potentiometric sensors provide a versatile, cost-effective, and efficient platform for wearable applications. Unfortunately, mass production and commercialization of such devices is often constrained by the requirement of a calibration step, which is due to the poor sensor-to-sensor reproducibility and the need of conditioning the electrodes in the analyte before use. Herein, we fabricated calibration-free flexible sensors including ion-selective electrode and reference electrode by integrating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with poly(3-octylthiophene) (POT) and applying on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The developed sodium and potassium ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) display excellent repeatability, selectivity, stability as well as high sensor-to-sensor reproducibility, with a standard deviation of as low as 1.0 mV in artificial sweat microliter samples volume.     

Representation type of Hecke algebras of type

In this paper we provide a complete classification of the representation type for the blocks for the Hecke algebra of type , stated in terms of combinatorical data. The computation of the complexity of Young modules is a key component in the proof of this classification result.