Switchable Solubility of Azobenzene-Based Bolaamphiphiles

The ability to design amphiphiles with predictable solubility properties is of everlasting interest in supramolecular chemistry. Relevant structural parameters include the hydrophobic–hydrophilic balance and structural flexibility. In this work, we investigate the water solubility of azobenzene-based triglycerol bolaamphiphiles (TGBAs). In particular, we analyzed the structural effects of backbone hydrophobicity, flexibility, and cis/trans isomerization on the water solubility of a subset of five TGBAs. This leads to the first example of a non-ionic bolaamphiphile whose water solubility can be changed by irradiation with light. The underlying kinetics were monitored using liquid chromatography and a closer analysis of the underlying aggregation processes provides a mechanistic understanding of the light-driven dissolution process. We anticipate that the results obtained will help to engineer bolaamphiphiles with predictable solution properties in the future.     

Photo‐induced and Rapid Labeling of Tetrazine‐Bearing Proteins via Cyclopropenone‐Caged Bicyclononynes

Inverse electron‐demand Diels–Alder cycloadditions (iEDDAC) between tetrazines and strained alkenes/alkynes have emerged as essential tools for studying and manipulating biomolecules. A light‐triggered version of iEDDAC (photo‐iEDDAC) is presented that confers spatio‐temporal control to bioorthogonal labeling in vitro and in cellulo. A cyclopropenone‐caged dibenzoannulated bicyclo[6.1.0]nonyne probe (photo‐DMBO) was designed that is unreactive towards tetrazines before light‐activation, but engages in iEDDAC after irradiation at 365 nm. Aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs were discovered for efficient site‐specific incorporation of tetrazine‐containing amino acids into proteins in living cells. In situ light activation of photo‐DMBO conjugates allows labeling of tetrazine‐modified proteins in living E. coli. This allows proteins in living cells to be modified in a spatio‐temporally controlled manner and may be extended to photo‐induced and site‐specific protein labeling in animals.     

Astemizole tetra­chloro­cuprate(II)

The structure of {3‐[(4‐fluoro­phenyl)­methyl]‐1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐ylidene}{1‐[2‐(4‐meth­oxy­phenyl)­ethyl]‐4‐piperidin‐1‐io}ammonium tetra­chloro­cuprate(II), (C₂₈H₃₃FN₄O)[CuCl₄], contains diprotonated cations of astemizole hydrogen bonded to three Cl atoms in two different CuCl₄^2? anions, with Cl?N distances in the range 3.166 (4)–3.203 (4) Å. The geometry around copper is flattened tetrahedral with significantly different Cu—Cl distances which lie in the range 2.1968 (14)–2.2861 (12) Å. The phenyl­ethyl C atoms of the (4‐methoxy­phenyl­)ethyl group are disordered indicating the presence of two conformers in the crystals.     

Hydrogen bonding in N,N,N′,N′‐tetra­methyl­ethyl­ene­di­ammonium bis­(benzene­selenol­ate)

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Me₂NHC₂H₄NHMe₂][SePh]₂ or C₆H₁₈N₂²⁺·2C₆H₅Se^?, reveals hydrogen bonding between the benzene­seleno­late anions and the tetra­methyl­ethyl­ene­di­ammonium cations. The asymmetric unit contains one formula unit of the title compound. The two Se?H distances are 2.22 (4) and 2.34 (4) Å.     

Rapid self-assembly of core-shell organosilicon microcapsules within a microfluidic device

The preparation of hierarchically structured organosilicon microcapsules from commercially available starting materials is described. Using a microfluidic device, an emulsion of dichlorodiphenylsilane is formed in a continuous phase of aqueous glycerol. The silane droplets undergo hydrolysis, condensation, and crystallization within minutes to form self-assembled, core-shell microcapsules. The microparticles have been characterized with light and electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The characterization data show that the microcapsule walls consist of amorphous, oligomeric poly(diphenylsiloxane) surrounded by a spiny layer of crystalline diphenylsilanediol. Glycerol is occluded within the wall material but is not covalently bound to the silicon components. Glycerol is a crucial element for producing low-dispersity microcapsules with well-ordered surface spines, as the use of methyl cellulose as viscomodifier yields amorphous surfaces.     

Coupling molecular beacons to barcoded metal nanowires for multiplexed, sealed chamber DNA bioassays

We have combined molecular beacon (MB) probes with barcoded metal nanowires to enable no-wash, sealed chamber, multiplexed detection of nucleic acids. Probe design and experimental parameters important in nanowire-based MB assays are discussed. Loop regions of 24 bases and 5 base pair stem regions in the beacon probes gave optimal performance. Our results suggest that thermodynamic predictions for secondary structure stability of solution-phase MB can guide probe design for nanowire-based assays. Dengue virus-specific probes with predicted solution-phase DeltaG of folding in 500 mM buffered NaCl of approximately -4 kcal/mol performed better than those with DeltaG > -2 or < -6 kcal/mol. Buffered 300-500 mM NaCl was selected after comparison of several buffers previously reported for similar types of assays, and 200-500 mM NaCl was found to be the optimal ionic strength for the hybridization temperatures (25 and 50 degrees C) and probe designs used here. Target binding to the surface as a function of solution concentration fit a Sips isotherm with Kd = 1.7 +/- 0.3 nM. The detection limit was approximately 100 pM, limited by incomplete quenching. Single base mismatches could be discriminated from fully complementary targets. Oligonucleotide target sequences specific for human immunodeficiency, hepatitis C, and severe acute respiratory viruses were assayed simultaneously in a no-wash, sealed chamber, multiplexed experiment in which each of three probe sequences was attached to a different pattern of encoded nanowires. Finally, we demonstrated that probe-coated nanowires retain their selectivity and sensitivity in a triplexed assay after storage for over 3 months.     

Thioamide pincer ligands with charge versatility

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of three complexes, two palladium and one platinum, with 2,6-bis-thioamido-phenyl and 2,6-bis-thioamido-pyridine ligands. The ligands show internal charge versatility by losing protons from a phenyl CH (I) or from amide NH's (II and III). The complexes were also examined as Heck catalysts, and the palladacycle, I, was found to be more effective compared to the others. The crystal structures of the complexes are also reported.     

Auger decay calculations with core-hole excited-state molecular-dynamics simulations of water

We report a new theoretical procedure for calculating Auger decay transition rates including effects of core-hole excited-state dynamics. Our procedure was applied to the normal and first resonant Auger processes of gas-phase water and compared to high-resolution experiments. In the normal Auger decay, calculated Auger spectra were found to be insensitive to the dynamics, while the repulsive character of the first resonant core-excited state makes the first resonantly excited Auger decay spectra depend strongly on the dynamics. The ultrafast dissociation of water upon O(1s)-->4a(1) excitation was analyzed and found to be very sensitive to initial vibrational distortions in the ground state which furthermore affect the excitation energy. Our calculated spectra reproduce the experimental Auger spectra except for the Franck-Condon vibrational structure which is not included in the procedure. We found that the Auger decay of OH and O fragments contributes to the total intensity, and that the contribution from these fragments increases with increasing excitation energy.     

Photodissociation of the BrO radical using velocity map ion imaging: excited state dynamics and accurate D0(0)(BrO) evaluation

We have studied the photodissociation dynamics of expansion-cooled BrO radical both above (278-281.5 nm) and below (355 nm) the A (2)Pi(3/2) state threshold using velocity map ion imaging. A recently developed late-mixing flash pyrolytic reactor source was utilized to generate an intense BrO radical molecular beam. The relative electronic product branching ratios at 355 nm and from 278 to 281.5 nm were determined. We have investigated the excited state dynamics based on both the product branching and the photofragment angular distributions. We find that above the O((1)D(2)) threshold the contribution of the direct excitation to states other than the A (2)Pi(3/2) state and the role of curve crossing is considerably larger in BrO compared to that observed for ClO, in agreement with recent theoretical studies. The measurement of low velocity photofragments resulting from photodissociation just above the O((1)D(2)) threshold provides an accurate and direct determination of the A (2)Pi(3/2) state dissociation threshold of 35418+/-35 cm(-1), leading to a ground state bond energy of D(0)(0)(BrO)=55.9+/-0.1 kcal/mol.