Smart hydrogels for Novel Optical Functions

Nanocomposites of inherently conductive polyaniline (PANI) within a highly hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based hydrogel have been produced by coupling a conventional dispersion chemical oxidative polymerization to a subsequent high energy irradiation step, in order to convert the polymer stabilizing the aqueous dispersion, namely the PVA, into a highly water swollen hydrogel incorporating the PANI particles. The incorporation of the electroactive and “pH-sensitive” polymer into a transparent and highly permeable hydrogel matrix has been pursued as a route to the development of a novel class of potentially biocompatible, smart hydrogels that can respond to changes of the surrounding environment with measurable changes in their optical properties. Absorption spectra show that the optical absorption bands typical of PANI, known to be reversibly affected by changes of the polymer oxidation state or pH or both, are well preserved in the PVA hydrogels. Even more interestingly, fluorescence is observed from the nanoparticles of PANI in its inherently conductive form, whose intensity is strongly affected by changes of pH. This has enhanced the importance of this material to a large extent from both a scientific and a practical point of view.     

Clustering of catalytic nanocompartments for enhancing an extracellular non-native cascade reaction

Compartmentalization is fundamental in nature, where the spatial segregation of biochemical reactions within and between cells ensures optimal conditions for the regulation of cascade reactions. While the distance between compartments or their interaction are essential parameters supporting the efficiency of bio-reactions, so far they have not been exploited to regulate cascade reactions between bioinspired catalytic nanocompartments. Here, we generate individual catalytic nanocompartments (CNCs) by encapsulating within polymersomes or attaching to their surface enzymes involved in a cascade reaction and then, tether the polymersomes together into clusters. By conjugating complementary DNA strands to the polymersomes'' surface, DNA hybridization drove the clusterization process of enzyme-loaded polymersomes and controlled the distance between the respective catalytic nanocompartments. Owing to the close proximity of CNCs within clusters and the overall stability of the cluster architecture, the cascade reaction between spatially segregated enzymes was significantly more efficient than when the catalytic nanocompartments were not linked together by DNA duplexes. Additionally, residual DNA single strands that were not engaged in clustering, allowed for an interaction of the clusters with the cell surface as evidenced by A549 cells, where clusters decorating the surface endowed the cells with a non-native enzymatic cascade. The self-organization into clusters of catalytic nanocompartments confining different enzymes of a cascade reaction allows for a distance control of the reaction spaces which opens new avenues for highly efficient applications in domains such as catalysis or nanomedicine.

Compartmentalization is fundamental in nature, where the spatial segregation of biochemical reactions within and between cells ensures optimal conditions for the regulation of cascade reactions.     

A General Approach to O-Sulfation by a Sulfur(VI) Fluoride Exchange Reaction

O-sulfation is an important chemical code widely existing in bioactive molecules, but the scalable and facile synthesis of complex bioactive molecules carrying O-sulfates remains challenging. Reported here is a general approach to O-sulfation by the sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) reaction between aryl fluorosulfates and silylated hydroxy groups. Efficient sulfate diester formation was achieved through systematic optimization of the electronic properties of aryl fluorosulfates. The versatility of this O-sulfation strategy was demonstrated in the scalable syntheses of a variety of complex molecules carrying sulfate diesters at various positions, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, an amino acid, and a steroid. Selective hydrolytic and hydrogenolytic removal of the aryl masking groups from sulfate diesters yielded the corresponding O-sulfate products in excellent yields. This strategy provides a powerful tool for the synthesis of O-sulfate bioactive compounds.     

Oxime functionalization strategy for iodinated poly(epsilon‐caprolactone) X‐ray opaque materials

Since two of the most common technologies for imaging the human body are X‐ray radiography and computed tomography (CT), researchers are focused on developing biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric molecules as an alternative to the traditional small molecule contrast agents. This report highlights the synthesis of novel biodegradable iodinated poly(ε‐caprolactone) copolymers by oxime “Click” ligation reactions. A series of ketone‐bearing materials are built by tin (II)‐mediated ring‐opening polymerization followed by a postpolymerization deprotection step. The intended X‐ray opacity is imparted through acid‐catalyzed oxime postpolymerization modification of the resultant polymers with an iodinated hydroxylamine. All small molecules and polymeric materials are characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for purity, functional group stoichiometry, and number‐averaged molecular weight calculations. Additionally, the polymers are evaluated with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to determine polymer sample polydispersity and general molecular weight distribution shapes and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for thermal properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2421–2430     

Toward one‐pot olefin/thiophene block copolymers using an in situ ligand exchange

Block copolymers containing both conducting and insulating segments are of interest due to their enhanced electrical properties arising from their increased crystallization. Yet few methods exist for generating these copolymers, because the reaction conditions for synthesizing each block are often incompatible. Herein, efforts toward identifying a one‐pot, living polymerization method for synthesizing block copolymers of 1‐pentene and 3‐hexylthiophene is described. An in situ ligand exchange enables the optimal catalyst to be utilized for synthesizing each block. Even under these conditions, however, only homopolymers are observed. Computational studies modeling the ligand exchange reveal that the added stabilizing ligands likely inhibit propagation of the second block. These results suggest an ancillary ligand‐based “goldilocks” effect wherein catalysts that are stable yet still reactive are required. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1601–1605     

A two-step,single pot procedure for the synthesis of substituted dihydropyrazolo-pyrimidines

In this study, we report a two-step, one pot tandem microwave-assisted reaction of 3-formylchromones with aminopyrazoles followed by a tin-free radical addition. A library of alkyl substituted dihydropyrazolopyrimidines was prepared using this new process.     

A matrix theory of elastic-locking structures

Summary The theory developed exhibits the following peculiar features: structures are discretizised in finite elements, the constitutive laws piecewise linearized, the problem is split in a preliminary linear elastic solution and a corrective nonlinear subproblem; concepts and techniques of quadratic and linear programming theory are utilized. The main results are: for the analysis under given loads and dislocations, a pair of extremum theorems for locking stresses, corresponding to dual quadratic programs; for the limit analysis with respect to locking situations two already known theorems, which are here deduced from the solvability conditions of the above quadratic programs and formulated as dual linear programs. The extension of the results to imperfectly locking behavior is carried out. Some examples illustrate the solution techniques based on the theory expounded.

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Sommario Caratteristiche peculiari della teoria sviluppata sono: discretizzazione della struttura in elementi finiti, linearizzazione a tratti delle leggi costitutive, suddivisione del problema in una preliminare soluzione elastica lineare ed in una fase nonlineare correttiva, utilizzazione di concetti e tecniche della teoria delle programmazioni quadratiche e lineari.Si ottengono, per l'analisi di continui a deformabilità limitata soggetti a dati carichi e distorsioni, due teoremi di estremo corrispondenti a programmi quadratici negli sforzi di bloccaggio; per l'analisi limite al bloccaggio del sistema, due teoremi già noti, che qui si deducono dalle condizioni di solubilità dei precedenti programmi quadratici e si presentano in veste di programmi lineari duali. I risultati ottenuti vengono generalizzati ai casi definibili a deformabilità imperfettamente limitata. Alcuni esempi illustrano le tecniche risolutive che sorgono dalla teoria svolta.

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The study presented here forms part of a research program supported by the C.N.R.     

Quasinormal subgroups of infinite groups

In this brief survey paper we give an account of the theory of quasinormal subgroups of infinite groups.