Tuning the Electronic Properties of the Dative N−B Bond with Associated O−B Interaction: Electron Localizability Indicator from X‐Ray Wavefunction Refinement

Despite the immense growth in interest in difluoroborate dyes, the nature of the interactions of the boron atom within the N‐BF₂‐O kernel is not yet fully understood. Herein, a set of real‐space bonding indicators is used to quantify the electronic characteristics of the dative N?B bond in difluoroborate derivatives. The atoms‐in‐molecules (AIM) partitioning scheme is complemented by the electron localizability indicator (ELI‐D) approach, and both were applied to experimental and theoretical electron‐density distributions (X‐ray constrained wavefunction fitting vs. DFT calculations). Additionally, Fermi orbital analysis was introduced for small DFT models to support and extend the findings for structures that contain BF₂.     

Reproducibility and transferability of topological data: experimental charge density study of two modifications of L-alanyl-L-tyrosyl-L-alanine

Two crystalline modifications of the tripeptide L-Ala-L-Tyr-L-Ala, which have different solvent molecules in the crystal structure (water and ethanol for modifications 1 and 2), were the subject of experimental charge density studies based on high resolution X-ray data collected at ultra-low temperatures of 9 K (1) and 20 K (2), respectively. The molecular structures and the intermolecular interactions were found to be rather similar in the two crystal lattices, so that this study allowed the reproducibility of the charge density of a given molecule in different (but widely comparable) crystalline environments to be examined. With respect to bond topological and atomic properties, the agreement between the two modifications of the title tripeptide was in the same range as found from the comparison with the previously reported results of tri-L-alanine. It follows that the reproducibility and transferability of quantitative topological data are comparable and that within the accuracy of experimental charge density work the replacement of the central amino acid residue L-Ala by L-Tyr has no significant influence, neither on bond nor on the atomic properties of the oligopeptide main chain. Intermolecular interactions in the form of hydrogen bonds were characterized quantitatively and qualitatively by topological criteria and by mapping the charge density distribution on the Hirshfeld surface.     

Deposition of latex particles encapsulated in polyelectrolyte shells at heterogeneous metal surfaces modified by multilayer films

We used an oblique impinging jet (OIJ) cell to determine the initial deposition rate for the microcapsules deposited on the heterogeneous metal surfaces bare or modified by polyelectrolyte (PE) films. The dependence of reduced particle flux on the Reynolds number of the flow in the OIJ cell was determined by direct counting of particles deposited on the studied surfaces. We used fluorescently labelled latex particles and microcapsules built on these fluorescent cores and the use of fluorescent microscope allowed us to observe “in situ” the deposition processes of particles on rough, highly reflective surfaces. We demonstrated that modification of metallic surfaces of various materials and heterogeneity by the multilayer PE films result in the formation of uniformly charged film of nanometers thickness. The formation of such a film leads to the increase of deposition efficiency and its initial rate is governed by the charge of the film covered surface and the outermost layer of the capsule shell being in agreement with the prediction of the convective-diffusion theory.     

Ethyl (2‐pyridyl­methyl)­phospho­nate

Molecules of the title compound, C₈H₁₂NO₃P, exist as zwitterions. The positive charge formally located on the N atom is spread over the pyridyl ring. A partial delocalization of negative charge within the O—P—O system is observed. The conformational features and hydrogen‐bonding network of the title compound are compared with the structure of (2‐pyridyl­methyl)­phosphonic acid.     

O‐Phenyl (triphenylphosphoniomethyl)phosphonate phenol solvate: supramolecular structure generated by O—H...O,C—H...O and C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds

The title compound, C₂₅H₂₂O₃P₂·C₆H₆O, has a zwitterionic betaine‐like structure and crystallizes as a phenol solvate. The two molecular components are held together by an almost linear intermolecular O—H...O hydrogen bond. The structure also contains three weak C—H...O and two C—H...π(arene) interactions.     

Irreversible adsorption of particles on heterogeneous surfaces

Methods of theoretical and experimental evaluation of irreversible adsorption of particles, e.g., colloids and globular proteins at heterogeneous surfaces were reviewed. The theoretical models were based on the generalized random sequential adsorption (RSA) approach. Within the scope of these models, localized adsorption of particles occurring as a result of short-ranged attractive interactions with discrete adsorption sites was analyzed. Monte-Carlo type simulations performed according to this model enabled one to determine the initial flux, adsorption kinetics, jamming coverage and the structure of the particle monolayer as a function of the site coverage and the particle/site size ratio, denoted by lambda. It was revealed that the initial flux increased significantly with the site coverage theta(s) and the lambda parameter. This behavior was quantitatively interpreted in terms of the scaled particle theory. It also was demonstrated that particle adsorption kinetics and the jamming coverage increased significantly, at fixed site coverage, when the lambda parameter increased. Practically, for alpha = lambda2theta(s) > 1 the jamming coverage at the heterogeneous surfaces attained the value pertinent to continuous surfaces. The results obtained prove unequivocally that spherically shaped sites were more efficient in binding particles in comparison with disk-shaped sites. It also was predicted that for particle size ratio lambda < 4 the site multiplicity effect plays a dominant role, affecting significantly the structure of particle monolayers and the jamming coverage. Experimental results validating main aspects of these theoretical predictions also have been reviewed. These results were derived by using monodisperse latex particles adsorbing on substrates produced by covering uniform surface by adsorption sites of a desired size, coverage and surface charge. Particle deposition occurred under diffusion-controlled transport conditions and their coverage was evaluated by direct particle counting using the optical and electron microscopy. Adsorption kinetics was quantitatively interpreted in terms of numerical solutions of the governing diffusion equation with the non-linear boundary condition derived from Monte-Carlo simulations. It was proven that for site coverage as low as a few percent the initial flux at heterogeneous surfaces attained the maximum value pertinent to homogeneous surfaces. It also was demonstrated that the structure of larger particle monolayers, characterized in terms of the pair correlation function, showed much more short-range ordering than predicted for homogeneous surface monolayers at the same coverage. The last part of this review was devoted to detection of polyelectrolyte multilayers on various substrates via particle deposition experiments.     

Two modifications of l‐alanyl‐l‐tyrosyl‐l‐alanine with different solvent mol­ecules in the crystal lattice

The low‐temperature crystal and mol­ecular structure analyses of two modifications of l ‐alanyl‐l ‐tyrosyl‐l ‐alanine with water, C₁₅H₂₁N₃O₅·2.63H₂O [(I), at 9 K], and ethanol, C₁₅H₂₁N₃O₅·C₂H₅O [(II), at 20 K], solvent mol­ecules in the crystal lattice show that the overall conformations of both modifications of the title tripeptide are practically the same. Moreover, despite the presence of different solvent mol­ecules in the crystal lattice, the specific inter­molecular inter­actions characteristic for individual tripeptide mol­ecules of (I) and (II) are conserved. The crystal packing of the two modifications of Ala‐Tyr‐Ala differ from each other only in the solvent region. The tight arrangements of tripeptide mol­ecules seem to be responsible for similar displacement parameters for all non‐H atoms, despite the different distances from the mol­ecular centre of mass. Comparison of the displacement parameters between the room‐ and low‐temperature structures shows that an average U_eq value decrease of about 80% takes place at 9 K [for (I)] and 20 K [for (II)] with respect to room temperature.     

Multilayered Curcumin-Loaded Hydrogel Microcarriers with Antimicrobial Function

The design of multifunctional microcarriers has attracted significant attention because they combine various functions within a single system. In this study, we developed a set of multilayered hydrogel microcarriers, which were first loaded with chemotherapeutic curcumin (CUR), then, using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique, coated through a polyelectrolyte shell consisting of chitosan (CHIT) or poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). As an outer layer with antimicrobial function, newly synthesised alkylene quaternary ammonium salt functionalised polyelectrolytes (A-QAS-PEs) were applied. For this purpose, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was decorated with different hydrophobic side chains (n-hexane and n-dodecane side entities) and different degrees of substitution (m) of quaternary ammonium groups (abbreviated as PAA-C(O)O-(CH₂)_n-N⁺(CH₃)₃(m); n = 6, 12; m = 8–14%). The grafting approach of PAA with the alkylene quaternary ammonium salt moiety was performed under mild reaction conditions using Steglich esterification followed by quaternisation. The structure of antimicrobial decorated PAA was confirmed by ¹H NMR and FTIR, and the mean diameter of all multifunctional microparticles was characterised by SEM. The viscoelastic properties of the functional layers were studied using quartz crystal microbalance with a dissipation (QCM-D). The release of CUR from the microcarriers was described using a hybrid model, i.e., a combination of first-order kinetics and the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. The antimicrobial activity of functionalised PAA and multilayered CUR-loaded hydrogel microcarriers with quaternary ammonium function was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus and Serratia marcescens by the agar diffusion assay method. Only a limited inhibition zone of PAA was observed, but in the case of both antimicrobial decorated PAA and the corresponding multilayered nanocarriers, the inhibitory activity increase was achieved against both strains of bacteria.     

Two derivatives of (N‐phenylthioureidoalkyl)phosphonates

The structures of di­phenyl [3‐methyl‐1‐(3‐phenyl­thio­ureido)­butyl]­phosphonate and di­phenyl [2‐methyl‐1‐(3‐phenyl­thio­ureido)­butyl]­phosphonate, both C₂₄H₂₇N₂O₃PS, are reported. In both compounds, the thio­urea moiety adopts a syn–syn conformation (i.e. the S—C—N—C torsion angles are synperi­planar), which enables N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds to be formed between centrosymmetrically related mol­ecules. The geometries around the P atoms can be described as distorted tetrahedral. Some of the functional groups in each structure are disordered. The bulk of the different alkyl substituents between the amide and phosphonate groups influences the molecular conformation and crystal packing. Although the structures of these compounds and two related derivatives appear to be similar, they are not isostructural.     

Examination of intermolecular electronic interactions in the crystal structure of C60(CF3)12 by experimental electron density determination

From a high resolution X-ray data set measured at 20 K the experimental electron density of the fullerene C(60)(CF(3))(12) was derived and topologically analyzed to yield, in addition to bond topological and atomic properties, information about the density distribution in the region where hexagons of adjacent molecules approach closely at only 3.3 A.