Dihydropyrene annelated with dihydrothieno[3.4-b]pyrazine: synthesis and photoswitching property

In this study, 9,10-diacetoxyl-2,7-di-tert-butyl-trans-10b,10c-dimethyl-10b,10c-dihydropyrene annelated with a dihydrothieno[3.4-b]pyrazine unit (1a) was prepared, for the first time, from 5,13-di-tert-butyl-8,16-dimethyl-1,2,9,10-tetrahydroxy[2.2]metacyclophane and 3,4-diaminothiophene in two steps. The photoisomerization property of 1 was investigated by UV and ¹H NMR spectroscopies, and the quantitative isomerization between the more stable dihydropyrene (DHP) form and the less stable metacyclophane-diene (MCPD) form was observed. A thermally induced return reaction from the MCPD to the DHP form was examined at various temperatures, and the reaction rate was 0.0049 min⁻¹ at 45 °C, which is slower than that of the parent MCPD.     

The binding of organic anions by polyvinylpyrrolidone: Determination of intrinsic binding constant and number of binding sites by competitive binding

The binding of 4′-dibutylaminoazobenzene-4-sulfonate (butyl orange, BO) and 1-amino-4-methylaminoanthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQ) by crosslinked polyvinylpyrrolidone and the competition between BO and AQ for binding sites of the polymer were examined. The equilibrium data showed competitive binding. Thus the intrinsic binding constants and the number of binding sites can be evaluated easily and precisely by competitive binding. The thermodynamic parameters that accompained the binding were calculated from the intrinsic binding constant and its temperature-dependence. The thermodynamic data for BO showed that the binding process is athermal and stabilized entirely by the entropy term. The binding of BO to the polymer is entropically favorable as a result of the operation of the hydrophobic effect. In contrast, with AQ a favorable free energy for a dye-polymer complex formation is associated with a large negative enthalpy and a small entropy. Therefore it is likely that the binding of AQ occurs by energetic forces and that the large aromatic ring of the dye contributes to the binding energy. On the average, BO and AQ can bind to the crosslinked polymer to the extent of 1 dye/ca 73 basemol in 0.1M tris-acetate buffer, pH 7.0.     

Catalysis of enantiomeric ester hydrolysis by N-decanoyl-L-histidine in polymer domains

Catalytic hydrolysis of enantiomeric substrates by N-decanoyl-L -histidine was studied at pH 7.30, 0.02M phosphate buffer, and 25°C in the presence of quaternized polymers. The rate of reaction is remarkably accelerated in the presence of polyethylenimine derivatives, but the observed stereoselectivity depends on the structure of the substrates.     

Structural characterization of poly(diethylsiloxane) in the crystalline, liquid crystalline and isotropic phases by solid-state 17O NMR spectroscopy and ab initio MO calculations

The structure of poly(diethylsiloxane) (PDES) has been characterized using solid-state NMR of (17)O. The sample studied had a weight-average molecular weight of 2.45 x 10(5). The sample was prepared by utilizing the cationic ring-opening polymerization of (17)O-enriched hexacyclotrisiloxane. Solid-state NMR of (17)O-enriched PDES was measured on the low-temperature beta(1) phase, the high-temperature beta(2) phase, the two-phase system consisting of the liquid crystal and isotropic liquid phase and the isotropic phase. From these data, the molecular structure and dynamics of PDES in the various phases were characterized via the chemical shifts of (17)O, and electric field gradient parameters were determined from NMR and ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations. In addition to the solid-state NMR of (1)H, (13)C and (29)Si previously reported on these samples, knowledge of the dynamic behavior of PDES as inferred from the NMR of (17)O in the present study was enhanced significantly. Further, the potential of combining the experimental NMR of (17)O with ab initio MO calculations to characterize the dynamics of polymers containing oxygen is demonstrated.     

Peculiar temperature dependence on the binding of methyl orange and its homologs by 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone copolymers

2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VPy) copolymers of various compositions have been prepared. The copolymers obtained were examined for their ability to bind a homologous series of methyl orange derivatives, methyl orange, ethyl orange, propyl orange, and butyl orange, at 5, 15, 25, and 35°C, respectively, in an aqueous solution. The first binding constants and the thermodynamic parameters that accompanied the binding were evaluated. The binding ability of the copolymer for the small cosolute was enhanced with an increase of the HEMA content in the copolymer. Moreover, a bell-shaped curve appeared in the binding of butyl orange by the copolymers having higher HEMA residues when the first binding constant was plotted as a function of temperature, whereas no such phenomenon was detected for the copolymers with less HEMA content or for the less hydrophobic dye, methyl orange, ethyl orange, or propyl orange. This peculiar temperature dependence of the first binding constant shows that the enthalpy of the binding varies from a positive (unfavorable) value below ca. 15°C to a negative (favorable) one above this temperature. This behavior can be accounted for in terms of more hydrophobic effects involved in the binding process.     

Cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidones with increased affinity and specificity for methyl orange and its homologs

Polyvinylpyrrolidones of various degrees of cross-linkage have been prepared by radical polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone with methylenebisacrylamide to regulate the fraction of cross-linkage. The insoluble polymers obtained were examined for their ability to bind methyl orange and its homologs, methyl orange, ethyl orange, propyl orange, and butyl orange at 5, 15, 25, and 35°C, respectively, in an aqueous solution. The first binding constants and the thermodynamic parameters that accompanied the binding were calculated. For any particular dye the extent of binding, the absolute magnitude of ΔF°, and the value of ΔS° increased as the degree of cross-linkage increased, starting with water-soluble polyvinylpyrrolidone (zero cross-linkage) and proceeding to the polymer with high cross-linking density. This behavior can be accounted for in terms of more extensive hydrophobic domains in the cross-linked polymeric matrix that enhances hydrophobic interactions in the binding process. Moreover, the cross-linked macromolecule polymerized in the presence of methyl orange and then stripped of the bound methyl orange shows substantially stronger binding for this small molecule than the polymer cross-linked in the absence of methyl orange. In contrast, the cross-linked polymer prepared similarly in the presence of the larger molecule, butyl orange, exhibits decreased affinity toward the smaller consolute, methyl orange, than either of the other polymers described. It seems, therefore, that the polymeric matrix provides favorable binding sites or pockets that can accommodate a specific small molecule. The preparative procedure, which uses a small-molecule template, molds into the polymer some structural specificity in the binding of small molecules.     

Thermodynamics of binding of methyl orange and its homologs by poly(vinylpyrrolidone): The effect of inorganic electrolytes

The extent of binding of methyl orange, ethyl orange, propyl orange, and butyl orange by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) has been measured in aqueous solutions of inorganic electrolytes such as NaCl, LiCl, NaSCN, and NaClO₄ by an equilibrium dialysis method. The effect of the salts on the first binding constants and the thermodynamic functions which are accompanied by the dye—polymer association process was investigated relative to the corresponding values in the absence of such salts. It was found that in aqueous solutions of NaCl and LiCl the enthalpy change accompanying the binding is small and the largest contribution to the free energy of binding is from the positive entropy gain. For NaSCN and NaClO₄, the values of ΔF° and ΔH° were both large and negative and the value of ΔS° was small and negative. Thus, the favorable free energy for the complex formation was due entirely to the negative enthalpy term. These characteristics of the thermodynamic quantities are discussed in terms of changes in structural properties of water in the vicinity of the binding entities and conformational changes of the polymer to which the dye is bound due to the added foreign electrolytes.     

Binding of methyl orange and its homologs by polycations containing apolar pendant groups

The binding of methyl orange, ethyl orange, and propyl orange by polycations involving various apolar pendant groups such as methyl, ethyl, benzyl, or dodecylbenzyl groups has been examined quantitatively by an equilibrium dialysis method at 5, 15, 25, and 35°C. The first binding constants and the thermodynamic parameters in the course of the binding have been calculated. The favorable free energy of the binding is accompanied by an entropy gain and an exothermic enthalpy change. The shorter the alkyl chain of the dyes or the polymers, the more negative is the enthalpy change and hence the smaller is the entropy change. Furthermore, an increase in binding affinity can be created in the polycation upon introduction of hydrophobic groups. In particular, the binding ability of the polycation containing a dodecylbenzyl group for methyl orange is almost 300-fold that of bovine serum albumin. Therefore it is clear that hydrophobic interactions, as well as electrostatic ones, are involved in the binding.