Presence of β-Turn Structure in Recombinant Spider Silk Dissolved in Formic Acid Revealed with NMR

Spider dragline silk is a biopolymer with excellent mechanical properties. The development of recombinant spider silk protein (RSP)-based materials with these properties is desirable. Formic acid (FA) is a spinning solvent for regenerated Bombyx mori silk fiber with excellent mechanical properties. To use FA as a spinning solvent for RSP with the sequence of major ampullate spider silk protein from Araneus diadematus, we determined the conformation of RSP in FA using solution NMR to determine the role of FA as a spinning solvent. We assigned ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N chemical shifts to 32-residue repetitive sequences, including polyAla and Gly-rich regions of RSP. Chemical shift evaluation revealed that RSP is in mainly random coil conformation with partially type II β-turn structure in the Gly-Pro-Gly-X motifs of the Gly-rich region in FA, which was confirmed by the ¹⁵N NOE data. In addition, formylation at the Ser OH groups occurred in FA. Furthermore, we evaluated the conformation of the as-cast film of RSP dissolved in FA using solid-state NMR and found that β-sheet structure was predominantly formed.     

Ir(III)‐Catalyzed C7‐Position‐Selective Oxidative CH Alkenylation of Indolines with Alkenes in Air

An efficient method for C7‐position‐selective alkenylation of N‐substituted indolines with alkenes is reported. Various 7‐alkenylindolines were obtained in moderate to excellent yields in air in the presence of catalytic amounts of [Cp*IrCl₂]₂, AgOTf, and Cu(OAc)₂. The protocol relies on the use of a carbonyl or carbamoyl group on the nitrogen atom of indoline as a directing group and is potentially applicable to the synthesis of 7‐alkenylindoles and 7‐alkylindoles.     

One‐Pot Synthetic Procedure for2,2′‐Disubstituted Biaryls via the Suzuki Coupling Reaction of Aryl Triflates in a Biphasic Solvent System

A one‐pot synthetic procedure for 2,2′‐disubstituted biaryls was developed via a Suzuki cross‐coupling reaction of aryl triflates in a biphasic solvent system. The effects of various bases and solvents were investigated. Results showed that the Na₂CO₃–toluene/H₂O combination gave the highest yields.     

Supramolecular graphyne: a C(sp)-H...N hydrogen-bonded unique network structure of 2,4,6-triethynyl-1,3,5-triazine

The crystallization of 2,4,6-triethynyl-1,3,5-triazine (2) leads to a pi-stacked layered structure of a C(sp)-H...N hydrogen-bonded unique hexagonal network structure, which may be regarded as a supramolecular analogue of a hitherto unknown graphyne network: in-plane intermolecular interactions are short and linear H...N contacts (2.31 and 2.34 A) and the interlayer separation is 3.23 A.     

Sidewall functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes through electrophilic addition

Electrophilic addition of chloroform to SWNTs followed by hydrolysis resulted in the addition of hydroxy groups to the surface of the nanotubes; further esterification with propionyl chloride led to the corresponding ester derivatives, which allowed us to identify their structure, also providing better solubility in organic solvents.