Alkali ion exchanged Nafion as a confining medium for photochemical reactions

Methanol-swollen Nafion beads were used as microreactors to control the photochemical reaction pathways. Product selectivity in three unimolecular reactions, namely, the photo-Fries rearrangement of naphthyl esters, Norrish Type I reaction of 1-phenyl-3-p-tolyl-propan-2-one and Norrish Type I and Type II reactions of benzoin alkyl ethers were examined. The influence of cations over the photodimerization of acenaphthylene and cross-photodimerization between acenaphthylene and N-benzyl maleimide included within Nafion were also examined. The photochemical behaviors of the above substrates were significantly altered within Nafion compared with their solution photochemistry. Of particular interest, the product distributions were found to depend on the counter cations of Nafion.     

Understanding the complexation of aliphatic and aromatic acids guests with octa acid

In this study, inclusion of 10 guest molecules, adamantyl and naphthyl carboxylic acids with different structural and electronic properties, within a synthetic cavitand octa acid was probed by isothermal calorimetry, 1D and 2D ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and molecular dynamic simulations. Under the condition of the experiments (pH ~ 8.7), the guests were included as carboxylate anions with the polar anionic head group facing water and hydrophobic carbon skeleton buried within the cavitand, forming 1:1 host to guest complexes. Importance of weak interactions between the guest and the cavitand interior is reflected in the measured negative ΔH values. Although ΔH was negative for all guests, ΔS was positive for adamantyl guests and negative for naphthyl guests. Quite likely the difference in hydrophobicity between the 2 sets of molecules and the strength of interaction between the guest and the host are responsible for the sign difference in ΔS between the 2 series. The importance of steric factor during inclusion of naphthyl carboxylic acids within octa acid cavity is brought out by the difference in thermodynamic parameters between the 1‐ and 2‐substituted naphthyl carboxylic acids; 2‐naphthyl carboxylic acids that can penetrate deeply have larger ?ΔH and 1‐naphthyl carboxylic acids that can only enter the cavity in an angle have smaller ?ΔH. As expected, based on the well‐known concept of “enthalpy‐entropy compensation,” the molecules that have large ?ΔH are accompanied by large ?ΔS.     

Protamine‐Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Biologically Triggered Drug Release

The fabrication of a mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN)?protamine hybrid system (MSN?PRM) is reported that selectively releases drugs in the presence of specific enzyme triggers present in the proximity of cancer cells. The enzyme trigger involved is a protease called trypsin, which is overexpressed in certain specific pathological conditions, such as inflammation and cancer. Overexpression of trypsin is known to be associated with invasion, metastasis, and growth in several cancers, such as leukemia, colon cancer, and colorectal cancer. The current system (MSN–PRM) consists of an MSN support in which mesopores are capped with an FDA‐approved peptide drug protamine, which effectively blocks the outward diffusion of the drug molecules from the mesopores of the MSNs. On exposure to the enzyme trigger, the protamine cap disintegrates, opening up the molecular gates and releasing the entrapped drug molecules. The system exhibits minimal premature release in the absence of the trigger and selectively releases the encapsulated drugs in the presence of the proteases secreted by colorectal cancer cells. The ability of the MSN–PRM particles to deliver anticancer drugs to colorectal cancer cells has also been demonstrated. The hydrophobic drug is released into cancer cells subsequent to disintegration of the protamine cap, resulting in cell death. Drug‐induced cell death in colorectal cancer cells is significantly enhanced when the hydrophobic drug that is known to degrade in aqueous environments is encapsulated in the MSN–PRM system in comparison to the free drug (P < 0.05). The system, which shows good biocompatibility and selective drug release, is a promising platform for cancer specific drug delivery.     

Spectral and photophysical properties of 1,6-naphthyridine derivatives: a new class of compounds for nonlinear optics

1,6-Naphthyridines are a class of compounds that exhibit second harmonic generation on excitation with a Nd-YAG laser (1064 nm). Solvatochromism has been used to estimate enhancement in the dipole moments on excitation and the values of first-order hyperpolarizability, beta. Photophysical studies on the title compounds show that they have a fluorescence lifetime of about 10 ns and fluorescence quantum yield of approximately 0.05-0.1 in different solvents. Kurtz powder method has been used to find the NLO efficiency of the compounds with reference to urea.     

Ultrafast Photoinduced Electron Transfer between an Incarcerated Donor and a Free Acceptor in Aqueous Solution

Supramolecular photoinduced electron transfer dynamics between coumarin 153 (C153) and 4,4'-dimethyl viologen dichloride (MV(2+)) across the molecular barrier of a host molecule, octa acid (OA), has been investigated with femtosecond time resolution. The ultrafast electron transfer from C153 to MV(2+) followed excitation with 150 fs laser pulses at a wavelength of 390 nm despite the fact that C153 was incarcerated within an OA(2) capsule. As a result, the photoexcited coumarin did not show any of the typical relaxation dynamics that is usually observed in free solution. Instead, the excited electron was transferred across the molecular wall of the capsuleplex within 20 ps. Likewise, the lifetime of the charge transfer state was short (724 ps), and electron back-transfer reestablished the ground state of the system within 1 ns, showing strong electronic coupling among the excited electron donor, host, and acceptor. When the donor was encapsulated into the host molecule, the electron transfer process showed significantly accelerated dynamics and essentially no solvent relaxation compared with that in free solution. The study was also extended to N-methylpyridinium iodide as the acceptor with similar results.     

Gold nanoparticles functionalized with deep-cavity cavitands: synthesis, characterization, and photophysical studies

In this report, we present methods of functionalization of AuNP's with deep-cavity cavitands that can include organic molecules. Two types of deep-cavity cavitand-functionalized AuNP's have been synthesized and characterized, one soluble in organic solvents and the other in water. Functionalized AuNP soluble in organic solvents forms a 1:1 host-guest complex where the guest is exposed to the exterior solvents. The one soluble in water forms a 2:1 host-guest complex where the guest is protected from solvent water. Phosphorescence from thiones and benzil included within heterocapsules attached to AuNP was quenched by gold atoms present closer to the guests included within deep-cavity cavitands. During this investigation, we have synthesized four new deep-cavity cavitands. Of these, two thiol-functionalized hosts allowed us to make stable AuNP's. However, AuNP's protected with two amine-functionalized cavitands tended to aggregate within a day.     

Photoinduced electron transfer between a donor and an acceptor separated by a capsular wall

The efficient photoinduced electron transfer from a stilbene derivative incarcerated within a negatively charged organic nanocapsule to positively charged acceptors (methyl viologen and a pyridinium salt) adsorbed outside and the back electron transfer were controlled by supramolecular effects.     

Nucleon transport processes in fission and heavy ion reactions

The nucleon exchange process between two nuclei in close proximity and its application to an explanation of fragment mass and charge distributions in fission and in heavy ion deep inelastic collisions are reviewed. An analysis of the measured correlations between the energy loss from relative motion and the fragment mass and charge variances in the heavy ion deep inelastic collisions is presented. The recent data on fragment mass and charge variances as a function of the fragment kinetic energy in thermal neutron induced fission of²³⁵U, lends added support to the hypothesis that the nucleon transport process plays a similar role both in fission and in heavy ion deep inelastic collisions.     

Cyclodextrin-mediated regioselective photo-Fries reaction of 1-naphthyl phenyl acylates

1-Naphthyl phenyl acylates upon irradiation in solution yield eight products via β-cleavage process. However, excitation of these molecules as included in γ-cyclodextrin results in a single product (>95%). This medium dependent product selectivity is attributed to conformational and translational restrictions enforced on the reactant as well as intermediates by the cyclodextrin cavity.