Metal ion complexation in acetonitrile by cone,di-ionised calix[4]arene-1,2-crown ethers with two pendant dansyl fluorophores

Four cone calix[4]arene-1,2-crown ethers each with two ionisable side arms containing dansyl groups are synthesised. The crown ether ring on the lower rim is varied from crown-4 to crown-5 with hydrogen or tert-butyl groups on the para position of the upper rim. Di(tetramethylammonium) salts of the di-ionised ligands are utilised for spectrofluorimetric titration experiments in MeCN. The influence of alkali metal, alkaline earth metal and selected transition and heavy metal (Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Hg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺) cations on the spectroscopic properties of the two dansyl groups linked to the lower rim of the conformationally locked, di-ionised calix[4]arene-1,2-crown ether frameworks is investigated by emission spectrophotometry. All of the metal cations induce red shifts in the emission spectra of the di-ionised ligands. The metal cations produce enhancement or quenching of the fluorescence emissions. Changes in the fluorescence emission as a function of the metal cation identity, the lower rim crown ether ring size and the absence or presence of upper rim tert-butyl groups are investigated.     

Reversible Optical Writing and Data Storage in an Anthracene‐Loaded Metal–Organic Framework

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) enable the design of host–guest systems with specific properties. In this work, we show how the confinement of anthracene in a well‐chosen MOF host leads to reversible yellow‐to‐purple photoswitching of the fluorescence emission. This behavior has not been observed before for anthracene, either in pure form or adsorbed in other porous hosts. The photoresponse of the host–guest system is caused by the photodimerization of anthracene, which is greatly facilitated by the pore geometry, connectivity, and volume as well as the structural flexibility of the MOF host. The photoswitching behavior was used to fabricate photopatternable and erasable surfaces that, in combination with data encryption and decryption, hold promise in product authentication and secure communication applications.     

Doubly hydrophilic multiarm hyperbranched polymers with acylhydrazone linkages as acid-sensitive drug carriers

A novel type of drug carrier capable of controlled drug release is proposed. It consists of an acid-sensitive doubly hydrophilic multiarm hyperbranched copolymer with a hyperbranched polyamidoamine core and many linear poly(ethylene glycol) arms. Using pH-sensitive acylhydrazone linkages, the polymer forms unimolecular micelles that can encapsulate hydrophobic drugs. Due to their amphiphilicity, the drug-loaded unimolecular micelles can self-assemble into multimolecular micelles that show acid-triggered intracellular delivery of the hydrophobic drugs.     

Ionic Liquid–Mediated One-Pot Synthesis of 5-(Trifluoromethyl)-4,7-dihydrotetrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine Derivatives

A facile one-pot synthesis of 5-(trifluoromethyl)-4,7-dihydrotetrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives is described via a three-component reaction of aldehydes with 5-aminotetrazole and ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanoate or 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenylbutane-1,3-dione in ionic liquid. This method has the advantages of short synthetic route, operational simplicities, good yields, ecofriendliness, and recyclability of the solvent.     

酰亚胺及磺酰苯酰亚胺的氰甲基化新方法

二乙胺基乙腈分別与苯邻二酰亚胺、丁二酰亚胺或邻-磺酰苯酰亚胺反应后,可生成相应的N-氰甲基苯邻二酰亚胺、N-氰甲基丁二酰亚胺,N-氰甲基邻磺酰苯酰亚胺及O-氰甲基邻磺酰苯酰亚胺。酰亚胺或磺酰苯酰亚胺的氰甲基化反应活性,随氮负离子的稳定性及其酸性增强而增大。     

TiO2修饰La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ用于中温固体氧化物燃料电池的阴极

纳米TiO2修饰的La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ(LSCF)阴极被直接应用于YSZ电解质电池上. TiO2可阻止LSCF和YSZ间的化学反应,抑制SrZrO3的形成. LSCF-0.25 wt% TiO2阴极电池在0.7 V和600°C下的电流密度是LSCF阴极电池的1.6倍.电化学阻抗谱结果表明, TiO2修饰显著加快了氧离子注入电解质的过程,这可能与TiO2抑制了阴极/电解质界面处高电阻SrZrO3层的形成有关.本文为在ZrO2基电解质上使用高性能的(La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O3阴极材料提供了一种简单有效的方法.     

Multifunctional Nano‐Bioprobes Based on Rattle‐Structured Upconverting Luminescent Nanoparticles

Lanthanide‐doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have shown great promise in versatile bioapplications. For the first time, organosilica‐shelled β‐NaLuF₄:Gd/Yb/Er nanoprobes with a rattle structure have been designed for dual‐modal imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Benefiting from the unique rattle structure and aromatic framework, these nanoprobes are endowed with a high loading capacity and the disaggregation effect of photosensitizers. After loading of β‐carboxyphthalocyanine zinc or rose Bengal into the nanoprobes, we achieved higher energy transfer efficiency from UCNPs to photosensitizers as compared to those with conventional core–shell structure or with pure‐silica shell, which facilitates a large production of singlet oxygen and thus an enhanced PDT efficacy. We demonstrated the use of these nanoprobes in proof‐of‐concept X‐ray computed tomography (CT) and UC imaging, thus revealing the great potential of this multifunctional material as an excellent nanoplatform for cancer theranostics.     

Structural basis for discriminative regulation of gene expression by adenine- and guanine-sensing mRNAs

Metabolite-sensing mRNAs, or "riboswitches," specifically interact with small ligands and direct expression of the genes involved in their metabolism. Riboswitches contain sensing "aptamer" modules, capable of ligand-induced structural changes, and downstream regions, harboring expression-controlling elements. We report the crystal structures of the add A-riboswitch and xpt G-riboswitch aptamer modules that distinguish between bound adenine and guanine with exquisite specificity and modulate expression of two different sets of genes. The riboswitches form tuning fork-like architectures, in which the prongs are held in parallel through hairpin loop interactions, and the internal bubble zippers up to form the purine binding pocket. The bound purines are held by hydrogen bonding interactions involving conserved nucleotides along their entire periphery. Recognition specificity is associated with Watson-Crick pairing of the encapsulated adenine and guanine ligands with uridine and cytosine, respectively.     

Adsorption of xylene isomers on ordered hexagonal mesoporous FDU-15 polymer and carbon materials

The oil industry has been facing the challenges of separation of xylene isomers, o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene or removing them from the environment. In our present work, we investigated the adsorption of the three isomers on two mesoporous materials, FDU-15-350 polymer and FDU-15-900 carbon materials. The isomer adsorption capacities are well correlated with their physical pore properties. It is found that the micropores are very crucial for the adsorption of these three isomers. The more micropore volume the adsorbent has, the better the adsorption capacity is. Henry’s constants were also calculated for the three isomers on the two adsorbents. Both on FDU-15-350 polymer and FDU-15-900, the Henry’s constants for the three isomers show the same trend o>m>p xylene which is coincidently in accordance with their polarity trend, indicating more polar adsorbate is preferred for adsorption on the two adsorbents. The isosteric heats of adsorption are correlated with the microporosity and the size of the adsorbate molecule. More microporosity and smaller molecules give higher heats of adsorption. Extracted information on pore properties of adsorbents by using the three isomers has very similar results as that resolved from nitrogen adsorption, indicating the feasibility of using the three isomers as adsorbates to extract pore information. This work is devoted to commemorating the 60th birthday of Professor Mieczyslaw (Mietek) Jaroniec.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Construction of α‐Quaternary Cyclopentanones and Its Application to the Syntheses of (−)‐1,14‐Herbertenediol and (−)‐Aphanorphine

A novel and efficient strategy to build α‐benzylic quaternary cyclopentanones with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 96 % ee) and high yields (up to 99 % yield) has been developed, and its application demonstrated by the first catalytic asymmetric total synthesis of (?)‐1,14‐herbertenediol and the formal synthesis of (?)‐aphanorphine.