An Overview of Molecular Packing Mode in Two‐Dimensional Organic Nanomaterials via Supramolecular Assembly

Two‐dimensional (2D) organic nanomaterials are attracting increasing research interest and expected to be the ideal candidate for future‐ proofed flexible electronics and biotechnologies. Owing to the complex molecular structures and multiple intermolecular interactions in organic systems, deeper understanding of rational molecular design and assembly principles is urgently required. In this review, a collection of molecular packing mode in the 2D organic nanomaterials via supramolecular assembly is presented, so as to help explicit the relationship among molecular structures, supramolecular interactions and molecular packing motifs in 2D assembly systems. We also provide a rational and accessible schematic model to demonstrate several typical kinds of molecular packing motifs for the prediction of the 2D morphology.     

Ultrasensitive small molecule fluorogenic probe for human heparanase

Heparanase (HPA) is a critical enzyme involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and its elevated expression has been linked with diseases such as various types of cancer and inflammation. The detection of heparanase enzymatic activity holds tremendous value in the study of the cellular microenvironment, and search of molecular therapeutics targeting heparanase, however, no structurally defined probes are available for the detection of heparanase activity. Here we present the development of the first ultrasensitive fluorogenic small-molecule probe for heparanase enzymatic activity via tuning the electronic effect of the substrate. The probe exhibits a 756-fold fluorescence turn-on response in the presence of human heparanase, allowing one-step detection of heparanase activity in real-time with a picomolar detection limit. The high sensitivity and robustness of the probe are exemplified in a high-throughput screening assay for heparanase inhibitors.

Heparanase, a critical enzyme involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix, activates a disaccharide probe HADP to give a strong fluorescence signal.     

Separation and determination of seven fluoroquinolones by pressurized capillary electrochromatography

In this paper, pressurized CEC was used for the separation and determination of seven fluoroquinolones (FQs). The effect of different experimental conditions, such as the concentration and pH of the buffer, the organic modifier concentration, the surfactant and ion-paring agents added to the electrolyte, and applied voltage were studied. All the seven FQs were baseline separated using mobile phase containing 27% v/v ACN, 5 mmol/L Na2HPO4 buffer (pH 4.0 adjusted using citric acid), 11 mmol/L SDS, and 0.01% TEA v/v at detection wavelength of 287 nm and at an applied voltage of -10 kV. The calibration curves were linear (r>0.9991) over a concentration range of 1.0-50.0 mg/L for norfloxacin (NFLX); 2.5-50.0 mg/L for fleroxacin (FLX), ciprofloxacin (CPFX), and lomefloxacin (LMX); and 5.0-50.0 mg/L for enoxacin (ENX), ofloxacin (OFLX), and gatifloxacin (GFLX). The detection limits (S/N = 3) for ENX, OFLX, FLX, NFLX, CPFX, LMX, and GFLX were 0.5, 0.8, 0.4, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/L, respectively. The method is simple, rapid, and reproducible. It was successfully applied to the analysis of fish muscle samples spiked with FQs. Mean recoveries ranged from 81.6 to 97.6%.     

聚醚桥连二异羟肟酸单核和双核过渡金属配合物催化PNPP水解

Two polyether bridged dihydroxamic acids and their mono-and binuclear manganese(Ⅱ), zinc(Ⅱ) complexes have been synthesized and employed as models to mimic hydrolase in catalytic hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl picolinate (PNPP). The reaction kinetics and the mechanism of hydrolysis of PNPP have been investigated. The kinetic mathematical model for PNPP cleaved by the complexes has been proposed. The effects of the different central metal ion, mono-and binuclear metal, the pseudo-macrocyclic polyether constructed by polyethoxy group of the complexes, and reactive temperature on the rate for catalytic hydrolysis of PNPP have been examined. The results showed that the transition metal dthydroxamates exhibited high catalytic activity to the hydrolysis of PNPP, the catalytic activity of binuclear complexes was higher than that of mononuclear ones, and the pseudo-macrocyclic polyether might synergetically activate H20 coordinated to metal ion with central metal ion together and promote the catalytic hydrolysis of PNPP.     

Study of SPG membrane emulsification processes for the preparation of monodisperse core-shell microcapsules

Experimental investigations on the Shirasu-porous-glass (SPG)-membrane emulsification processes for preparing monodisperse core-shell microcapsules with porous membranes were carried out systematically. The results showed that, to get monodisperse oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions by SPG membrane emulsification, it was more important to choose an anionic surfactant than to consider hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) matching. Increasing the viscosity of either the disperse phase or the continuous phase or decreasing the solubility of the disperse phase in the continuous phase could improve both the monodispersity and the stability of emulsions. With increasing monomer concentration inside the disperse phase, the monodispersity of emulsions became slightly worse and the mean diameter of emulsions gradually became smaller. Monodisperse monomer-containing emulsions were obtained when the SPG membrane pore size was larger than 1.0 micro m, and from these emulsions satisfactory monodisperse core-shell microcapsules with a porous membrane were prepared. On the other hand, when the SPG membrane pore size was smaller than 1.0 mciro m, no monodisperse emulsions were obtained because of the formation and chokage of solid monomer crystals in the pores or at the end of the pores of the SPG membrane. This was due to the remarkable solvation and diffusion of the solvent in water. With increasing the emulsification time the average emulsion diameter generally decreased, and the monodispersity of the emulsions gradually became worse.     

In vivo microdialysis/liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for the on-line monitoring of melatonin in rat

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) has been coupled to in vivo microdialysis for on-line monitoring of melatonin in a freely moving rat for a period of 15 hours. A microdialysis probe was surgically implanted into the jugular vein of the rat, and deionized water was used as the perfusion medium at a flow rate of 1.0 microL/min. Microdialysis samples were collected in an on-line injector with sample injection every 30 minutes. Melatonin was dosed by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection and then monitored by microdialysis/LC/MS/MS. The whole experiment, including the microdialysis sampling and sample injection into the LC/MS system, was fully automated. Metabolites of melatonin were identified off-line by LC/MSn experiments. Two metabolites were identified as 6-hydroxymelatonin and cyclic 2-hydroxymelatonin, consistent with ones found previously in the literature.     

Ion-ion reactions for charge reduction of biopolymer at atmospheric pressure ambient

Extractive electrospray ionization source(EESI)was adapted for ion-ion reaction,which was demonstrated by using a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer for the first ion-ion reaction of biopolymers in the atmospheric pressure ambient.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and spectroscopic characterization of a hydrogen-bonded 1D copper(II) complex

Novel 1:2 and 1:1 (M:L) copper(II) complexes have been prepared from the tridentate ligand 2-(1-methyl-2-aza-5-oxapentyl)phenol (H₂L¹). The crystal structure of [Cu(HL¹)₂] (1) exhibits a noncentrosymmetric square-planar geometry with a slightly tetrahedral distortion. The Cu^II atom is coordinated by two amino N and two phenoxo O atoms of two (HL¹)^– ligands. The phenoxo and the alkoxy groups are involved in two strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The coordination moieties are further connected to a 1D linear structure by the action of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the alkoxyl and the amino groups. The importance of steric hindrance introduced by the methyl group in the molecular structure and the packing of the complex molecules has been demonstrated. The e.p.r. parameters of (1) have been obtained: g = 2.231, g = 2.005, g _iso = 2.080, A = 185.0 G, A _iso = 86.5 G, A = (3A _iso – A )/2 = 37.3 G. These results confirm a distorted square planar stereochemistry with a ( )¹ ground state.     

Polymeric silver(I) complexes with pyridyl dithioether ligands: experimental and theoretical investigations on the coordination properties of the ligands

The reactions of four flexible tetradentate ligands, 1,3-bis(2-pyridylthio)propane (L1), 1,4-bis(2-pyridylthio)butane (L2), 1,5-bis(2-pyridylthio)pentane (L3) and 1,6-bis(2-pyridylthio)hexane (L4) with AgX (X = BF4-, ClO4-, PF6-, or CF3SO3-) lead to the formation of seven new complexes: [AgL1(BF4)]2 (1), [[AgL2](ClO4)]infinity (2), [[AgL2(CH3CN)](PF6)]infinity (3), [[AgL3](BF4)(CHCl3)]2 (4), [[AgL3(CF3SO3)](CH3OH)(0.5)]infinity (5), [[Ag2L4(2)](BF4)2]infinity (6), and [[AgL4](PF6)]infinity (7), which have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. Single-crystal X-ray analyses show that complexes 1 and 4 possess dinuclear macrometallacyclic structures, and complexes 2, 3 and 5-7 take chain structures. In all the complexes, the nitrogen atoms of ligands preferentially coordinate to silver atoms to form normal coordination bonds, while the sulfur atoms only show weak interactions with silver atoms and the intermolecular AgS weak contacts connect the low-dimensional complexes into high-dimensional supramolecular networks. Additional weak interactions, such as pi-pi stacking, F...F weak interactions, Ag...O contacts or C-H...O hydrogen bonds, also help to stabilize the crystal structures. It was found that the parity of the -(CH2)n- spacers (n = 3-6) affect the orientation of the two terminal pyridyl rings, thereby significantly influence the framework formations of these complexes. The coordination features of ligands and their conformation changes between free and coordination states have been investigated by DFT calculations.     

Hypervalency avoided: simple substituted BrF3 and BrF5 molecules. Structures, thermochemistry, and electron affinities of the bromine hydrogen fluorides HBrF2 and HBrF4

Five different pure density functional theory (DFT) and hybrid Hartree-Fock/DFT methods have been used to search for the molecular structures, thermochemistry, and electron affinities of the bromine hydrogen fluorides HBrF(n)/HBrF(n)(-) (n = 2, 4). The basis sets used in this work are of double-zeta plus polarization quality in conjunction with s- and p-type diffuse functions, labeled as DZP++. Structures with Br-F and Br-H normal bonds, that is, HBrF(2)/HBrF(2)(-) with C(2v) or C(s) symmetry and HBrF(4)/HBrF(4)(-) with C(4v) or C(s) symmetry, are genuine minima. However, unlike the original BrF(3) and BrF(5) molecules, the global minima for HBrF(n)/HBrF(n)(-) (n = 2, 4) species are predicted to be complexes, some of which contain hydrogen bonds. The demise of the hypervalent structures is due to the availability of favorable dissociation products involving HF, which has a much larger dissociation energy than F(2). Similar reasoning suggests that PF(4)H, SF(3)H, SF(5)H, ClF(2)H, ClF(4)H, AsF(4)H, SeF(3)H, and SeF(5)H will all be hydrogen bond structures incorporating diatomic HF. The most reasonable theoretical values of the adiabatic electron affinities (EA(ad)) are 3.69 (HBrF(2)) and 4.38 eV (HBrF(4)) with the BHLYP method. These electron affinities are comparable to those of the analogous molecules: Br(2)F(n), ClBrF(n), and BrF(n)(+1) systems. The first F-atom dissociation energies for the neutral global minima are 60 (HBrF(2)) and 49 kcal/mol (HBrF(4)) with the B3LYP method. The first H-atom dissociation energies for the same systems are 109 (HBrF(2)) and 116 kcal/mol (HBrF(4)). The large Br-H bond energies are not sufficient to render the hypervalent structures energetically tenable. The dissociation energies for the complexes to their fragments are relatively small.