Chemical Synthesis Elucidates the Immunological Importance of a Pyruvate Modification in the Capsular Polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 4

Carbohydrate modifications are believed to strongly affect the immunogenicity of glycans. Capsular polysaccharides (CPS) from bacterial pathogens are frequently equipped with a pyruvate that can be placed across the 4,6‐, 3,4‐, or 2,3‐positions. A trans‐2,3‐linked pyruvate is present on the CPS of the Gram‐positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 4 (ST4), a pathogen responsible for pneumococcal infections. To assess the immunological importance of this modification within the CPS repeating unit, the first total synthesis of the glycan was carried out. Glycan microarrays containing a series of synthetic antigens demonstrated how antibodies raised against natural ST4 CPS specifically recognize the pyruvate within the context of the tetrasaccharide repeating unit. The pyruvate modification is a key motif for designing minimal synthetic carbohydrate vaccines for ST4.     

Biocatalytic Feedback‐Driven Temporal Programming of Self‐Regulating Peptide Hydrogels

Switchable self‐assemblies respond to external stimuli with a transition between near‐equilibrium states. Although being a key to present‐day advanced materials, these systems respond rather passively, and do not display autonomous dynamics. For autonomous behavior, approaches must be found to orchestrate the time domain of self‐assemblies, which would lead to new generations of dynamic and self‐regulating materials. Herein, we demonstrate catalytic control of the time domain of pH‐responsive peptide hydrogelators in a closed system. We program transient acidic pH states by combining a fast acidic activator with the slow, enzymatic, feedback‐driven generation of a base (dormant deactivator). This transient state can be programmed over orders of magnitude in time. It is coupled to dipeptides to create autonomously self‐regulating, dynamic gels with programmed lifetimes, which are used for fluidic guidance, burst release, and self‐erasing rapid prototyping.     

Metal‐Catalyzed β‐Functionalization of Michael Acceptors through Reductive Radical Addition Reactions

Transition‐metal‐catalyzed radical reactions are becoming increasingly important in modern organic chemistry. They offer fascinating and unconventional ways for connecting molecular fragments that are often complementary to traditional methods. In particular, reductive radical additions to α,β‐unsaturated compounds have recently gained substantial attention as a result of their broad applicability in organic synthesis. This Minireview critically discusses the recent landmark achievements in this field in context with earlier reports that laid the foundation for today′s developments.     

Synthesis,Structure, and Properties of SrC(NH)3, a Nitrogen‐Based Carbonate Analogue with the Trinacria Motif

Strontium guanidinate, SrC(NH)₃, the first compound with a doubly deprotonated guanidine unit, was synthesized from strontium and guanidine in liquid ammonia and characterized by X‐ray and neutron diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and density‐functional theory including harmonic phonon calculations. The compound crystallizes in the hexagonal space group P6₃/m, constitutes the nitrogen analogue of strontium carbonate, SrCO₃, and its structure follows a layered motif between Sr²⁺ ions and complex anions of the type C(NH)₃^2?; the anions adopt the peculiar trinacria shape. A comparison of theoretical phonons with experimental IR bands as well as quantum‐chemical bonding analyses yield a first insight into bonding and packing of the formerly unknown anion in the crystal.     

Cubic C8: An Observable Allotrope of Carbon?

Ab initio and DFT calculations are used to investigate the structure, electronic properties, spectra and reactivity of cubic C₈, which is predicted to be aromatic according to Hirsch′s rule. Although highly strained and with a small amount of diradical character, the carbon cube represents a surprisingly deep minimum and should therefore be observable as an isolated molecule. It is, however, predicted to be very reactive, both with itself and triplet oxygen. Calculated IR, Raman, and UV/Vis spectra are provided to aid identification of cubic C₈ should it be synthesized.     

Thermal Stability and Molecular Ordering of Organic Semiconductor Monolayers: Effect of an Anchor Group

The thermal stability and molecular order in monolayers of two organic semiconductors, PBI‐PA and PBI‐alkyl, based on perylene derivatives with an identical molecular structure except for an anchor group for attachment to the substrate in PBI‐PA, are reported. In situ X‐ray reflectivity measurements are used to follow the stability of these monolayers in terms of order and thickness as temperature is increased. Films have thicknesses corresponding approximately to the length of one molecule; molecules stand upright on the substrate with a defined structure. PBI‐PA monolayers have a high degree of order at room temperature and a stable film exists up to 250 °C, but decomposes rapidly above 300 °C. In contrast, stable physisorbed PBI‐alkyl monolayers only exist up to 100 °C. Above the bulk melting point at 200 °C no more order exists. The results encourage using anchor groups in monolayers for various applications as it allows enhanced stability at the interface with the substrate.     

Controlled Formation of Polymer Nanocapsules with High Diffusion‐Barrier Properties and Prediction of Encapsulation Efficiency

Polymer nanocapsules with high diffusion‐barrier performance were designed following simple thermodynamic considerations. Hindered diffusion of the enclosed material leads to high encapsulation efficiencies (EEs), which was demonstrated based on the encapsulation of highly volatile compounds of different chemical natures. Low interactions between core and shell materials are key factors to achieve phase separation and a high diffusion barrier of the resulting polymeric shell. These interactions can be characterized and quantified using the Hansen solubility parameters. A systematic study of our copolymer system revealed a linear relationship between the Hansen parameter for hydrogen bonding (δ_h) and encapsulation efficiencies which enables the prediction of encapsulated amounts for any material. Furthermore EEs of poorly encapsulated materials can be increased by mixing them with a mediator compound to give lower overall δ_h values.     

Phase Behavior of a Designed Cyclopropyl Analogue of Monoolein: Implications for Low‐Temperature Membrane Protein Crystallization

Lipidic cubic phases (LCPs) are used in areas ranging from membrane biology to biodevices. Because some membrane proteins are notoriously unstable at room temperature, and available LCPs undergo transformation to lamellar phases at low temperatures, development of stable low‐temperature LCPs for biophysical studies of membrane proteins is called for. Monodihydrosterculin (MDS) is a designer lipid based on monoolein (MO) with a configurationally restricted cyclopropyl ring replacing the olefin. Small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) analyses revealed a phase diagram for MDS lacking the high‐temperature, highly curved reverse hexagonal phase typical for MO, and extending the cubic phase boundary to lower temperature, thereby establishing the relationship between lipid molecular structure and mesophase behavior. The use of MDS as a new material for LCP‐based membrane protein crystallization at low temperature was demonstrated by crystallizing bacteriorhodopsin at 20 °C as well as 4 °C.