Synthesis of well‐defined star‐shaped poly(ε‐caprolactone)/poly(ethylbene glycol) amphiphilic conetworks by combination of ring opening polymerization and “click” chemistry

Well‐defined star‐shaped hydrophobic poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) amphiphilic conetworks (APCNs) have been synthesized via the combination of ring opening polymerization (ROP) and click chemistry. Alkyne‐terminated six arm star‐shaped PCL (6‐s‐PCLx‐C?CH) and azido‐terminated PEG (N₃‐PEG‐N₃) are characterized by ¹H NMR and FT‐IR. The swelling degree of the APCNs is determined both in water and organic solvent. This unique property of the conetworks is dependent on the nanophase separation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic phases. The morphology and thermal behaviors of the APCNs are investigated by SEM and DSC respectively. The biocompatibility is determined by water soluble tetrazolium salt reagents (WST‐1) assay, which shows the new polymer networks had good biocompatibility. Through in vitro release of paclitaxel (PTX) and doxorubicin (DOX), the APCNs is confirmed to be promising drug depot materials for sustained hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 407–417     

An analysis of peak overpressures in vented gaseous explosions

Experimental data from vented explosion tests using stoichiometric methane–air and 18% hydrogen–air mixtures in a 63.7 m³ chamber with a 2.7 or 5.4 m² vent are presented. Results from experiments conducted using stoichiometric propane–air in 2.42 m³ vessel with a 0.26 m² vent are also reported. The tests were focused on the effect of fuel, enclosure size, ignition location, vent size, and obstacles on the pressure development of a propagating flame in a vented enclosure. The dependence of the maximum pressure generated on the experimental parameters was analyzed. It was found that the pressure maxima may be caused by pressure transients controlled by the interplay of the maximum-flame area, the burning velocity, and the overpressure generated by an external explosion. A simple model was proposed to estimate the maximum pressure for each of the main pressure transients. The model was found to agree with the experimental data within the experimental uncertainty.     

Enantioselective Self‐Assembly of Triangular Dy3 Clusters with Single‐Molecule Magnet Behavior

Three pairs of enantiopure chiral triangular Ln₃ clusters, [Ln₃L_{RRRRRR/SSSSSS}(μ₃‐OH)₂(H₂O)₂(SCN)₄]?xCH₃OH?yH₂O ( R ‐Dy₃ , Ln=Dy, x=6, y=0; S ‐Dy₃ , Ln=Dy, x=6, y=1; R ‐Ho₃ , Ln=Ho, x=6, y=1; S ‐Ho₃ , Ln=Ho, x=6, y=1; R ‐Er₃ , Ln=Er, x=6, y=0; S ‐Er₃ , Ln=Er, x=6, y=1), have been successfully synthesized by a rational enantioselective synthetic strategy. The core of triangular Ln₃ is bound in the central N₆O₃ of the macrocyclic ligand, and the coordination spheres of Ln ions are completed by four SCN^? anions and two H₂O molecules in axial positions of the macrocycle. The circular dichroism (CD) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of the enantiomers demonstrate that the chirality is successfully transferred from the ligands to the resulting Ln₃ clusters. Ac susceptibility measurements reveal that single‐molecule magnet behavior occurs for both enantiopure clusters of R ‐Dy₃ and S ‐Dy₃ . This work is one of the few examples of the successful design of a pair of triangular Dy₃ clusters showing simultaneously slow magnetic relaxation and optical activity, and this might open up new opportunities to develop novel multifunctional materials.     

A high accuracy flow segmentation method in crowded scenes based on streakline

Flow segmentation based on similar motion patterns in crowded scenes remains an open problem in computer vision due to inherent complexity and vast diversity found in such scenes. To solve this problem, the streakline framework based on Lagrangian fluid dynamics had been proposed recently. However, this framework computed optical flow field using conventional optical flow method (Lucas Kanade method) which has poor anti-interference performance, and serious deviation would be brought to the computation of optical flow field. Moreover, our experimental results show that using the formulation of streak flow similarity in this framework can result in incorrect flow segmentation. Therefore, we combine this framework with a high accurate variational model, and modify the corresponding formulation of streak flow similarity after analyzing the streakline framework in detail. Finally, an improved method is proposed to solve flow segmentation in crowded scenes. Experiments are done to compare these two methods and results verify the validity and accuracy of our method.     

Tuning of Supramolecular Architectures of l‐Valine‐Containing Dicyanoplatinum(II) 2,2′‐Bipyridine Complexes by Metal–Metal, π–π Stacking,and Hydrogen‐Bonding Interactions

A series of newly synthesized dicyanoplatinum(II) 2,2′‐bipyridine complexes exhibits self‐assembly properties in solution after the incorporation of the l ‐valine amino units appended with various hydrophobic motifs. These l ‐valine‐derived substituents were found to have critical control over the aggregation behaviors of the complexes in the solution state. On one hand, one of the complexes was found to exhibit interesting circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) signals at low temperature due to the formation of chiral spherical aggregates in the temperature‐dependent studies. On the other hand, systematic transformation from less uniform aggregates to well‐defined fibrous and rod‐like structures via Pt???Pt and π–π stacking interactions has also been observed in the mixed‐solvent studies. These changes were monitored by UV/Vis absorption, emission, circular dichroism (CD), and CPL spectroscopies, and morphologies were studied by electron microscopy.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of a Chiral Coordination Polymer with Circularly Polarized Visible Laser

Circular dichroism is known to be the feature of a chiral agent which has inspired scientist to study the interesting phenomena of circularly polarized light (CPL) modulated molecular chirality. Although several organic molecules or assemblies have been found to be CPL‐responsive, the influence of CPL on the assembly of chiral coordination compounds remains unknown. Herein, a chiral coordination polymer, which is constructed from achiral agents, was used to study the CPL‐induced enantioselective synthesis. By irradiation with either left‐handed or right‐handed CPL during the reaction and crystallization, enantiomeric excesses of the crystalline product were obtained. Left‐handed CPL resulted in crystals with a left‐handed helical structure, and right‐handed CPL led to crystals with a right‐handed helical structure. It is exciting that the absolute asymmetric synthesis of a chiral coordination polymer could be enantioselective when using CPL, and provides a strategy for the control of the chirality of chiral coordination polymers.     

Spectroscopic studies on the inclusion interaction of p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene with vitamin B6

The formation of the inclusion complex of p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene (SCX6) with different forms of vitamin B₆ (VB₆) was studied by using fluorescence spectroscopy. VB₆ can exist in one of three forms (the acidic form, neutral zwitterionic form and basic form) depending on pH. The fluorescence intensities of acidic and basic forms of VB₆ remarkably decreased in presence of SCX6. SCX6 preferred to form 1:1 inclusion complexes with acidic and basic forms of VB₆ but hardly form inclusion complex with neutral zwitterionic form. According to the nonlinear curve fitting method, the inclusion constant (K) for the formation of inclusion complexes of acidic and basic forms of VB₆ with SCX6 were evaluated to be 1.4?×?10⁴ and 9?×?10³ L/mol, respectively. The binding affinity of SCX6 towards acidic form is attributed to hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interaction, furthermore, additional electrostatic interaction also plays a crucial role. The possible inclusion mode was given by ¹H NMR technique.