Chitooligosaccharide Copolymers: Synthesis and Aqueous Self-assembly

Novel water-soluble amphiphilic graft copolymers (COS-g-PCL-b-MPEG) were synthesized by the coupling reaction between chitooligosaccharide (COS) and MPEG-b-PCL-COOH, which was synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL) using MPEG as an initiator and subsequent carboxylation by succinic anhydride. The chemical composition of the graft copolymers was confirmed by ¹H-NMR spectra and FT-IR spectrometry. The thermal properties and crystallinity of the copolymers were observed by DSC and XRD measurements, which showed the existence of separate backbone and graft chain phases in the copolymer. The micellar behavior via self-assembly of the graft copolymers in aqueous solution was studied using pyrene fluorescence dye technique. AFM measurements showed that the micelles had a spherical morphology at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and ranged in size from 20–45 nm. The amphiphilic ternary biodegradable graft copolymer endows the hydrophilic outer shell of micelles with structural and functional diversification, which might be desirable for drug delivery applications.     

pH tunable self-assembly of chicoric acid and their biocompatibility studies

We report for the first time, the pH tunable self-assembly of chicoric acid, an HIV-I integrase inhibitor, which displayed a remarkable tendency to self-assemble at room temperature into varying nano- and microstructures. Furthermore, those assemblies were then functionalised with gold (Au) nanoparticles. We then investigated the biocompatibility of the materials by conducting in vitro cell attachment and cytotoxicity studies using normal rat kidney cells. The studies revealed that the biomaterials were non-toxic and biocompatible, and showed considerable adhesion to the cells. These results suggest that the assemblies could potentially be used for a variety of applications, such as carriers for targeted drug delivery as well as optoelectronics and sensors. Furthermore, the formation of highly organised nano- and microstructures of medicinally significant phytohormones such as chicoric acid is of particular interest as it might help in further understanding the supramolecular assembly mechanism of higher organised biological structures for the development of building blocks for various device fabrications.     

Effect of the self-assembly of collagen on crystallisation of calcium carbonate in aqueous solution

In order to investigate how the self-assembly of organic matrix influences crystallisation and growth of inorganic minerals, we selected collagen as the matrix and conducted three experiments of crystallisation of CaCO₃ in different reaction systems: H₂O system, as-assembled collagen fibrils system and self-assembling of collagen system. It is found that (i) the self-assembly process of organic matrix had a remarkable effect on the morphology of inorganic minerals: CaCO₃ crystals formed in the as-assembled collagen fibrils system were global clusters and those formed in the self-assembling of collagen system appeared as interlaced networks and (ii) the organic matrix decided the polymorph of crystals: CaCO₃ crystals were calcite in the H₂O system and appeared vaterite in the collagen system. From this study, we can conclude that the self-assembly of collagen fibrils greatly affect the crystallisation and growth of CaCO₃. Such results are significant in understanding the mechanism of biomineralisation in calcified tissues in general, and useful in the synthesis of biominerals.

(a)?CaCO₃ formed in the as-assembled collagen fibrils system. (b)?CaCO₃ formed in the self-assembling of collagen monomer system.The TEM images of samples obtained in the as-assembled collagen fibrils and self-assembling of collagen monomer system, were observed, respectively. The result shows that crystals CaCO₃ formed in the as-assembled collagen fibrils system were global clusters; crystals CaCO₃ formed in the self-assembling of collagen monomer system appeared interlaced networks.     

Multi-responsive cyclodextrin vesicles assembled by ‘supramolecular bola-amphiphiles’

Multi-responsive cyclodextrin vesicles (CDVs) self-assembled by ‘supramolecular bola-amphiphiles’, consisting of a guest (N,N′-bis(ferrocenylmethylene)-diaminohexane, 1) and a host (γ-hydroxybutyric-β-cyclodextrin, γ-HB-β-CD), were prepared and investigated for the first time. The morphologies and sizes of these novel vesicles in water were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The effects of the host–guest ratio, the concentration and the solvent composition are also discussed. The host–guest interactions, complex stoichiometry and structures of 1·γ-HB-β-CD in water were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, UV and NMR spectroscopy. According to the complex stoichiometry, TEM observations and Chem3D estimation, the ‘supramolecular bola-amphiphiles’, made from 1·γ-HB-β-CD and assumed for the first time, formed the membranes of the CDVs. The CDV system was responsive to an oxidising agent, which is the first report on redox-responsive systems in this field. The CDVs are also responsive to pH and the presence of metal ions, such that they disassemble upon addition of acetic acid or Cu²⁺ ions, providing possible routes to drug delivery systems.     

Metallosupramolecular Chemistry in Two Dimensions

Ultrathin films of metallosupramolecular coordination polyelectrolytes (MEPEs) on planar solid substrates assembled by electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly (ELSA) are characterized with UV-vis spectroscopy, optical ellipsometry, and X-ray reflectometry. MEPEs based on different ditopic ligands and transition metal ions are employed and shown to form regular ELSA multilayers. A quantitative analysis is in agreement with a surface coverage of approximately two MEPE monolayers per deposition step. In addition, we demonstrate that multilayers of MEPEs with different transition metal ions can be assembled. Even with kinetically labile metal ions, there is no metal ion exchange in these multilayers. Absorption spectra of multilayers on silicon show a band inversion of the MLCT band, which is rationalized in terms of optical effects.     

2,7-萘二磺酸阴离子导向五元瓜环基超分子自组装体的制备及其荧光检测性能

通过引入2,7-萘二磺酸(2,7-NDA^2-)阴离子作为结构导向剂,与五元瓜环(Q[5])和过渡金属离子(Co²⁺、Ni²⁺、Zn²⁺、Cd²⁺)在水热条件下制备了4种新颖的Q[5]基超分子自组装体(Q[5]-SA),即{[M (H₂O)₄(Q[5])]·(NDA)}·xH₂O (M=Co (1)、Ni (2)、Zn (3))和{[Cd₂Cl₂(H₂O)₄(Q[5])]·(NDA)}·13H₂O (4)。单晶X射线衍射测试结果表明,自组装体1~3同构,其中Q[5]仅一端的部分端口羰基氧原子与金属离子配位形成简单配合物;而4中Q[5]的2个端口均与金属离子Cd²⁺配位形成了一维配位链。在自组装体1~4中,配体2,7-H₂NDA均全脱质子,形成2,7-NDA^2-阴离子平衡体系电荷,但均未能与金属离子配位,而在2,7-NDA^2-阴离子与Q[5]外壁之间的瓜环外壁作用下进一步形成三维超分子结构。此外,还研究了自组装体1和4的荧光传感性能,结果表明它们都能够作为抗生素诺氟沙星(NFX)的比率型荧光探针。     

Molecular Hydrogels with Esterase-like Activity

The development of molecular hydrogels that can be applied for mimicking bioactive molecules attracts extensive interests of researchers in fields of self‐assembly. In this study, we reported on several molecular hydrogels based on naphthylacetic acid‐peptides containing L‐histidine formed by the heating‐cooling process. All hydrogels exhibited higher activity to hydrolyze 4‐nitrophenyl acetate (4‐NPA) than the free L‐histidine probably due the high density of L‐histidine residue at the surface of self‐assembled nanofibers. To calculate the 4‐NPA hydrolysis rates, the Michaelis‐Menten enzyme kinetics model was made. Among these gels, the gel of Nap‐GFFYGHY possesses the highest enzyme activity of making the ester bond cleavage, which is approximately 25 times higher than that of the control (free L‐histidine and Nap‐GFFYGYY). These results indicate that molecular hydrogels with self‐assembled nanofibers have great potential for the generation of self‐assembled multivalent materials.     

A new family of supramolecular multiferrocenyl rhomboids:Synthesis,characterization,and their electrochemical behavior

Two novel,supramolecular,multiferrocenyl rhomboids 5 and 6 have been successfully constructed from newly designed 60 ferrocenyl donor precursor 1 via coordination-driven self-assembly.The structures of all multiferrocenyl rhomboids were characterized by multinuclear NMR(¹H and ³¹P),CSI-TOF-MS, and PM6 semi-empirical molecular simulation,and their electrochemical behaviors have been investigated.     

A novel supramolecular graft copolymer via cucurbit[8]uril-based complexation and its self-assembly

A novel supramolecular graft copolymer（SGP） composed of viologen-containing copolymer（P（DMA-co-diEV）） as the main chain and Np ended PNIPAM（Np-PN1PAm） as the grafts is prepared（DMA:N,N- dimethylacryamide,diEV:ethylviologen dimer,Np:naphthalene,PNIPAM:poly（N-isopropylacrylamide））. The grafting is based on the triple complexation among a host of cucurbit[8]uril（CB[8]）and two guests of diEV and Np,which is characterized by UV-vis spectra and ITC.Temperature sensitive property of PNIPAm moiety allows SGP to self-assemble into non-covalently connected micelle（NCCM） at high temperature. The micelles are sensitive to reducing agents,for example Na₂S₂O₃,which breaks the current inclusion complex pair and induces aggregation.     

硅表面分子刷图案化及生长DNA纳米管

结合“自上而下”和“自下而上”技术构建微纳米器件是目前纳米科学和技术领域追逐的目标之一。本文首先采用硅氢化反应在硅表面共价偶联引发聚合的活性基团,接着实施表面原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）反应形成高分子刷poly（PEGMA）,采用“自上而下”的光刻技术在硅表面制备功能化的图案,最后利用“自下而上”的DNA自组装技术在图案部分原位生长DNA纳米管。上述组装过程通过多次透射反射红外光谱、凝胶电泳、透射电镜和扫描电镜进行了检测,证实了硅芯片表面定位生长DNA纳米管的可行性。