Programed Thermoresponsive Polymers with Cleavage-Induced Phase Transition

A new programed upper critical solution temperature-type thermoresponsive polymer was developed using water-soluble anionic polymer conjugates derived from polyallylamine and phthalic acid with cleavage-induced phase transition property. Intrinsic charge inversion from anion to cation of the polymer side chain is induced through a side chain cleavage reaction in acidic aqueous media. With the progress of side chain cleavage under fixed external conditions, the polymer conjugates express a thermoresponsive property, followed by shifting a phase boundary due to the change in polymer composition. When the phase transition boundary eventually reached the examined temperature, phase transition occurs under fixed external conditions. Such new insight obtained in this study opens up the new concept of time-programed stimuli-responsive polymer possessing a cleavage-induced phase transition.     

机械剥离法制备石墨烯纳米带及其低温电输运性质研究

用机械剥离法制备了数10 μm长的石墨烯纳米带,并在0.3 K的低温下对其电输运性质进行了测量研究,看到了法布里-珀罗干涉现象. 实验结果表明,机械剥离法得到的石墨烯纳米带具有很高的质量,使得其中的电子在低温下能够形成一个很好的一维体系. 关键词： 石墨烯纳米带 机械剥离法 法布里-珀罗干涉     

巨大芽胞杆菌环氧水解酶的固定化及其催化性能

考察了多种载体对巨大芽孢杆菌ECU1001环氧水解酶的固定化.以大孔DEAE-纤维素离子交换树脂为载体时,固定化酶的活力回收达70%.进一步考察了温度和pH对固定化酶活力的影响,并使用该固定化酶进行了缩水甘油苯基醚对映选择性水解批次反应.结果表明,在较低的底物浓度下该固定化酶的稳定性较好,10批反应后仍然剩余72.4%的活力.     

环氧丙烷-空气混合物爆轰波胞格结构的研究

对碳氢燃料云雾爆轰波胞格结构的影响因素进行了分析:比较了初始温度在25℃和100℃条件下碳氢燃料胞格尺寸,发现胞格尺寸相差不大;胞格尺寸随初始压力的降低而增大,在相对压力为负压条件下得到清晰的爆轰波胞格结构;起爆能的增大可以导致更加复杂的爆轰波次胞格结构出现。     

Release of Volatile Cyclopentanone Derivatives from Imidazolidin-4-One Profragrances in a Fabric Softener Application

Imidazolidin-4-ones were investigated as hydrolytically cleavable profragrances to increase the long-lastingness of perfume perception in a fabric softener application. The reaction of different amino acid amides with 2-alkyl- or 2-alkenylcyclopentanones as the model fragrances to be released afforded the corresponding bi- or tricyclic imidazolidin-4-ones as mixtures of diastereoisomers, which were separated by column chromatography. In polar solution, the different stereoisomers equilibrated under thermodynamic conditions to form mixtures with constant isomeric distributions, as shown by NMR spectroscopy. Dynamic headspace analysis on dry cotton demonstrated the controlled fragrance release from the precursors in practical application. Under non-equilibrium conditions (continuous evaporation of the fragrance) and depending on the structure and stereochemistry of the profragrances, the recorded headspace concentrations of the fragrance released from the precursors increased by a factor of 2 up to 100 with respect to the unmodified reference. Prolinamide-based precursors released the highest amount of fragrance and were thus found to be particularly suitable for prolonging the evaporation of cyclopentanone-derived fragrances on a dry cotton surface.     

Easy Production of “Difficult Peptides” Using Cell-Free Protein Synthesis and a New Methionine Analogue as a Latent Peptide Cleavage Site

Aliphatic γ-chloro-α-amino acids incorporated in place of their canonical analogues through cell-free protein synthesis act as heat-labile linkers, offering a useful strategy for the straightforward production of target peptides as fusion proteins, from which the targets are readily released. Until now, the natural abundance of aliphatic amino acids in peptides has limited the scope of the method, as it leads to undesired cleavage sites in synthesized products, but here the authors report the development of a new cleavable chloro amino acid that incorporates in place of the relatively rare amino acid methionine, thus greatly expanding the scope of producible targets. This new strategy is employed for simplified peptide synthesis with a methionine-free fusion partner, allowing single-site incorporation of the cleavable linker for clean release and easy purification of the target peptide. Its utility is demonstrated through the straightforward preparation of two peptides reported to be challenging targets and not accessible through standard solid-phase chemical methodologies, as well as analogues.     

Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Cyclotides from Clitoria ternatea: Xxx-Pro Bond Fragmentation as Convenient Diagnostic of Pro Residue Positioning

Cyclotides, a class of macrocyclic plant peptides, characterized by a cyclic backbone and three inter-locking disulfide bonds, may be divided into two major structural subfamilies, Möbius and Bracelet, based on the presence or absence of a specific proline residue. The present study describes the suite of cyclotides obtained from Clitoria ternatea, characterized by LC−MS and MS/MS techniques. Notable variations in product ion distributions were observed in cyclotides belonging to different structural subfamilies based on the number and positions of proline residues. For instance, Cter M which is an abundant Möbius cyclotide in this plant containing three proline residues, displayed distinct b- and y- ion characteristics in the MS/MS spectra compared to Cliotide T1, another commonly identified cyclotide but belonging to the Bracelet subfamily having two proline residues. The distinct fragmentation pattern of prototypical cyclotides of each structural subfamily, determined by Xxx-Pro bond fragmentation, was used to rapidly identify and sequence a novel cyclotide ctr pep 30 from this plant.     

α- and β-Eliminations in Transition Metal Complexes: Strategies to Cleave Unstrained C−C and C−F Bonds

Oxidative addition is the standard process for single-bond activation in transition metal catalysis and it is known to operate for many types of bonds, but challenging σ-bonds e. g. C(sp³)−F and C(sp³)−C(sp³) bonds are the exceptions in this respect. This short review aims at demonstrating how both α- and β-eliminations may be better options for activation of unstrained C−F and C−C single bonds. Selected examples of such eliminations are presented with a mechanistic focus indicating how unstrained and unactivated C−C and C−F bonds can be broken by employing α- and β-eliminations in transition metal hydrocarbyl ligands. Our examples show that the reaction barrier in β-eliminations is controlled by the s-character of the participating bonds where a higher s-character gives a better overlap in the multi-center transition state thereby increasing the reactivity; still β-aryl eliminations can compete with the classical β-hydrogen eliminations in certain cases.     

Facile Dinitrogen and Dioxygen Cleavage by a Uranium(III) Complex: Cooperativity Between the Non‐Innocent Ligand and the Uranium Center

Activation of dinitrogen (N₂, 78 %) and dioxygen (O₂, 21 %) has fascinated chemists and biochemists for decades. The industrial conversion of N₂ into ammonia requires extremely high temperatures and pressures. Herein we report the first example of N₂ and O₂ cleavage by a uranium complex, [N(CH₂CH₂NPⁱPr₂)₃U]₂(TMEDA), under ambient conditions without an external reducing agent. The N₂ triple bond breaking implies a U^III–P^III six‐electron reduction. The hydrolysis of the N₂ reduction product allows the formation of ammonia or nitrogen‐containing organic compounds. The interaction between U^III and P^III in this molecule allows an eight‐electron reduction of two O₂ molecules. This study establishes that the combination of uranium and a low‐valent nonmetal is a promising strategy to achieve a full N₂ and O₂ cleavage under ambient conditions, which may aid the design of new systems for small molecules activation.     

The Construction of Molecular Complexity from Functionalized Alkylidenecyclopropanes (FACPs)

As a special family of cyclopropanes, alkylidenecyclopropanes (ACPs), exhibit outstanding physical and chemical activities, which provide opportunities to participate in fascinating chemical transformations to access cyclopropane-containing units without ring-opening processes and other unavailable compounds through conventional routes with ring-opening processes owing to their strain-driven reactivity and synthetic accessibility. Nowadays, intramolecular reactions of methylenecyclopropanes (MCPs) or ACPs with adjacent functionalities have emerged as a powerful synthetic protocol for the construction of a variety of polycyclic and heterocyclic compounds with different sized skeletons through catalytic methods. Recently, we put forward the concept of functional alkylidenecyclopropanes (FACPs) and in this Minireview, we will summarize the reactions of FACPs after 2016 including several important early works from three aspects: 1) reactions with distal C−C bond cleavage, 2) reactions with proximal C−C bond cleavage (including ring-expansion reactions), and 3) reactions without C−C bond cleavage.