Enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes in the presence of chiral aprotic ligands

Optically active amino thiocyanate derivatives of (−)-norephedrine were found to act as effective aprotic ligands for enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. This reaction provided optically active secondary alcohols with ee up to 96%.     

Customizable Lipid Nanoparticle Materials for the Delivery of siRNAs and mRNAs

RNAs are a promising class of therapeutics given their ability to regulate protein concentrations at the cellular level. Developing safe and effective strategies to deliver RNAs remains important for realizing their full clinical potential. Here, we develop lipid nanoparticle formulations that can deliver short interfering RNAs (for gene silencing) or messenger RNAs (for gene upregulation). Specifically, we study how the tail length, tail geometry, and linker spacing in diketopiperazine lipid materials influences LNP potency with siRNAs and mRNAs. Eight lipid materials are synthesized, and 16 total formulations are screened for activity in vitro; the lead material is evaluated with mRNA for in vivo use and demonstrates luciferase protein expression in the spleen. In undertaking this approach, not only do we develop synthetic routes to delivery materials, but we also reveal structural criteria that could be useful for developing next‐generation delivery materials for RNA therapeutics.     

Highly enantioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation using new chiral ferrocenylphosphinoimidazolidine ligands

New ferrocenylphosphinoimidazolidines containing central chirality and planar chirality were found to act as highly effective chiral ligands in Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with dimethyl malonate.     

In situ synthesis of polystyrene/nano-CdSe core/shell microspheres in aqueous solution at room temperature

Polystyrene/nano-CdSe (PS/CdSe) core/shell microspheres were synthesized via in situ soap-free emulsion polymerization using various functional monomers such as 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, 1-vinylimidazole, 2-vinylpridine, and 4-vinylpridine. They were co-polymerized with styrene monomer and provided the location for coordinating with Cd²⁺ ions on the PS particle surfaces. Then, we used an alkaline selenium solution as a selenium source. Reaction of the alkaline selenium solution with the previous emulsion produced nanocrystalline CdSe onto the surface of PS particles at room temperature under atmospheric pressure. The different kinds of functional monomers and the amount of both Cd²⁺ ion and functional monomer were playing important roles to obtain stable and uniform morphologies of CdSe particles. Morphological observations were carried out by both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Through the SEM and TEM microphotographs, we could confirm the formation of PS/nano-CdSe composite particles. Ultraviolet–visible absorption measurement indicated the quantum dot effect in the resulted PS/nano-CdSe core/shell microspheres.     

Optical properties of core/shell typed PMMA/CdS nanoparticles prepared by in situ and ex situ surfactant-free emulsion polymerization

Core/shell poly(methyl methacrylate)/cadmium sulfide (PMMA/CdS) nanoparticles were prepared by surfactant-free emulsion copolymerization with 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) auxiliary monomer. According to the addition time of Cd²⁺ ions, the synthesis of the hybrid nanoparticles was conducted in in situ and ex situ techniques. The core/shell PMMA/CdS nanoparticles synthesized by the post-addition (ex situ) of Cd²⁺ ions showed a wide size distribution and interference fringes in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. However, these results were improved when the PMMA/CdS nanoparticles were synthesized in the presence of Cd²⁺ ions (in situ method). The in situ method made it possible to obtain monodisperse hybrid nanoparticles and fairly narrow band-gap emission.