- FLOW CHEMISTRY SYNTHESIS OF ISOCYANATES
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The disclosure provides, inter alia, safe and environmentally-friendly methods, such as flow chemistry, to synthesize isocyanates, such as methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, and tetramethylxylene diisocyanate.
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- A Strategy to Synthesize Molecular Knots and Links Using the Hydrophobic Effect
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Conventional approaches to the synthesis of molecular knots and links mostly rely on metal templation. We present here an alternative strategy that uses the hydrophobic effect to drive the formation of complex interlocked structures in water. We designed an aqueous dynamic combinatorial system that can generate knots and links. In this system, the self-assembly of a topologically complex macrocycle is thermodynamically favored only if an optimum packing of all its components minimizes the hydrophobic surface area in contact with water. Therefore, the size, geometry, and rigidity of the initial building blocks can be exploited to control the formation of a specific topology. We illustrate the validity of this concept with the syntheses of a Hopf link, a Solomon link, and a trefoil knot. This latter molecule, whose self-assembly is templated by halides, binds iodide with high affinity in water. Overall, this work brings a fresh perspective on the synthesis of topologically complex molecules: Solvophobic effects can be intentionally harnessed to direct the efficient and selective self-assembly of knots and links.
- Cougnon, Fabien B.L.,Caprice, Kenji,Pupier, Marion,Bauzá, Antonio,Frontera, Antonio
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supporting information
p. 12442 - 12450
(2018/09/25)
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- A toolbox for controlling the properties and functionalisation of hydrazone-based supramolecular hydrogels
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In recent years, we have developed a low molecular weight hydrogelator system that is formed in situ under ambient conditions through catalysed hydrazone formation between two individually non-gelating components. In this contribution, we describe a molecular toolbox based on this system which allows us to (1) investigate the limits of gel formation and fine-tuning of their bulk properties, (2) introduce multicolour fluorescent probes in an easy fashion to enable high-resolution imaging, and (3) chemically modify the supramolecular gel fibres through click and non-covalent chemistry, to expand the functionality of the resultant materials. In this paper we show preliminary applications of this toolbox, enabling covalent and non-covalent functionalisation of the gel network with proteins and multicolour imaging of hydrogel networks with embedded mammalian cells and their substructures. Overall, the results show that the toolbox allows for on demand gel network visualisation and functionalisation, enabling a wealth of applications in the areas of chemical biology and smart materials.
- Poolman, Jos M.,Maity, Chandan,Boekhoven, Job,Van Der Mee, Lars,Le Sage, Vincent A.A.,Groenewold, G.J. Mirjam,Van Kasteren, Sander I.,Versluis, Frank,Van Esch, Jan H.,Eelkema, Rienk
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supporting information
p. 852 - 858
(2016/02/05)
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