Multiscale structural control of thiostannate chalcogels with two-dimensional crystalline constituents.

Chalcogenide aerogels (chalcogels) are amorphous structures widely known for their lack of localized structural control. This study, however, demonstrates a precise multiscale structural control through a thiostannate motif ([Sn2S6]4-)-transformation-induced self-assembly, yielding Na-Mn-Sn-S, Na-Mg-Sn-S, and Na-Sn(II)-Sn(IV)-S aerogels. The aerogels exhibited [Sn2S6]4-:Mn2+ stoichiometric-variation-induced-control of average specific surface areas (95-226 m2 g-1), thiostannate coordination networks (octahedral to tetrahedral), phase crystallinity (crystalline to amorphous), and hierarchical porous structures (micropore-intensive to mixed-pore state). In addition, these chalcogels successfully adopted the structural motifs and ion-exchange principles of two-dimensional layered metal sulfides (K2xMnxSn3-xS6, KMS-1), featuring a layer-by-layer stacking structure and effective radionuclide (Cs+, Sr2+)-control functionality. The thiostannate cluster-based gelation principle can be extended to afford Na-Mg-Sn-S and Na-Sn(II)-Sn(IV)-S chalcogels with the same structural features as the Na-Mn-Sn-S chalcogels (NMSCs). The study of NMSCs and their chalcogel family proves that the self-assembly principle of two-dimensional chalcogenide clusters can be used to design unique chalcogels with unprecedented structural hierarchy.

Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Tumor-Targeted Water-Soluble BODIPY Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy.

The synthesis of three water-soluble lactose-modified 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY)-based photosensitizers with tumor-targeting capabilities is reported, including an investigation into their photodynamic therapeutic activity on three distinct cancer cell lines (human hepatoma Huh7, cervical cancer HeLa, and breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines). The halogenated BODIPY dyes exhibited a decreased fluorescence quantum yield compared to their non-halogenated counterpart, and facilitated the efficient generation of singlet oxygen species. The synthesized dyes exhibited low cytotoxicities in the dark and high photodynamic therapeutic capabilities against the treated cancer cell lines following irradiation at 530 nm. Moreover, the incorporation of lactose moieties led to an enhanced cellular uptake of the BODIPY dyes. Collectively, the results presented herein provide promising insights for the development of photodynamic therapeutic agents for cancer treatment.

Development of Gallic Acid-Modified Hydrogels Using Interpenetrating Chitosan Network and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activity.

In this work, antioxidant hydrogels were prepared by the construction of an interpenetrating chitosan network and functionalization with gallic acid. The poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) p(HEMA)-based hydrogels were first synthesized and subsequently surface-modified with an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure prepared with methacrylamide chitosan via free radical polymerization. The resulting chitosan-IPN hydrogels were surface-functionalized with gallic acid through an amide coupling reaction, which afforded the antioxidant hydrogels. Notably, gallic-acid-modified hydrogels based on a longer chitosan backbone exhibited superior antioxidant activity than their counterpart with a shorter chitosan moiety; this correlated to the amount of gallic acid attached to the chitosan backbone. Moreover, the surface contact angles of the chitosan-modified hydrogels decreased, indicating that surface functionalization of the hydrogels with chitosan-IPN increased the wettability because of the presence of the hydrophilic chitosan network chain. Our study indicates that chitosan-IPN hydrogels may facilitate the development of applications in biomedical devices and ophthalmic materials.

Facile Synthesis of Photofunctional Nanolayer Coatings on Titanium Substrates.

We developed a two-step chemical bonding process using photosensitizer molecules to fabricate photofunctional nanolayer coatings on hematoporphyrin- (HP-) coated Ti substrates. In the first step, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane was covalently functionalized onto the surface of the Ti substrates to provide heterogeneous sites for immobilizing the HP molecules. Then, HP molecules with carboxyl groups were chemically attached to the amine-terminated nanolayer coatings via a carbodiimide coupling reaction. The microstructure and elemental and phase composition of the HP-coated Ti substrates were investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The photophysical properties of the photofunctional nanolayer coatings were confirmed using reflectance ultraviolet-visible absorption and emission spectrophotometry. The singlet oxygen generation efficiency of the photofunctional nanolayer coatings was determined using the decomposition reaction of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran. The HP-coated Ti substrates exhibited good biocompatibility without any cytotoxicity, and these nanolayer coatings generated singlet oxygen, which can kill microorganisms using only visible light.

Cyclic metalloporphyrin dimers and tetramers: tunable shape-selective hosts for fullerenes.

Covalently linked cyclic metalloporphyrin dimers and tetramers have been demonstrated to be good shape-selective hosts for fullerene guests. The fullerene affinities of these hosts can readily be tuned by modulating the covalent linkage and the metal ions in the porphyrin subunits. A rigid Zn(porphyrin) dimer with conjugated bis(alkynyl) linkers exhibits a high selectivity towards C(70) over C(60) in toluene (K(a,C70)/K(a,C60) = ~28). For the host structures examined, a synergistic combination of rigidity in the linker and electropositive Al ions gives rise to the strongest binding of C(70). In the case of a bisected Zn(porphyrin) tetramer, two well-defined cavities exist; however, due to their comparatively small size, only one C(60) can be accommodated. Studies of fullerene binding as a function of metal ion in a porphyrin divider suggest that the right combination of shape and steric match is essential to exploit both van der Waals and local-charge/induced-dipole interactions.

Enhanced catalytic decomposition of a phosphate triester by modularly accessible bimetallic porphyrin dyads and dimers.

A series of metalloporphyrin dimers were modularly prepared and shown to catalyze the methanolysis of a phosphate triester, yielding rates that are large compared to the rate of the uncatalyzed reaction. Up to 1300-fold rate acceleration can be achieved via a combination of cavity-localized Lewis-acid activation and methoxide-induced methanolysis.

Sc(OTf)(3)-catalyzed condensation of 2-alkyl-N-tosylaziridine with aldehydes or ketones: an efficient synthesis of 5-alkyl-1,3-oxazolidines.

Sc(OTf)(3) effectively catalyzes the condensation of 2-alkyl-N-tosylaziridine with a wide variety of aldehydes and ketones, producing 5-alkyl-1,3-oxazolidines in good yields and excellent regioselectivity at catalyst loadings as low as 1 mol%.

Trimanganese complexes bearing bidentate nitrogen ligands as a highly efficient catalyst precursor in the epoxidation of alkenes.

A series of trinuclear manganese complexes coordinated with neutral bidentate nitrogen ligands, [Mn3L2(OAc)6], were prepared from manganese acetate and the corresponding ligands. Using peracetic acid as the oxidant, the air- and moisture-stable manganese clusters exhibited excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in the epoxidation of olefins under mild conditions. The highest activity was observed with a trinuclear complex containing a 2-pyridylimino ligand, [Mn3(ppei)2(OAc)6] (ppei = 2-pyridinal-1-phenylethylimine). With this system, the substrate scope was extremely wide to include terminal and electron-deficient double bonds of both aliphatic and aromatic alkenes. The high activity was undiminished under the reaction conditions even directly using a mixture of the pyridylimino ligands and manganese acetates, making this process more convenient. It was also observed that analogous trinuclear complexes, such as [Mn3(bipy)2(OAc)6] and [Mn3(phen)2(OAc)6], displayed excellent activities. While radical intermediacy was inferred from the product distribution, kinetic data revealed that the epoxidation is roughly first-order in manganese cluster precursor and oxidant, respectively, and zero-order in olefin. These results led us to propose that the trinuclear complexes [Mn3L2(OAc)6] serve as catalyst precursors that dissociate into monomeric species with the formulation of [MnL2(OAc)2] under the reaction conditions.

Substituent effects on the Z/E-selectivity in cross-metathesis of conjugated enynes.

Cross-metathesis of a range of conjugated enynes with alkenes turns out to proceed with preferential formation of Z-isomers over E-isomers up to >25:1. Careful studies including substrate modification and control experiments revealed that the reaction proceeds under kinetic rather than thermodynamic control. Driving forces for this substrate-dependent Z-selectivity are attributed to the steric hindrance between substituents on the reacting enynes and NHC ligand of the ruthenium catalyst in the putative metallacyclobutane, as well as chelation effects of suitably positioned functional groups to Ru, which is strongly supported by ab initio calculations.

Conjugated enynes as a new type of substrates for olefin metathesis.

[reaction: see text] It has been demonstrated for the first time that conjugated enynes can be employed as a facile substrate in olefin metathesis with the use of a bispyridine-substituted ruthenium benzylidene catalyst. Cross-metathesis of the enynes with alkenes turns out to proceed with preferential formation of (Z)-isomers over (E)-isomers up to >25:1 in moderate to good yields. The intramolecular version of conjugated enynes affords novel butadienyl cycloalkenes, which are a highly useful synthetic building blocks, in acceptable yields.