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Now showing 1 - 10 of 477
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    Ring-Closure Mechanisms Mediated by Laccase to Synthesize Phenothiazines, Phenoxazines, and Phenazines
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2020) Hahn, Veronika; Mikolasch, Annett; Weitemeyer, Josephine; Petters, Sebastian; Davids, Timo; Lalk, Michael; Lackmann, Jan-Wilm; Schauer, Frieder
    The green and environmentally friendly synthesis of highly valuable organic substances is one possibility for the utilization of laccases (EC 1.10.3.2). As reactants for the herein described syntheses, different o-substituted arylamines or arylthiols and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and its derivatives were used. In this way, the formation of phenothiazines, phenoxazines, and phenazines was achieved in aqueous solution mediated by the laccase of Pycnoporus cinnabarinus in the presence of oxygen. Two types of phenothiazines (3-hydroxy- and 3-oxo-phenothiazines) formed in one reaction assay were described for the first time. The cyclization reactions yielded C–N, C–S, or C–O bonds. The syntheses were investigated with regard to the substitution pattern of the reaction partners. Differences in C–S and C–N bond formations without cyclization are discussed.
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    Synthesis and Characterization of Oxide Chloride Sr2VO3Cl, a Layered S = 1 Compound
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2023) Sannes, Johnny A.; Kizhake Malayil, Ranjith K.; Corredor, Laura T.; Wolter, Anja U. B.; Grafe, Hans-Joachim; Valldor, Martin
    The mixed-anion compound with composition Sr2VO3Cl has been synthesized for the first time, using the conventional high-temperature solid-state synthesis technique in a closed silica ampule under inert conditions. This compound belongs to the known Sr2TmO3Cl (Tm = Sc, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) family, but with Tm = V. All homologues within this family can be described with the tetragonal space group P4/nmm (No. 129); from a Rietveld refinement of powder X-ray diffraction data on the Tm = V homologue, the unit cell parameters were determined to a = 3.95974(8) and c = 14.0660(4) Å, and the atomic parameters in the crystal structure could be estimated. The synthesized powder is black, implying that the compound is a semiconductor. The magnetic investigations suggest that Sr2VO3Cl is a paramagnet at high temperatures, exhibiting a μeff = 2.0 μB V-1 and antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions between the magnetic vanadium spins (θCW = −50 K), in line with the V-O-V advantageous super-exchange paths in the V-O layers. Specific heat capacity studies indicate two small anomalies around 5 and 35 K, which however are not associated with long-range magnetic ordering. 35Cl ss-NMR investigations suggest a slow spin freezing below 4.2 K resulting in a glassy-like spin ground state.
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    Melt Electrowriting of Graded Porous Scaffolds to Mimic the Matrix Structure of the Human Trabecular Meshwork
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publ., 2022) Włodarczyk-Biegun, Małgorzata K.; Villiou, Maria; Koch, Marcus; Muth, Christina; Wang, Peixi; Ott, Jenna; del Campo, Aranzazu
    The permeability of the human trabecular meshwork (HTM) regulates eye pressure via a porosity gradient across its thickness modulated by stacked layers of matrix fibrils and cells. Changes in HTM porosity are associated with increases in intraocular pressure and the progress of diseases such as glaucoma. Engineered HTMs could help to understand the structure-function relation in natural tissues and lead to new regenerative solutions. Here, melt electrowriting (MEW) is explored as a biofabrication technique to produce fibrillar, porous scaffolds that mimic the multilayer, gradient structure of native HTM. Poly(caprolactone) constructs with a height of 125-500 μm and fiber diameters of 10-12 μm are printed. Scaffolds with a tensile modulus between 5.6 and 13 MPa and a static compression modulus in the range of 6-360 kPa are obtained by varying the scaffold design, that is, the density and orientation of the fibers and number of stacked layers. Primary HTM cells attach to the scaffolds, proliferate, and form a confluent layer within 8-14 days, depending on the scaffold design. High cell viability and cell morphology close to that in the native tissue are observed. The present work demonstrates the utility of MEW for reconstructing complex morphological features of natural tissues.
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    Nanoscale Mapping of the 3D Strain Tensor in a Germanium Quantum Well Hosting a Functional Spin Qubit Device
    (Washington, DC : Soc., 2023) Corley-Wiciak, Cedric; Richter, Carsten; Zoellner, Marvin H.; Zaitsev, Ignatii; Manganelli, Costanza L.; Zatterin, Edoardo; Schülli, Tobias U.; Corley-Wiciak, Agnieszka A.; Katzer, Jens; Reichmann, Felix; Klesse, Wolfgang M.; Hendrickx, Nico W.; Sammak, Amir; Veldhorst, Menno; Scappucci, Giordano; Virgilio, Michele; Capellini, Giovanni
    A strained Ge quantum well, grown on a SiGe/Si virtual substrate and hosting two electrostatically defined hole spin qubits, is nondestructively investigated by synchrotron-based scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy to determine all its Bravais lattice parameters. This allows rendering the three-dimensional spatial dependence of the six strain tensor components with a lateral resolution of approximately 50 nm. Two different spatial scales governing the strain field fluctuations in proximity of the qubits are observed at <100 nm and >1 μm, respectively. The short-ranged fluctuations have a typical bandwidth of 2 × 10-4 and can be quantitatively linked to the compressive stressing action of the metal electrodes defining the qubits. By finite element mechanical simulations, it is estimated that this strain fluctuation is increased up to 6 × 10-4 at cryogenic temperature. The longer-ranged fluctuations are of the 10-3 order and are associated with misfit dislocations in the plastically relaxed virtual substrate. From this, energy variations of the light and heavy-hole energy maxima of the order of several 100 μeV and 1 meV are calculated for electrodes and dislocations, respectively. These insights over material-related inhomogeneities may feed into further modeling for optimization and design of large-scale quantum processors manufactured using the mainstream Si-based microelectronics technology.
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    Sperm Micromotors for Cargo Delivery through Flowing Blood
    (Washington, DC : American Chemical Society, 2020) Xu, Haifeng; Medina-Sánchez, Mariana; Maitz, Manfred F.; Werner, Carsten; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    Micromotors are recognized as promising candidates for untethered micromanipulation and targeted cargo delivery in complex biological environments. However, their feasibility in the circulatory system has been limited due to the low thrust force exhibited by many of the reported synthetic micromotors, which is not sufficient to overcome the high flow and complex composition of blood. Here we present a hybrid sperm micromotor that can actively swim against flowing blood (continuous and pulsatile) and perform the function of heparin cargo delivery. In this biohybrid system, the sperm flagellum provides a high propulsion force while the synthetic microstructure serves for magnetic guidance and cargo transport. Moreover, single sperm micromotors can assemble into a train-like carrier after magnetization, allowing the transport of multiple sperm or medical cargoes to the area of interest, serving as potential anticoagulant agents to treat blood clots or other diseases in the circulatory system.
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    Persistent peri-Heptacene: Synthesis and In Situ Characterization
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Ajayakumar, M.R.; Ma, Ji; Lucotti, Andrea; Schellhammer, Karl Sebastian; Serra, Gianluca; Dmitrieva, Evgenia; Rosenkranz, Marco; Komber, Hartmut; Liu, Junzhi; Ortmann, Frank; Tommasini, Matteo; Feng, Xinliang
    n-peri-Acenes (n-PAs) have gained interest as model systems of zigzag-edged graphene nanoribbons for potential applications in nanoelectronics and spintronics. However, the synthesis of n-PAs larger than peri-tetracene remains challenging because of their intrinsic open-shell character and high reactivity. Presented here is the synthesis of a hitherto unknown n-PA, that is, peri-heptacene (7-PA), in which the reactive zigzag edges are kinetically protected with eight 4-tBu-C6H4 groups. The formation of 7-PA is validated by high-resolution mass spectrometry and in situ FT-Raman spectroscopy. 7-PA displays a narrow optical energy gap of 1.01 eV and exhibits persistent stability (t1/2≈25 min) under inert conditions. Moreover, electron-spin resonance measurements and theoretical studies reveal that 7-PA exhibits an open-shell feature and a significant tetraradical character. This strategy could be considered a modular approach for the construction of next-generation (3 N+1)-PAs (where N≥3). © 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    A General and Highly Selective Palladium-Catalyzed Hydroamidation of 1,3-Diynes
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Liu, Jiawang; Schneider, Carolin; Yang, Ji; Wei, Zhihong; Jiao, Haijun; Franke, Robert; Jackstell, Ralf; Beller, Matthias
    A chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective mono-hydroamidation of (un)symmetrical 1,3-diynes is described. Key for the success of this novel transformation is the utilization of an advanced palladium catalyst system with the specific ligand Neolephos. The synthetic value of this general approach to synthetically useful α-alkynyl-α, β-unsaturated amides is showcased by diversification of several structurally complex molecules and marketed drugs. Control experiments and density-functional theory (M06L-SMD) computations also suggest the crucial role of the substrate in controlling the regioselectivity of unsymmetrical 1,3-diynes. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    A Two-Dimensional Polyimide-Graphene Heterostructure with Ultra-fast Interlayer Charge Transfer
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Liu, Kejun; Li, Jiang; Qi, Haoyuan; Hambsch, Mike; Rawle, Jonathan; Vázquez, Adrián Romaní; Nia, Ali Shaygan; Pashkin, Alexej; Schneider, Harald; Polozij, Mirosllav; Heine, Thomas; Helm, Manfred; Mannsfeld, Stefan C.B.; Kaiser, Ute; Dong, Renhao; Feng, Xinliang
    Two-dimensional polymers (2DPs) are a class of atomically/molecularly thin crystalline organic 2D materials. They are intriguing candidates for the development of unprecedented organic–inorganic 2D van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) with exotic physicochemical properties. In this work, we demonstrate the on-water surface synthesis of large-area (cm2), monolayer 2D polyimide (2DPI) with 3.1-nm lattice. Such 2DPI comprises metal-free porphyrin and perylene units linked by imide bonds. We further achieve a scalable synthesis of 2DPI-graphene (2DPI-G) vdWHs via a face-to-face co-assembly of graphene and 2DPI on the water surface. Remarkably, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals an ultra-fast interlayer charge transfer (ca. 60 fs) in the resultant 2DPI-G vdWH upon protonation by acid, which is equivalent to that of the fastest reports among inorganic 2D vdWHs. Such large interlayer electronic coupling is ascribed to the interlayer cation–π interaction between 2DP and graphene. © 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    Ambient Hydrogenation and Deuteration of Alkenes Using a Nanostructured Ni-Core-Shell Catalyst
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Gao, Jie; Ma, Rui; Feng, Lu; Liu, Yuefeng; Jackstell, Ralf; Jagadeesh, Rajenahally V.; Beller, Matthias
    A general protocol for the selective hydrogenation and deuteration of a variety of alkenes is presented. Key to success for these reactions is the use of a specific nickel-graphitic shell-based core–shell-structured catalyst, which is conveniently prepared by impregnation and subsequent calcination of nickel nitrate on carbon at 450 °C under argon. Applying this nanostructured catalyst, both terminal and internal alkenes, which are of industrial and commercial importance, were selectively hydrogenated and deuterated at ambient conditions (room temperature, using 1 bar hydrogen or 1 bar deuterium), giving access to the corresponding alkanes and deuterium-labeled alkanes in good to excellent yields. The synthetic utility and practicability of this Ni-based hydrogenation protocol is demonstrated by gram-scale reactions as well as efficient catalyst recycling experiments. © 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    Controlling Optical and Catalytic Activity of Genetically Engineered Proteins by Ultrasound
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Zhou, Yu; Huo, Shuaidong; Loznik, Mark; Göstl, Robert; Boersma, Arnold J.; Herrmann, Andreas
    Ultrasound (US) produces cavitation-induced mechanical forces stretching and breaking polymer chains in solution. This type of polymer mechanochemistry is widely used for synthetic polymers, but not biomacromolecules, even though US is biocompatible and commonly used for medical therapy as well as in vivo imaging. The ability to control protein activity by US would thus be a major stepping-stone for these disciplines. Here, we provide the first examples of selective protein activation and deactivation by means of US. Using GFP as a model system, we engineer US sensitivity into proteins by design. The incorporation of long and highly charged domains enables the efficient transfer of force to the protein structure. We then use this principle to activate the catalytic activity of trypsin by inducing the release of its inhibitor. We expect that this concept to switch “on” and “off” protein activity by US will serve as a blueprint to remotely control other bioactive molecules. © 2020 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH