Search

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria, especially Gram-positive bacteria like

Diels–Alder chemistry is a well-explored avenue for the synthesis of bioactive materials; however, its potential applications have recently expanded following the development of reactions that can be performed in buffered aqueous environments at low temperatures, including fulvene–maleimide [4 + 2] cycloadditions. In this study, we synthesized two novel amine-reactive fulvene linkers to demonstrate the application of this chemistry for generating mass spectrometry-cleavable labels (“mass tags”), which can be used for the labeling and detection of proteins. Successful conjugation of these linkers to maleimide-labeled peptides was observed at low temperatures in phosphate-buffered saline, allowing the non-destructive modification of proteins with such mass tags. The labile nature of fulvene–maleimide adducts in the gas phase also makes them suitable for both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometric analysis. Unlike previous examples of MALDI mass tags, we show that fulvene–maleimide cycloaddition adducts fragment predictably upon gas-phase activation without the need for bulky photocleavable groups. Further exploration of this chemistry could therefore lead to new approaches for mass spectrometry-based bioassays. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Electrochemical N2 reduction to NH3 has been considered as a promising sustainable and clean process to replace the conventional Haber–Bosch process. However, the development of efficient and stabl...

This work reports the synthesis of core-shell structured Au@C composite through a simple one-step laser ablation technique. The results demonstrate that the Au@C with a mean nanosphere size of ∼8.0 nm is composed of a spherical shaped Au core and 1-2 layered graphitic carbon shell with abundant defects. As a nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) electrocatalyst, the Au@C gives a large NH

Nanoscale field-effect transistors (FETs) represent a unique platform for real time, label-free transduction of biochemical signals with unprecedented sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution, yet their translation toward practical biomedical applications remains challenging. Herein, we demonstrate the potential to overcome several key limitations of traditional FET sensors by exploiting bioactive hydrogels as the gate material. Spatially defined photopolymerization is utilized to achieve selective patterning of polyethylene glycol on top of individual graphene FET devices, through which multiple biospecific receptors can be independently encapsulated into the hydrogel gate. The hydrogel-mediated integration of penicillinase was demonstrated to effectively catalyze enzymatic reaction in the confined microenvironment, enabling real time, label-free detection of penicillin down to 0.2 mM. Multiplexed functionalization with penicillinase and acetylcholinesterase has been demonstrated to achieve highly specific sensing. In addition, the microenvironment created by the hydrogel gate has been shown to significantly reduce the nonspecific binding of nontarget molecules to graphene channels as well as preserve the encapsulated enzyme activity for at least one week, in comparison to free enzymes showing significant signal loss within one day. This general approach presents a new biointegration strategy and facilitates multiplex detection of bioanalytes on the same platform, which could underwrite new advances in healthcare research.

We report the atom-economic and environmentally friendly synthesis of Z-β-sulfonyl-a,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in water. The mechanism study reveals that the hydrosulfonylation of alkynylcarbonyl compounds with sulfinic acids proceeds via a mechanism that features a sulfinic acid molecule protonating an alkynyl motif to form the ethenium intermediate, which subsequently reacted with a sulfonyl anion to afford the desired products. The ethenium intermediate differentiated electronic and steric demands between the two substituents on the C≡C triple bond of the alkyne substrates to exhibit high regio- and stereoselectivity from a wide range of Z-β-sulfonyl-a,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.

Dinuclear aluminum methyl complexes stabilized by piperidyl-phenolato ligands were prepared and characterized. The ring-opening polymerizations of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and propylene oxide (PO) initiated by dinuclear complexes and mononuclear analogues were investigated and compared. Enhanced activity of dinuclear complexes compared to that of mononuclear analogues in both the ring-opening polymerization of CHO and PO proves the synergistic interaction of two Al centers in the former. End-group analysis of oligomers by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry confirms the role of methyl groups as initiating groups. A bimetallic mechanism is proposed, in which the cooperation of two Al centers are involved in polymerization processes.

A series of bimetallic and monometallic lanthanide amides stabilized by a piperazidine-bridged bis(phenolato) ligand were successfully prepared, and the factors controlling the formation of these lanthanide amides were elucidated. Reactions of Ln[N(TMS)2]3(μ-Cl)Li(THF)3 (TMS = SiMe3; THF = tetrahydrofuran) with a piperazidine-bridged bis(phenol), H2[ONNO][4-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylbenzyl)piperazidine], in a 2:1 molar ratio in THF at 60 °C gave the anionic bimetallic bis(phenolato) lanthanide amido complexes [ONNO]{Ln[N(TMS)2]2(μ-Cl)Li(THF)}2 [Ln = Y (1), Er (2), Eu (3), Sm (4)], whereas the same reactions conducted at room temperature gave the monometallic bis(phenolato) lanthanide amides [ONNO]LnN(TMS)2(THF) [Ln = Y (5), Sm (6)]. Complex 1 can be transformed to a neutral bimetallic bis(phenolato) yttrium amido complex, [ONNO]{Y[N(TMS)2]2}2 (7), by heating a toluene solution to 80 °C. Complex 7 can also be conveniently prepared by the reaction of the yttrium amide Y[N(TMS)2]3 with H2[ONNO] in a 2:1...

A series of lanthanide alkyl complexes supported by a piperazidine-bridged bis(phenolato) ligand were synthesized, and their catalytic activity for the polymerization of l-lactide was explored. The alkane elimination reaction of Ln(CH2SiMe3)3(THF)2 with H2[ONNO] {H2[ONNO] = 1,4-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylbenzyl)piperazidine} in a 1:1 molar ratio in THF gave the neutral lanthanide alkyl complexes [ONNO]Ln(CH2SiMe3)(THF) [Ln = Y (1), Lu (2), Yb (3), Gd (4)] in high isolated yields. Treatment of a gadolinium tris(alkyl) complex formed in situ from the reaction of anhydrous GdCl3 with 3 equiv of Li(CH2SiMe3) in THF gave a novel “ate” gadolinium alkyl complex, {[ONNO]Gd(CH2SiMe3)(μ-Li)(μ-Cl)}2 (5). All of these complexes are fully characterized including X-ray structural determination. Complexes 1−4 are isomorphous, monomeric, and THF-solvated. The coordination geometry around the lanthanide metals can be best described as a distorted trigonal bipyramid. Complex 5 is dimeric and unsolvated, and each [ONNO]...