Research progress on the pharmacological activity, biosynthetic pathways, and biosynthesis of crocins

• Zhongwei Hua,
• Nan Liu and
• Xiaohui Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 741–752, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.68

• et al. used CRISPR-Cas9 to create a temperature-responsive strain of S. cerevisiae for crocetin (1) production. By increasing the copy number of CCD2 and ALDH, the conversion of zeaxanthin (7) was increased by 77% [108]. Wang et al. screened the ALD genes from C. sativus and Neurospora crassa and

New variochelins from soil-isolated Variovorax sp. H002

• Jabal Rahmat Haedar,
• Aya Yoshimura and
• Toshiyuki Wakimoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 692–700, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.63

• accessible for the cell [2][3]. In addition to the siderophores forming the stable Fe(III) complexes described above, certain siderophores create Fe(III) complexes with the ability to release Fe(II) ions in a light-responsive manner within the extracellular environment. The released Fe(II) ions in the ocean

Switchable molecular tweezers: design and applications

• Pablo Msellem,
• Maksym Dekthiarenko,
• Nihal Hadj Seyd and
• Guillaume Vives

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 504–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.45

• first part will be devoted to chemically responsive tweezers, including stimuli such as pH, metal coordination, and anion binding. Then, redox-active and photochemical tweezers will be presented. Keywords: coordination; molecular recognition; molecular switches; photoswitch; redox; supramolecular

• , and molecular machines. In particular, the advent of artificial molecular machines [13][14], consisting of an assembly of molecular components that perform mechanical-like motions in response to specific stimuli, has inspired the development of stimuli-responsive molecular tweezers, which have

• , the incorporation of responsive functionalities into molecular tweezers not only provides significant benefits in catalysis for the development of switchable catalysts but also extends their utility to molecular magnetism, where magnetic switches exploit mechanical motion, and to molecular electronics

Synthesis of π-conjugated polycyclic compounds by late-stage extrusion of chalcogen fragments

• Aissam Okba,
• Pablo Simón Marqués,
• Kyohei Matsuo,
• Naoki Aratani,
• Hiroko Yamada,
• Gwénaël Rapenne and
• Claire Kammerer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 287–305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.30

• , and the dinaphthothiepine S-oxides bearing long alkyl chains are thus very promising soluble precursors to afford n-type semiconducting layers by in situ SO-extrusion. As part of their work dedicated to mechanically-responsive materials controlled by an electrochemical stimulus, Song and Swager

Photochromic derivatives of indigo: historical overview of development, challenges and applications

• Gökhan Kaplan,
• Zeynel Seferoğlu and
• Daria V. Berdnikova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 228–242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.23

• new level of complexity and promise. The photochromic indigos represent a relatively rare type of visible-light-responsive T-type photoswitches demonstrating negative photochromism. The absorption of the photoswitchable indigos covers the spectral range from green to NIR light (≈550–700 nm) making

Facile access to pyridinium-based bent aromatic amphiphiles: nonionic surface modification of nanocarbons in water

• Lorenzo Catti,
• Shinji Aoyama and
• Michito Yoshizawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 32–40, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.5

• , and graphene nanoplatelets) are achieved through noncovalent encircling with the bent amphiphiles. The resultant imidazole-modified nanocarbons display a pH-responsive surface charge, as evidenced by NMR and zeta-potential measurements. In addition, solubilization of a nitrogen-doped nanocarbon (i.e

• pyridinium-based amphiphiles (Figure 1c). The noncovalent modification of C60 with multiple imidazole side-chains is found to yield a pH-responsive surface charge, as evidenced by NMR and zeta-potential measurements. A nitrogen-doped nanocarbon, i.e., graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), is likewise

• protons upon addition of HCl (40 equiv based on PA-Im; Figure 5a,b). These properties enabled a pH-responsive surface charge of its host–guest composite (Table 2). Accordingly, (PA-Im)n·(C60)m displayed a ZP of 60.3 mV at pH 2.8 contrary to 52.8 mV at pH 6.8 (ΔZP = +7.5 mV) [26]. Control experiments using

Effects of the aldehyde-derived ring substituent on the properties of two new bioinspired trimethoxybenzoylhydrazones: methyl vs nitro groups

• Dayanne Martins,
• Roberta Lamosa,
• Talis Uelisson da Silva,
• Carolina B. P. Ligiero,
• Sérgio de Paula Machado,
• Daphne S. Cukierman and
• Nicolás A. Rey

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1713–1727, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.125

• ability to undergo E/Z isomerization in a stimuli-responsive imine bond is what makes this class useful for applications in the field of molecular electronics, as switchers [5][6]. In addition, these compounds can also adopt syn- or antiperiplanar conformations, due to the constriction of the rotation

Aromatic C–H bond functionalization through organocatalyzed asymmetric intermolecular aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction: a recent update

• Anup Biswas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 956–981, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.72

• hydroquinine-based supported catalyst H1 which efficiently promoted five catalytic cycles without loss of its activity. N-Alkyl-substituted ketimines 49 with different functionalities in the benzene ring were well responsive towards the heterogenous reaction to afford the products 61 with moderate to excellent

Light-responsive rotaxane-based materials: inducing motion in the solid state

• Adrian Saura-Sanmartin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 873–880, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.64

• Adrian Saura-Sanmartin Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain 10.3762/bjoc.19.64 Abstract Light-responsive rotaxane-based solid-state materials are ideal scaffolds in order to develop smart materials due to the properties provided by the

• -responsive materials; mechanical bond; mechanically interlocked materials; rotaxanes; Introduction Light turns out to be a suitable and tailorable stimulus in order to develop materials showing improved functionalities, such as those of smart materials [1][2][3][4][5]. The characteristics of light which

• molecular materials, the development of a wide variety of suitable compounds is essential. The use of stimuli-responsive molecules has paved the way for the preparation of advanced functional materials [6][7][8][9][10]. In this scenario, mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs) have postulated as ideal

pH-Responsive fluorescent supramolecular nanoparticles based on tetraphenylethylene-labelled chitosan and a six-fold carboxylated tribenzotriquinacene

• Nan Yang,
• Yi-Yan Zhu,
• Wei-Xiu Lin,
• Yi-Long Lu and
• Wen-Rong Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 635–645, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.45

• in the presence of TBTQ-C6 was greatly improved. In addition, the fluorescence of CS-TPE was significantly enhanced by introducing TBTQ-C6, and remained relatively stable with variations in pH for both CS-TPE and TBTQ-C6/CS-TPE. Such pH-responsive supramolecular spherical nanoparticles with stable

• fluorescence emission based on CS-TPE or TBTQ-C6/CS-TPE may find applications in various fields, including the development of visual oral drug delivery systems. Keywords: chitosan; nanoparticle; tetraphenylethylene; tribenzotriquinacene; Introduction Stimuli-responsive assemblies in aqueous media have drawn

• stimuli, pH response is of particular interest in the construction of supramolecular systems for intelligent drug delivery because of the presence of pH gradients in the microenvironment of organs, tissues, and cell organelles [5]. In the past years, pH-responsive and other stimuli-responsive

Comparison of crystal structure and DFT calculations of triferrocenyl trithiophosphite’s conformance

• Ruslan P. Shekurov,
• Mikhail N. Khrizanforov,
• Ilya A. Bezkishko,
• Tatiana P. Gerasimova,
• Almaz A. Zagidullin,
• Daut R. Islamov and
• Vasili A. Miluykov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1499–1504, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.157

• ; Introduction The design of novel “stimuli-responsive” molecules is a very attractive area in modern chemistry due to a number of various practical applications of such compounds [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Multiferrocenes are of particular fundamental interest because of their multistep electrochemical and magnetic

Polymer and small molecule mechanochemistry: closer than ever

• José G. Hernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1225–1235, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.128

• , force-sensitive molecular mechanophores are now complemented by organometallic-based force-responsive mechanophores that are not purely organic molecular fragments [16][17][18]. In fact, the concept of a mechanophore is now broader and may include any force-reactive functional unit, whether it possesses

Synthesis of a new water-soluble hexacarboxylated tribenzotriquinacene derivative and its competitive host–guest interaction for drug delivery

• Man-Ping Li,
• Nan Yang and
• Wen-Rong Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 539–548, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.56

• -containing amphiphile (trans-AZO) to produce the TBTQ-C6-trans-AZO supra-amphiphile by host–guest interactions in water. The supra-amphiphile was further self-assembled into photo and pH dual-responsive supramolecular vesicles that have a potential to serve as drug nanocarriers to enable controlled drug

A photochemical C=C cleavage process: toward access to backbone N-formyl peptides

• Haopei Wang and
• Zachary T. Ball

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2932–2938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.202

• Haopei Wang Zachary T. Ball Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston TX, USA 10.3762/bjoc.17.202 Abstract Photo-responsive modifications and photo-uncaging concepts are useful for spatiotemporal control of peptides structure and function. While side chain photo-responsive modifications

• are relatively common, access to photo-responsive modifications of backbone N–H bonds is quite limited. This letter describes a new photocleavage pathway, affording N-formyl amides from vinylogous nitroaryl precursors under physiologically relevant conditions via a formal oxidative C=C cleavage. The N

Cryogels: recent applications in 3D-bioprinting, injectable cryogels, drug delivery, and wound healing

• Luke O. Jones,
• Leah Williams,
• Tasmin Boam,
• Martin Kalmet,
• Chidubem Oguike and
• Fiona L. Hatton

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2553–2569, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.171

• current literature, despite the importance of it for applications such as scaffold materials [29]. A recent review article by Savina et al. highlights biodegradable cryogels and their applications, including a variety of biocompatible polysaccharide-based cryogels [8]. 3. Stimuli-responsive cryogels

• Stimuli-responsive properties are often desirable for biomaterials used in drug-delivery applications. Here, we focus on temperature and solution pH response of cryogels as detailed below. 3.1. Temperature-responsive cryogels This is a property which can easily be applied and manipulated through careful

• polymer selection. For example, altering the ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers in the final cryogel structure can allow for fine tuning of the responsive behaviour [33][34]. At specific and unique temperatures, phase changes occur to a temperature-responsive polymer, physically changing the

Chemical syntheses and salient features of azulene-containing homo- and copolymers

• Vijayendra S. Shetti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2164–2185, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.139

• , violating Kasha’s rule [6]. These intriguing features have encouraged researchers to use azulene derivatives as functional organic molecules in the field of optoelectronics [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Employing such stimuli-responsive, non-alternant hydrocarbon with odd-membered rings in the chemical

• NMR spectroscopy. All these polymers 61–65 were soluble in common organic solvents like THF, dichloromethane, and chloroform and had Mn in the range 6000 to 21000 Da with PDI of 1.3–1.6. The polymers 61–65 displayed stimuli-responsive behavior as evidenced by shifting of their absorption bands from

• spectroscopy. All these polymers were soluble in common organic solvents like THF, dichloromethane, and chloroform, and had Mn in the range 9800 to 34300 Da with PDI of 1.6–2.2. The absorption studies conducted on these polymers revealed their stimuli-responsive nature in protonated states and the influence of

Constrained thermoresponsive polymers – new insights into fundamentals and applications

• Patricia Flemming,
• Alexander S. Münch,
• Andreas Fery and
• Petra Uhlmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2123–2163, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.138

• the last decades, numerous stimuli-responsive polymers have been developed and investigated regarding their switching properties. In particular, thermoresponsive polymers, which form a miscibility gap with the ambient solvent with a lower or upper critical demixing point depending on the temperature

• physicochemical interplay between the architecture of the polymer assembly and the resulting thermoresponsive switching behavior will be in the foreground of this consideration. Keywords: lower critical solution temperature (LCST); responsive coating; smart material; thermoresponsive polymer; upper critical

• solution temperature (UCST); Introduction During the last decades, the class of stimuli-responsive materials has entered the focus of scientific research and applied polymer science [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. They are characterized primarily by their ability to adapt spontaneously and reversibly to

¹⁹F NMR as a tool in chemical biology

• Diana Gimenez,
• Aoife Phelan,
• Cormac D. Murphy and
• Steven L. Cobb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 293–318, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.28

• ) and 19F nuclei in native tryptophan, and 5-FTrp-labelled bromodomain protein Brd4 against a panel of ligands (Figure 4) [34]. 1H NMR was found to be 6–20 times less responsive than fluorine with regards to chemical shift perturbations. Indeed, the high resolution observed in the fluorine spectra

Multiswitchable photoacid–hydroxyflavylium–polyelectrolyte nano-assemblies

• Alexander Zika and
• Franziska Gröhn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 166–185, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.17

• pH-responsive nano-assemblies with switchable size and structure are formed by the association of a photoacid, anthocyanidin, and a linear polyelectrolyte in aqueous solution. Specifically, anionic disulfonated naphthol derivatives, neutral hydroxyflavylium, and cationic poly(allylamine) are used as

• understanding and variation of this cycle by synthesizing different derivatives of 4-hydroxyflavylium. Yet, hydroxyflavylium molecules have not been exploited in self-assembly to form water-compatible switchable supramolecular nanostructures that may be responsive to different external triggers such as light

• , pH, and temperature. In this respect, it is highly desirable to establish novel supramolecular nanoscale structures in aqueous solution that can respond to multiple triggers. Herein, we studied a multi-responsive system based on the self-assembly of a cationic polyelectrolyte and two organic

Supramolecular polymerization of sulfated dendritic peptide amphiphiles into multivalent L-selectin binders

• David Straßburger,
• Svenja Herziger,
• Katharina Huth,
• Moritz Urschbach,
• Rainer Haag and
• Pol Besenius

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 97–104, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.10

• ). These results are in agreement with our previous investigations related to pH-switchable and ionic strength-responsive dendritic amphiphiles appended with dendritic carboxylic acid functionalities [40][41]. The physiological ionic strength thus efficiently screens the repulsive contribution of the

Selected peptide-based fluorescent probes for biological applications

• Debabrata Maity

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2971–2982, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.247

• -closed SP state. The peptide 14 has been demonstrated pH responsive reversible red fluorescence staining of acidic lysosomes in A549 cell lines (Figure 11C). Conclusion Schmuck group’s outstanding contributions in peptide-based fluorescent probes research field is summarized in this review. The

• with nucleic acids. Reprinted with permission from [34]. Copyright (2012) American Chemical Society. A) Molecular structure of peptidic probe 1, Inset: HeLa cells incubated with peptide 1 (50 μM), showing an ATP responsive green fluorescence; B) fluorescence emission spectra of probe 1 (20.0 µM) (λex

Incorporation of a metal-mediated base pair into an ATP aptamer – using silver(I) ions to modulate aptamer function

• Marius H. Heddinga and
• Jens Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2870–2879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.236

• -responsive structural transformations of various types [19][20][21]. We therefore envisaged the development of an aptamer whose function would be modulated by the formation of a metal-mediated base pair. So far, only one example exists of such a rationally designed aptamer. In that work, a thrombin-binding

Using multiple self-sorting for switching functions in discrete multicomponent systems

• Amit Ghosh and
• Michael Schmittel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2831–2853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.233

• reconfigurable self-sorting is a protocol that Nature efficiently uses when responding to external stimuli [32]. The development of stimulus-responsive transformations between the supramolecular assemblies is a significant challenge in chemistry, in particular in regards to realizing biomimetic functions [33

Easy access to a carbohydrate-based template for stimuli-responsive surfactants

• Thomas Holmstrøm,
• Daniel Raydan and
• Christian Marcus Pedersen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2788–2794, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.229

• anomeric mixture of the building block was used for the synthesis of a molecule that could act as an emulsifier only in the presence of Zn2+ ions. Keywords: carbohydrates; emulsifiers; stimuli-responsive; surfactants; synthesis; Introduction Surfactants (surface-active agents) are molecules with both a

• -delivery system owing to their size and the ability to carry drugs, both in the polar (core) or apolar (lipid bilayer) interior [4][5]. A challenge in liposome-based drug delivery systems is to release the drug at the place of function. This challenge has led to the development of stimuli-responsive

• mechanical impulse that can increase or decrease the distance between the two lipophilic tails, thus changing the amphiphilic properties of the molecule. Incorporating such molecules into the lipid bilayer of liposomes can result in the decomposition of the whole liposome when the stimuli-responsive

Selective recognition of ATP by multivalent nano-assemblies of bisimidazolium amphiphiles through “turn-on” fluorescence response

• Rakesh Biswas,
• Surya Ghosh,
• Shubhra Kanti Bhaumik and
• Supratim Banerjee

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2728–2738, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.223

• years, anion responsive materials [5][6] have also emerged as an interesting class of stimuli-responsive materials. Among the different varieties of anionic species, the selective and sensitive detection of bio-anions is particularly important due to their involvement in various biological functions