Enzyme-instructed morphological transition of the supramolecular assemblies of branched peptides

• Dongsik Yang,
• Hongjian He and
• Bing Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2709–2718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.221

• cellular environment. Keywords: acetylation; branched peptides; enzyme; nanostructures; N-terminal; responsive; self-assembly; Introduction Peptides, being able to self-assemble to exhibit emergent properties and functions [1][2][3][4][5], have received considerable attentions recently. For example

• serendipitously found that an enzyme-responsive branched peptide was able to deliver small molecules or proteins to mitochondria efficiently in a cell-specific manner [33]. The branched peptide, which bears FLAG-tag as the branch [32], forms micelles. Certain proteases on the mitochondria of certain cells cleave

• the branch of the peptide, and such enzymatic proteolysis turns the micelles into nanofibers. This morphological transition (i.e., micelle to nanofiber) releases the cargos into the mitochondria of the cells [33]. These results imply that enzyme-responsive branched peptides can act as responsive

Optical detection of di- and triphosphate anions with mixed monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles containing zinc(II)–dipicolylamine complexes

• Lena Reinke,
• Julia Bartl,
• Marcus Koch and
• Stefan Kubik

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2687–2700, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.219

• zinc salts nevertheless remained responsive to the salt concentration because the increase of the diphosphate concentration to 476 μmol/L caused the AuNPs to mostly dissociate while the insoluble zinc salts remained (Figure 7c). The formation of insoluble zinc salts accompanying aggregation, which was

Thermodynamic and electrochemical study of tailor-made crown ethers for redox-switchable (pseudo)rotaxanes

• Henrik Hupatz,
• Marius Gaedke,
• Hendrik V. Schröder,
• Julia Beerhues,
• Arto Valkonen,
• Fabian Klautzsch,
• Sebastian Müller,
• Felix Witte,
• Kari Rissanen,
• Biprajit Sarkar and
• Christoph A. Schalley

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2576–2588, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.209

• made towards switchable macrocyclic receptors, in which crown ethers are functionalized with a stimuli-responsive unit [14][15]. These studies were mainly motivated by a biomimetic approach and included examples such as crown ethers incorporating photo-responsive azobenzene [15][16] or redox-active

• construction of more complex molecular structures [24][26][27]. With the introduction of stimuli-responsive units, crown ether/ammonium-based MIMs have evolved into molecular switches and motors [24][28]. Intriguing examples among them are a light-powered molecular pump [29], a chemical-fuel-driven molecular

Azo-dimethylaminopyridine-functionalized Ni(II)-porphyrin as a photoswitchable nucleophilic catalyst

• Jannis Ludwig,
• Julian Helberg,
• Hendrik Zipse and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2119–2126, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.179

• following several approaches using a variety of photochromic systems. Feringa et al. recently published a review including systems based on double bond isomerizations [1]. An earlier review from the same group summarized light and redox responsive catalytic systems including azobenzenes, diarylethenes

• coordination. On this account, isomerization and coordination were investigated separately by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The protons meta to the azo group in the azopyridine unit (H-11) are responsive to the configuration of the azo group (cis or trans) and the chemical shifts of the pyrrole protons of the porphyrin

pH- and concentration-dependent supramolecular self-assembly of a naturally occurring octapeptide

• Goutam Ghosh and
• Gustavo Fernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2017–2025, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.168

• drug delivery, tissue engineering and regeneration, and as stimuli-responsive materials. Herein, we report the pH- and concentration-dependent self-assembly and conformational transformation of the newly synthesized octapeptide PEP-1. At pH 7.4, PEP-1 forms β-sheet-rich secondary structures into

• development of novel drug nanocarrier assemblies. Keywords: aqueous self-assembly; pH-responsive systems; secondary structure; self-assembled nanostructures; solid-phase peptide synthesis; Introduction The self-assembly of small molecules is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature [1] and also has key

• noncovalent interactions can also be designed to be responsive to various external stimuli, such as heat, pH, light, enzymes, metal ions, and chemical triggers [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. In this regard, a particularly relevant property of peptide assemblies is their

Five-component, one-pot synthesis of an electroactive rotaxane comprising a bisferrocene macrocycle

• Natalie Lagesse,
• Luca Pisciottani,
• Maxime Douarre,
• Pascale Godard,
• Brice Kauffmann,
• Vicente Martí-Centelles and
• Nathan D. McClenaghan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1564–1571, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.128

• act as stimuli-responsive molecular “shuttles” with potential applications to prepare nanoscale devices for computing and biomimetic engineering [2][3]. The highly efficient rotaxane formation developed by Leigh allowed the generation of a tetraamide macrocycle on a fumaramide or succinamide thread in

Bacterial terpene biosynthesis: challenges and opportunities for pathway engineering

• Eric J. N. Helfrich,
• Geng-Min Lin,
• Christopher A. Voigt and
• Jon Clardy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2889–2906, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.283

• concern during these engineering efforts. IPP (6), FPP (9), and HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) are known to be toxic [78][143], and FPP-dependent stress-responsive promoters have recently been identified through microarray experiments to dynamically regulate pathways and minimize the

• promoter is labeled with lower case letters: s: strong and m: medium. This tuning led to 15,000-fold increase in taxatidene titer. c) Two FPP (9)-responsive promoters were implemented to dynamically control the expression of MVA pathway genes and the terpene cyclase gene in order to prevent the

Chemical tuning of photoswitchable azobenzenes: a photopharmacological case study using nicotinic transmission

• Lorenzo Sansalone,
• Jun Zhao,
• Matthew T. Richers and
• Graham C. R. Ellis-Davies

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2812–2821, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.274

• glutathione. However, attempts to conjugate with a cysteine on a genetically modified nicotinic acetylcholine receptor did not afford the expected light-responsive channel. Our data indicate that the 4FAB photoswitch can be derivatized bifunctionally for genetically-targeted photopharmacology whilst

A chiral self-sorting photoresponsive coordination cage based on overcrowded alkenes

• Constantin Stuckhardt,
• Diederik Roke,
• Wojciech Danowski,
• Edwin Otten,
• Sander J. Wezenberg and
• Ben L. Feringa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2767–2773, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.268

• , Germany Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands 10.3762/bjoc.15.268 Abstract In recent years, increasing efforts have been devoted to designing new functional stimuli-responsive supramolecular assemblies. Here, we present three isomeric

• is essential for the application of SCCs towards chiral recognition and sensing [34][35][36][37]. To the best of our knowledge no self-sorted responsive SCCs have been reported so far. Molecular motors based on overcrowded alkenes are unique photoswitches that are able to undergo unidirectional

• interesting strategy to form responsive coordination complexes, as they feature a large geometric change upon switching [47]. Herein, we report a photoresponsive coordination cage with ligands based on a first generation molecular motor (Figure 1). Cages with a Pd2L4 composition are formed from bidentate

A combinatorial approach to improving the performance of azoarene photoswitches

• Joaquin Calbo,
• Aditya R. Thawani,
• Rosina S. L. Gibson,
• Andrew J. P. White and
• Matthew J. Fuchter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2753–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.266

• including imaging applications [20], photopharmacology [21], supramolecular chemistry [22][23], responsive foams [24], coordination chemistry [25] and DNA nanotechnology [26][27]. Whilst the azopyrazoles have excellent properties for use in a variety of photo-addressable applications, it remains frustrating

In search of visible-light photoresponsive peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) for reversible control of DNA hybridization

• Lei Zhang,
• Greta Linden and
• Olalla Vázquez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2500–2508, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.243

• melting temperatures (TM) by the analysis of the first derivative [50]. TM values are summarized in Table 2. The incorporation of the visible-light responsive azobenzene (PNA 3) stabilized the duplex in comparison with the Aeg(Ac)-modified analogue 5. However, the TM of 3 is 14 °C lower than the one

Ultrafast processes triggered by one- and two-photon excitation of a photochromic and luminescent hydrazone

• Alessandro Iagatti,
• Baihao Shao,
• Alberto Credi,
• Barbara Ventura,
• Ivan Aprahamian and
• Mariangela Di Donato

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2438–2446, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.236

• their conformational, chemical or physical properties [1]. The possibility to control their operation in a direct and specific manner paves the way for applications in many different fields, involving the production of responsive materials and surfaces [2][3], energy conversion [4][5][6], catalysis [7

Sugar-derived oxazolone pseudotetrapeptide as γ-turn inducer and anion-selective transporter

• Sachin S. Burade,
• Sushil V. Pawar,
• Tanmoy Saha,
• Navanath Kumbhar,
• Amol S. Kotmale,
• Manzoor Ahmad,
• Pinaki Talukdar and
• Dilip D. Dhavale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2419–2427, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.234

• selective anion transport that occurs by an anion–anion antiport mechanism. The absence of the γ-turn conformation as well as ion transport activity in linear tetrapeptide 9 – the precursor of 2a, suggest that the oxazolone ring in 2a is a γ-turn inducer as well as responsive for selective anion transport

Reversible switching of arylazopyrazole within a metal–organic cage

• Anton I. Hanopolskyi,
• Soumen De,
• Michał J. Białek,
• Yael Diskin-Posner,
• Liat Avram,
• Moran Feller and
• Rafal Klajn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2398–2407, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.232

• photochromism in the spiropyran switch [18]. Other recent studies of photochromic systems within macrocyclic and supramolecular hosts [19] include dihydroazulene switches [20] and red-shifted azobenzenes [21][22] inside cucurbiturils and cyclodextrins. The behavior of light-responsive compounds can also be

Targeted photoswitchable imaging of intracellular glutathione by a photochromic glycosheet sensor

• Xianzhi Chai,
• Hai-Hao Han,
• Yi Zang,
• Jia Li,
• Xiao-Peng He,
• Junji Zhang and
• He Tian

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2380–2389, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.230

• the photochromic fluorescence reporter into GSH-responsive MnO2 nanosheets, a highly efficient photoswitchable hybrid biosensor is successfully presented with the demanded functionality for precise cell imaging. Results and Discussion Synthesis of dithienylethene fluorescence reporter (Glyco-DTE) The

• surface of nanosheets. Apart from the quenched fluorescence, the photoswitchable emission was also prohibited (Figure S2, Supporting Information File 1), probably due to the significantly reduced emission operation window of Glyco-DTE. We then investigated the GSH-responsive performance of Glyco-DTE@MnO2

• fluorescent sensors for detecting intracellular GSH or discriminative sensing of GSH with other common biothiols (e.g., Cys and Hcy) [45][46]. In this work, the highly accessible 2D MnO2 nanosheet is used as the GSH responsive site instead of traditional functional groups that require elaborate design for

1,2,3-Triazolium macrocycles in supramolecular chemistry

• Mastaneh Safarnejad Shad,
• Pulikkal Veettil Santhini and
• Wim Dehaen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2142–2155, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.211

• have led to applications in molecular recognition, sensing, molecular machines and devices, supramolecular polymers, stimuli-responsive materials, supramolecular catalysis and drug-delivery systems [4][5][6][7]. Inspired by the attractive role of various N-heterocyclic building blocks such as

Morphology-tunable and pH-responsive supramolecular self-assemblies based on AB₂-type host–guest-conjugated amphiphilic molecules for controlled drug delivery

• Yang Bai,
• Cai-ping Liu,
• Di Chen,
• Long-hai Zhuo,
• Huai-tian Bu and
• Wei Tian

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1925–1932, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.188

• -responsive supramolecular self-assemblies have been constructed, the controlled drug delivery induced by morphology transitions of these supramolecular self-assemblies on the basis of host–guest-conjugated monomers (HGCMs) are few reported. In this paper, the self-assembly behaviors of AB2-type HGCMs, e.g

• varied morphology could inhibit cancer cell proliferation, indicating their potential application in the field of drug delivery. Keywords: β-cyclodextrin; controlled drug delivery; host–guest interaction; stimuli-responsive; supramolecular self-assemblies; Introduction Supramolecular self-assemblies

• stimuli-responsive supramolecular self-assemblies with regulated self-assembly morphologies due to their response to various external stimuli, such as temperature [12], light [13][14][15], redox [16][17][18], and pH [19][20]. In addition, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), pillararene and cucurbituril have been

Identification of optimal fluorescent probes for G-quadruplex nucleic acids through systematic exploration of mono- and distyryl dye libraries

• Xiao Xie,
• Michela Zuffo,
• Marie-Paule Teulade-Fichou and
• Anton Granzhan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1872–1889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.183

• (up to 150 nm) and, in certain cases, structural selectivity with respect to one or another G4 folding topology. These dyes can be considered as promising G4-responsive sensors for in vitro or imaging applications. As a possible application, we implemented a simple two-dye fluorimetric assay allowing

• single-stranded controls (pink and black dots), to which none of the two dyes proves responsive. A few G4 structures located relatively far from the areas occupied by the respective groups. This is the case of G4CT, Bcl2Mid and, at least partially, UpsB-Q3. In the case of G4CT, previous studies report

• varying content of guanine and a wealth of duplex structures, and (2) discriminating G4 structures based on their topology, with the exception of a few notable cases presenting structural peculiarities. Quantum yield and brightness of the probes Four highly responsive and G4-selective dyes, namely 1p, 1u

Reversible end-to-end assembly of selectively functionalized gold nanorods by light-responsive arylazopyrazole–cyclodextrin interaction

• Maximilian Niehues,
• Patricia Tegeder and
• Bart Jan Ravoo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1407–1415, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.140

• of gold nanorods (AuNR) by thiolated cyclodextrin (CD) host molecules. As a result of the complete removal of the precursor capping agent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) by a tetraethylene glycol derivative, competitive binding to the host cavity was prevented, and reversible, light-responsive

• –organic hybrid nanomaterials. Keywords: cyclodextrins; gold nanorods; host–guest chemistry; light-responsive materials; molecular switches; self-assembly; Introduction Metallic nanomaterials have received intense and interdisciplinary interest due to their unique optical [1], electronic [2][3] and

• nanoparticle systems [18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. The host–guest interaction can be responsive to external stimuli such as redox, pH or light, with the latter being the most desirable for assembling nanoparticles by virtue of its noninvasive nature [25]. Prominent light-responsive guest molecules are

Photochemical generation of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) radical from caged nitroxides by near-infrared two-photon irradiation and its cytocidal effect on lung cancer cells

• Ayato Yamada,
• Manabu Abe,
• Yoshinobu Nishimura,
• Shoji Ishizaka,
• Masashi Namba,
• Taku Nakashima,
• Kiyofumi Shimoji and
• Noboru Hattori

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 863–873, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.84

• , Japan Department of Molecular and Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.15.84 Abstract Novel caged nitroxides (nitroxide donors) with near-infrared two-photon (TP) responsive

• -responsive photo-labile protecting group [56][57][58] with simple cyclic stilbene structures such as 2-(4-nitrophenyl)benzofuran (NPBF) that absorb in the NIR region of 710–760 nm for the uncaging of bioactive substances such as glutamate and Ca2+ [59][60][61][62][63][64]. Herein, we report the synthesis of

• new caged nitroxides (nitroxide donors) 2a and 2b having the TP-responsive NPBF chromophore and the NIR TP-triggered generation of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) radical under atmospheric conditions using these species (Scheme 1). Because free radicals are cytotoxic due to their

New α- and β-cyclodextrin derivatives with cinchona alkaloids used in asymmetric organocatalytic reactions

• Iveta Chena Tichá,
• Simona Hybelbauerová and
• Jindřich Jindřich

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 830–839, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.80

• organoselenium-bridged bis-β-CDs. Subsequently, the same research group [26] investigated the performance of inclusion complexes of native and permethylated β-CDs and cinchona alkaloids as pH-responsive binding systems. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, CD derivatives with covalently bonded cinchona

Synthesis of functionalized diazocines for application as building blocks in photo- and mechanoresponsive materials

• Widukind Moormann,
• Daniel Langbehn and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 727–732, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.68

• ’-diaminodiazocine 2 (center) and 4,4’-diaminodiazocine 3 (right). Continuous lines: 100% cis and dashed lines: PSS (385 nm) at 298.15 K in acetonitrile. Synthesized target diazocines 4–7 for applications in responsive materials. UV–vis spectra of 3,3’-diaminodiazocine 2 (left), 3,3’-di(aminomethyl)diazocine 6a

Homo- and hetero-difunctionalized β-cyclodextrins: Short direct synthesis in gram scale and analysis of regiochemistry

• Gábor Benkovics,
• Mihály Bálint,
• Éva Fenyvesi,
• Erzsébet Varga,
• Szabolcs Béni,
• Konstantina Yannakopoulou and
• Milo Malanga

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 710–720, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.66

• selective functionalization of these cyclic oligosaccharides can remarkably improve their complexing ability and enables their application as artificial enzymes [2][3][4], chiral resolving agents [5], stimuli-responsive materials [6], molecular sensors [7] or bioactive hosts with significant emerging

Polyaminoazide mixtures for the synthesis of pH-responsive calixarene nanosponges

• Antonella Di Vincenzo,
• Antonio Palumbo Piccionello,
• Alberto Spinella,
• Delia Chillura Martino,
• Marco Russo and
• Paolo Lo Meo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 633–641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.59

• . The desired responsivity to pH variations of the nanosponges obtained was verified by means of absorption tests on a set of organic pollutant model molecules. Keywords: calixarenes; nanosponges; pH-responsive materials; pollutants; polyaminoazides; Introduction The ability to provide a response to

• presence of unreacted alkyne groups. Sequestration abilities of the CaNS nanosponges The possible pH-responsive sequestration abilities of materials CaNS-I and CaNS-II were verified by means of sequestration tests on a set of suitable guest, namely p-nitroaniline derivatives 6–10 and dyes 11–15 (Figure 4

• work we verified the feasibility of synthesizing new pH-responsive calixarene nanosponges by using two different polyaminoazide mixtures as the reticulating agent. Full characterization (HR-ESIMS, FTIR, 1D and 2D NMR) of the mixtures has been provided. It is particularly important to stress that the

LCST phase behavior of benzo-21-crown-7 with different alkyl chains

• Yan Deng,
• Xing Li,
• Qiao Zhang,
• Zheng Luo,
• Chengyou Han and
• Shengyi Dong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 437–444, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.38

• -crown-7, B21C7s) can effectively control the thermo-responsive properties. Keywords: crown ethers; hydrophobic units; lower critical solution temperature; LCST; thermo-responsiveness; supramolecular chemistry; Introduction The introduction of stimuli-responsiveness into artificial materials is vital

• molecules-containing systems has been developed exhibiting LCST behavior and adjustable thermo-responsive properties. These include ionic liquids [27][28][29][30], macrocycles [31][32][33][34], and supramolecular pairs [26][35][36][37][38]. For example, the combination of macrocycles and supramolecular

• interactions can realize controlled release and product separation in complex supramolecular systems [35]. More options of small molecules with LCST properties not only give rise to more flexibility for LCST systems and thermo-responsive materials, but would be a great advantage for functionalization. In our