Enantiospecific electrodeposition of a chiral catalyst

Many biomolecules are chiral--they can exist in one of two enantiomeric forms that only differ in that their structures are mirror images of each other. Because only one enantiomer tends to be physiologically active while the other is inactive or even toxic, drug compounds are increasingly produced in an enantiomerically pure form using solution-phase homogeneous catalysts and enzymes. Chiral surfaces offer the possibility of developing heterogeneous enantioselective catalysts that can more readily be separated from the products and reused. In addition, such surfaces might serve as electrochemical sensors for chiral molecules. To date, chiral surfaces have been obtained by adsorbing chiral molecules or slicing single crystals so that they exhibit high-index faces, and some of these surfaces act as enantioselective heterogeneous catalysts. Here we show that chiral surfaces can also be produced through electrodeposition, a relatively simple solution-based process that resembles biomineralization in that organic molecules adsorbed on surfaces have profound effects on the morphology of the inorganic deposits. When electrodepositing a copper oxide film on an achiral gold surface in the presence of tartrate ion in the deposition solution, the chirality of the ion determines the chirality of the deposited film, which in turn determines the film's enantiospecificity during subsequent electrochemical oxidation reactions.     

Structural effects on the magnetic hyperthermia properties of iron oxide nanoparticles

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles(IONPs) are heavily explored as diagnostic and therapeutic agents due to their low cost, tunable properties, and biocompatibility. In particular, upon excitation with an alternating current(AC) magnetic field, the NPs generate localized heat that can be exploited for therapeutic hyperthermia treatment of diseased cells or pathogenic microbes. In this review, we focus on how structural changes and inter-particle interactions affect the heating efficiency of iron oxide-based magnetic NPs. Moreover, we present an overview of the different approaches to evaluate the heating performance of IONPs and introduce a new theranostic modality based on magnetic imaging guided–hyperthermia.     

Chiral ligand-protected gold nanoclusters: Considering the optical activity from a viewpoint of ligand dissymmetric field

Chirality is a geometric property of a physical, chemical, or biological object, which is not superimposable on its mirror image. Its significant presence has led to a strong demand in the development of chiral drugs, sensors, catalysts, and photofunctional materials. In recent years, chirality of nanoscale organic/inorganic hybrids has received tremendous attention owing to potential applications in chiral nanotechnology. In particular, with the recent progress in the syntheses and characterizations of atomically precise gold nanoclusters protected by achiral thiolates, atomic level origins of their chirality have been unveiled. On the other hand, chirality or optical activity in metal nanoclusters can also be introduced via the surface chiral ligands, which should be universal for the nanosystems. This tutorial review presents some optically-active metal (gold) nanoclusters protected by chiral thiolates or phosphines, and their chiroptical (or circular dichroism; CD) properties are discussed mostly from a viewpoint of the ligand dissymmetric field scheme. The examples are the gold nanoclusters protected by (R)-/(S)-2-phenylpropane-1-thiol, (R)-/(S)-mercaptosuccinic acid, phenylboronate-D/L-fructose complexes, phosphine sulfonate-ephedrinium ion pairs, or glutathione. Some methodologies for versatile asymmetric transformation and chiroptical controls of the nanocluster compounds are also described. In the dissymmetric field model as the origin of optical activity, the chiroptical responses of the gold nanoclusters are strongly associated with coupled oscillator and/or CD stealing mechanisms based on the concept of induced CD (ICD) derived from a perturbation theory, so on this basis, some characteristic features of the observed CD responses of chiral ligand-protected gold nanoclusters are presented in detail. We believe that various kinds of origins of chirality found in ligand-protected gold nanoclusters may provide models for understanding those of many related nanomaterials.     

Thermodynamic control of asymmetric amplification in amino acid catalysis

Ever since Pasteur noticed that tartrate crystals exist in two non-superimposable forms that are mirror images of one another--as are left and right hands--the phenomenon of chirality has intrigued scientists. On the molecular level, chirality often has a profound impact on recognition and interaction events and is thus important to biochemistry and pharmacology. In chemical synthesis, much effort has been directed towards developing asymmetric synthesis strategies that yield product molecules with a significant excess of either the left-handed or right-handed enantiomer. This is usually achieved by making use of chiral auxiliaries or catalysts that influence the course of a reaction, with the enantiomeric excess (ee) of the product linearly related to the ee of the auxiliary or catalyst used. In recent years, however, an increasing number of asymmetric reactions have been documented where this relationship is nonlinear, an effect that can lead to asymmetric amplification. Theoretical models have long suggested that autocatalytic processes can result in kinetically controlled asymmetric amplification, a prediction that has now been verified experimentally and rationalized mechanistically for an autocatalytic alkylation reaction. Here we show an alternative mechanism that gives rise to asymmetric amplification based on the equilibrium solid-liquid phase behaviour of amino acids in solution. This amplification mechanism is robust and can operate in aqueous systems, making it an appealing proposition for explaining one of the most tantalizing examples of asymmetric amplification-the development of high enantiomeric excess in biomolecules from a presumably racemic prebiotic world.     

生命起源中的对称性破缺

生命起源中的对称性破缺——生物分子手性均一性,是生命科学中的长期未解之谜。自然界中组成蛋白质的20种氨基酸(除甘氨酸无不对称碳原子外)全部是L型,组成RNA,DNA中的核糖却全部是D型。对蛋白质和核酸的手性、分子构型(D和L)和旋光(+和-,右旋光和左旋光)概念作了阐明。对当前国际上最著名的两大学说—β粒子极化和手性分子的相互作用与萨拉姆假说以及国内外的研究工作,结合科研组10几年来的实验研究和理论观点作了较为全面的评述。     

含蒎烯基联吡啶的新型手性Mo(0)络合物的合成和表征

为了探讨含手性蒎烯基联吡啶的手性钼(0)络合物的结构对光谱(特别是CD光谱)性质的影响,合成了两个新型手性钼络合物( )CD452[Mo(CO)4(LRR)]和[Mo(CO)4(LSS)].用元素分析、IR、UV vis、CD、1HNMR和13CNMR等对其进行了充分表征.研究结果表明:两种络合物为一对具有几乎完全相同物理化学性质、配体互为对映体的光学异构体;两者在可见区的CD曲线呈现弱Cotton效应,且大致为镜象对称,说明在相应的手性络合物中,由于联吡啶上相反手性的蒎烯基通过中心金属钼对MLCT发色团产生了手性微扰作用,从而产生诱导CD效应.     

生物手性起源和碳同位素记录

生物手性起源是很多因素联合作用的结果．其中主要是：β电子和手性分子的非弹性散射导致的左右不对称性，化学反应动力学的手性放大效应和聚合过程中的手性放大效应．如果原始生命并非发生于极低的温度环境，必须考虑非纯手性的可能性，手性的纯化和生命的进化相平行．这一假设可从沉积岩的碳同位素记录中得到验证．     

Reconfigurable self-assembly through chiral control of interfacial tension

From determining the optical properties of simple molecular crystals to establishing the preferred handedness in highly complex vertebrates, molecular chirality profoundly influences the structural, mechanical and optical properties of both synthetic and biological matter on macroscopic length scales. In soft materials such as amphiphilic lipids and liquid crystals, the competition between local chiral interactions and global constraints imposed by the geometry of the self-assembled structures leads to frustration and the assembly of unique materials. An example of particular interest is smectic liquid crystals, where the two-dimensional layered geometry cannot support twist and chirality is consequently expelled to the edges in a manner analogous to the expulsion of a magnetic field from superconductors. Here we demonstrate a consequence of this geometric frustration that leads to a new design principle for the assembly of chiral molecules. Using a model system of colloidal membranes, we show that molecular chirality can control the interfacial tension, an important property of multi-component mixtures. This suggests an analogy between chiral twist, which is expelled to the edges of two-dimensional membranes, and amphiphilic surfactants, which are expelled to oil-water interfaces. As with surfactants, chiral control of interfacial tension drives the formation of many polymorphic assemblages such as twisted ribbons with linear and circular topologies, starfish membranes, and double and triple helices. Tuning molecular chirality in situ allows dynamical control of line tension, which powers polymorphic transitions between various chiral structures. These findings outline a general strategy for the assembly of reconfigurable chiral materials that can easily be moved, stretched, attached to one another and transformed between multiple conformational states, thus allowing precise assembly and nanosculpting of highly dynamical and designable materials with complex topologies.     

A chiroselective peptide replicator

The origin of homochirality in living systems is often attributed to the generation of enantiomeric differences in a pool of chiral prebiotic molecules, but none of the possible physiochemical processes considered can produce the significant imbalance required if homochiral biopolymers are to result from simple coupling of suitable precursor molecules. This implies a central role either for additional processes that can selectively amplify an initially minute enantiomeric difference in the starting material, or for a nonenzymatic process by which biopolymers undergo chiroselective molecular replication. Given that molecular self-replication and the capacity for selection are necessary conditions for the emergence of life, chiroselective replication of biopolymers seems a particularly attractive process for explaining homochirality in nature. Here we report that a 32-residue peptide replicator, designed according to our earlier principles, is capable of efficiently amplifying homochiral products from a racemic mixture of peptide fragments through a chiroselective autocatalytic cycle. The chiroselective amplification process discriminates between structures possessing even single stereochemical mutations within otherwise homochiral sequences. Moreover, the system exhibits a dynamic stereochemical 'editing' function; in contrast to the previously observed error correction, it makes use of heterochiral sequences that arise through uncatalysed background reactions to catalyse the production of the homochiral product. These results support the idea that self-replicating polypeptides could have played a key role in the origin of homochirality on Earth.     

Enantiomeric Binaphtyl-brided SALEN Zirconium Complexes as Catalysts for Stereoselective Polymerization of Chiral Olefins

1 Results Chiral Schiff-base complexes have been used as catalysts for several stereoselective organic transformations,but they have never been tested for the polymerization of chiral olefins.The preferential polymerization of a single monomeric enantiomer (stereoselective polymerization) pursues two intriguing goals: i) the development of polymeric materials with peculiar optical or physical properties and ii) the kinetic resolution of racemic alkenes.     

有机手性分子器件的光电特性

目前多种有机手性分子器件虽已研制成功,但其内在的物理机理仍有许多未解之谜,其中手性分子的圆二色性精细结构、手性诱导的自旋选择效应等是有机手性分子研究的核心.为设计基于手性的新型有机功能器件提供理论指导,考虑有机手性分子螺旋势场诱导的自旋-轨道耦合,围绕分子的光电特性及其调控展开了系列研究.根据光致跃迁理论,得到手性分子...     

对称性,手性和旋光化合物的合成

本文以对称性的观点阐述对称性、手性和旋光性化合物合成的相关性，文中分成三个部分：手性与对称性；手性分子的形成；旋光性化合物的合成途径。     

手征性物体中电偶极场的手征性排布

对手征性石英和螺旋铜丝的结构进行了分析研究.漆包铜丝本身由于铜和漆皮的接触起电效应,存在固有的电偶极场.当铜丝弯成手征性的螺旋结构时,其固有的场也转变成手征性排列,类似螺苯中C-H键的电偶极场分布.手性石英晶体中的SiO4四面体结构单元表现出扭转的手性结构,并且Si-O键有二种不同长度,结构参数的差值已超出误差范围.一块手性石英晶体相当于由无数的均匀手性的SiO4结构单元组成.SiO4结构单元的构像手性以及手征性偶极场排布也被揭示出来.研究说明,不仅手性分子中存在手征性的场分布,石英晶体和螺旋铜丝也存在固有的手征性偶极场分布.手征性偶极场的存在能够解释光学活性的起源问题.     

论生物手性的起源

在综述生物大分子手性起源的各种理论的基础上，提出了手性起源的三步理论，     

Amplification of chirality in two-dimensional enantiomorphous lattices

The concept of chirality dates back to 1848, when Pasteur manually separated left-handed from right-handed sodium ammonium tartrate crystals. Crystallization is still an important means for separating chiral molecules into their two different mirror-image isomers (enantiomers), yet remains poorly understood. For example, there are no firm rules to predict whether a particular pair of chiral partners will follow the behaviour of the vast majority of chiral molecules and crystallize together as racemic crystals, or as separate enantiomers. A somewhat simpler and more tractable version of this phenomenon is crystallization in two dimensions, such as the formation of surface structures by adsorbed molecules. The relatively simple spatial molecular arrangement of these systems makes it easier to study the effects of specific chiral interactions; moreover, chiral assembly and recognition processes can be observed directly and with molecular resolution using scanning tunnelling microscopy. The enantioseparation of chiral molecules in two dimensions is expected to occur more readily because planar confinement excludes some bulk crystal symmetry elements and enhances chiral interactions; however, many surface structures have been found to be racemic. Here we show that the chiral hydrocarbon heptahelicene on a Cu111 surface does not undergo two-dimensional spontaneous resolution into enantiomers, but still shows enantiomorphism on a mesoscopic length scale that is readily amplified. That is, we observe formation of racemic heptahelicene domains with non-superimposable mirror-like lattice structures, with a small excess of one of the heptahelicene enantiomers suppressing the formation of one domain type. Similar to the induction of homochirality in achiral enantiomorphous monolayers by a chiral modifier, a small enantiomeric excess suffices to ensure that the entire molecular monolayer consists of domains having only one of two possible, non-superimposable, mirror-like lattice structures.     

An enantiomerically pure hydrogen-bonded assembly

Chiral molecules have asymmetric arrangements of atoms, forming structures that are non-superposable mirror images of each other. Specific mirror images ('enantiomers') may be obtained either from enantiomerically pure precursor compounds, through enantioselective synthesis, or by resolution of so-called racemic mixtures of opposite enantiomers, provided that racemization (the spontaneous interconversion of enantiomers) is sufficiently slow. Non-covalent assemblies can similarly adopt chiral supramolecular structures, and if they are held together by relatively strong interactions, such as metal coordination, methods analogous to those used to obtain chiral molecules yield enantiomerically pure non-covalent products. But the resolution of assemblies formed through weak interactions, such as hydrogen-bonding, remains challenging, reflecting their lower stability and significantly higher susceptibility to racemization. Here we report the design of supramolecular structures from achiral calix[4]arene dimelamines and cyanurates, which form multiple cooperative hydrogen bonds that together provide sufficient stability to allow the isolation of enantiomerically pure assemblies. Our design strategy is based on a non-covalent 'chiral memory' concept, whereby we first use chiral barbiturates to induce the supramolecular chirality in a hydrogen-bonded assembly, and then substitute them by achiral cyanurates. The stability of the resultant chiral assemblies in benzene, a non-polar solvent not competing for hydrogen bonds, is manifested by a half-life to racemization of more than four days at room temperature.     

Asp分子手性对映体转变机理及水的催化作用

用色散校正密度泛函WB97X D方法、 微扰理论的MP2方法和自洽反应场的SMD模型方法, 研究两种天冬氨酸(Asp)分子在优势反应通道的手性对映体转变、 水分子催化及溶剂效应. 结果表明： Asp分子经α 羧羟基、 β 羧羟基、 β 羧基和R 基旋转及质子从α 碳向氨基氮、 质子从氨基氮向α 碳和羧基内质子迁移的一系列过渡态, 实现了手性对映体转变, 并得到几种不同构型的旋光异构产物； 具有2条较强单氢键和2条中等强度单氢键的Asp分子在优势通道旋光异构的内禀能垒分别为258.5,253.8 kJ/mol, 均来自α 氢向氨基氮迁移的过渡态； 2个水分子簇的催化使其能垒分别降至133.3,134.3 kJ/mol, 水溶剂环境下分别降至106.3,107.8 kJ/mol. 表明水分子簇的催化可使Asp分子缓慢实现手性对映体转变, 水溶剂化效应可加快反应速度.     

螺旋结构手性材料的手性参数实验研究

利用微波圆波导测量系统，在８．５～１１．５ ＧＨｚ 频段内测量了螺旋结构手性材料的手性参数．研究了手性掺杂体的螺径、螺距和线径对手性参数的影响．结果表明，随着螺旋体结构参数的变化，有Ｃｏｔｔｏｎ 效应出现． 实验结果为手性材料的设计提供了实验依据．     

Synthesis and characterization of chiral mesoporous silica

Chirality is widely expressed in organic materials, perhaps most notably in biological molecules such as DNA, and in proteins, owing to the homochirality of their components (d-sugars and l-amino acids). But the occurrence of large-scale chiral pores in inorganic materials is rare. Although some progress has been made in strategies to synthesize helical and chiral zeolite-like materials, the synthesis of enantiomerically pure mesoporous materials is a challenge that remains unsolved. Here we report the surfactant-templated synthesis of ordered chiral mesoporous silica, together with a general approach for the structural analysis of chiral mesoporous crystals by electron microscopy. The material that we have synthesized has a twisted hexagonal rod-like morphology, with diameter 130-180 nm and length 1-6 micro m. Transmission electron microscopy combined with computer simulations confirm the presence of hexagonally ordered chiral channels of 2.2 nm diameter winding around the central axis of the rods. Our findings could lead to new uses for mesoporous silica and other chiral pore materials in, for example, catalysis and separation media, where both shape selectivity and enantioselectivity can be applied to the manufacturing of enantiomerically pure chemicals and pharmaceuticals.     

磁性液体薄片磁控光开关效应研究

研究了在平行于激光照射方向递增的梯度磁场作用下的磁性液体薄片光透射率随时间的变化情况。结果表明,在磁场作用下,磁性液体内部形成微粒链结构,微粒链受到梯度磁场汇聚力,向薄片中心聚集,在此处形成光关闭现象。通过改变磁性液体体积分数、外磁场变化率、初始磁场大小可以达到控制调节磁性液体的响应时间和光关闭时间的效果,为磁性液体作为可控光开关提供了可行性研究。