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Crown thioethers, 1,4,8,11-tetrathiacyclotetradecanes and 1,4,8,11,15,18-hexathiaheneicosanes, have been synthesized as 2:2 and 3:3 cycloadducts in a ‘one-pot’ homolytic macrocyclization of alkynes with propane-1,3-dithiol.

Starting from mercaptoacetic acid esters of 1,2- or 1,3-diols and substituted acetylenes 12- and 13-membered sulfur-containing lactones as 1:1 adducts were synthesized in yields up to 48%. The mechanism of this homolytic reaction, which is initiated by the tripropylborane/oxygen system, includes generation of thiyl radicals and their addition to the triple bond of alkynes.

Homolytic cycloaddition of dithiols 1,2 derived from trans- and eis-1,2-cyclohexanediols to alkynes, induced by Pr3B-O2, offers an extremely simple approach to trans- and cis-cyclohexano-fused 12-membered crown thialactones 4a-c-7a-c. The reaction of trans-1 proceeds with pronounced remote 1,6-asymmetric induction to give predominantly (IS *, 6R *, 12S *)-4a–c, while cis-2 reacts nonstereoselectively. Basing on molecular mechanics calculations the stereoselectivity is rationalized as a result of entropy favored pathway of macrocyclization.

Understanding the spatial dynamics of biochemical networks is both fundamentally important for understanding life at the systems level and also has practical implications for medicine, engineering, biology, and chemistry. Studies at the level of individual reactions provide essential information about the function, interactions, and localization of individual molecular species and reactions in a network. However, analyzing the spatial dynamics of complex biochemical networks at this level is difficult. Biochemical networks are nonequilibrium systems containing dozens to hundreds of reactions with nonlinear and time-dependent interactions, and these interactions are influenced by diffusion, flow, and the relative values of state-dependent kinetic parameters. To achieve an overall understanding of the spatial dynamics of a network and the global mechanisms that drive its function, networks must be analyzed as a whole, where all of the components and influential parameters of a network are simultaneously considered. Here, we describe chemical concepts and microfluidic tools developed for network-level investigations of the spatial dynamics of these networks. Modular approaches can be used to simplify these networks by separating them into modules, and simple experimental or computational models can be created by replacing each module with a single reaction. Microfluidics can be used to implement these models as well as to analyze and perturb the complex network itself with spatial control on the micrometer scale. We also describe the application of these network-level approaches to elucidate the mechanisms governing the spatial dynamics of two networkshemostasis (blood clotting) and early patterning of the Drosophila embryo. To investigate the dynamics of the complex network of hemostasis, we simplified the network by using a modular mechanism and created a chemical model based on this mechanism by using microfluidics. Then, we used the mechanism and the model to predict the dynamics of initiation and propagation of blood clotting and tested these predictions with human blood plasma by using microfluidics. We discovered that both initiation and propagation of clotting are regulated by a threshold response to the concentration of activators of clotting, and that clotting is sensitive to the spatial localization of stimuli. To understand the dynamics of patterning of the Drosophila embryo, we used microfluidics to perturb the environment around a developing embryo and observe the effects of this perturbation on the expression of Hunchback, a protein whose localization is essential to proper development. We found that the mechanism that is responsible for Hunchback positioning is asymmetric, time-dependent, and more complex than previously proposed by studies of individual reactions. Overall, these approaches provide strategies for simplifying, modeling, and probing complex networks without sacrificing the functionality of the network. Such network-level strategies may be most useful for understanding systems with nonlinear interactions where spatial dynamics is essential for function. In addition, microfluidics provides an opportunity to investigate the mechanisms responsible for robust functioning of complex networks. By creating nonideal, stressful, and perturbed environments, microfluidic experiments could reveal the function of pathways thought to be nonessential under ideal conditions.

This Account summarizes techniques for carrying out microfabrication of structures with dimensions down to 10 mum in microchannels that are 0.02-2 mm wide. These methods are largely based on the exploitation of laminar flow at low Reynolds number (Re) to control the spatial delivery of reagents. These methods are illustrated by fabrication of fibers, microelectrode arrays, arrays of crystals, and patterns of proteins and cells.