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Herein, we report a semiconductive, proton-conductive, microporous hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) derived from phenylphosphonic acid and 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis[p‐phenylphosphonic acid] porphyrin (GTUB5). The structure of GTUB5 was characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction. A narrow band gap of 1.56 eV was extracted from a UV-Vis spectrum of pure GTUB5 crystals, in excellent agreement with the 1.65 eV band gap obtained from DFT calculations. The same band gap was also measured for GTUB5 in DMSO. The proton conductivity of GTUB5 was measured to be 3.00 × 10−6 S cm−1 at 75 °C and 75% relative humidity. The surface area was estimated to be 422 m2 g−1 from grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. XRD showed that GTUB5 is thermally stable under relative humidities of up to 90% at 90 °C. These findings pave the way for a new family of organic, microporous, and semiconducting materials with high surface areas and high thermal stabilities., Research in hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) has gained interest in recent years due to their facile design and synthesis but no semiconducting HOF has been reported to date. Here the authors report a thermally stable and proton-conductive organic semiconductor based on a porphyrin HOF.

Organic luminescent compounds with high emission properties play a crucial role in fluorescence labelling and optoelectronic devices. In this work, we prepared three water soluble BODIPY derivatives (B-4, B-5, and B-6) which are weakly fluorescent due to non-radiative relaxation pathways (charge transfer: CT or heavy atom effect). However, CB[7] significantly improves BODIPY fluorescence by similar to 10 fold for B-4, and by similar to 3 fold for B-5. The (TD)DFT analyses suggest that for B-4 and B-5, the CT state is blue-shifted as a result of the external binding of CB[7] near the pyridinium groups. This effect favoured a radiative decay through a locally-excited (LE) pi ->pi* transition state of BODIPYs resulting in a CB[7]-induced emission increase in solution (and in the solid state), without compromising singlet-to-triplet intersystem crossing (ISC). The improved emission of the BODIPY center dot CB[7] complexes was used for the fluorescence imaging of U87 cells illustrating the relevance of this approach. These results suggest that BODIPY center dot CB[7] complexes could be used as theragnostic agents by combining fluorescence imaging and treatment by photodynamic therapy.

Here, we present viologen-porphyrin based ionic covalent organic polymers (H2-ICOP and Zn-ICOP) with multiple CO2-philic sites. The specific surface areas of H2-ICOP and Zn-ICOP were found to be 9 m(2) g(-1) and 20 m(2) g(-1), respectively. CO2 uptake analyses reveal that H2-ICOP exhibits very high CO2 capture uptake (62.9 mg g(-1)), which is one of the highest values among previously reported ICOPs. The results indicate very efficient non-covalent interactions between H2-ICOP and CO2. The possible non-covalent interactions of hydrogen (O-CO2...H-N), tetrel (C-CO2...N, C-CO2...Cl-), pnicogen (O-CO2...N+), and spodium bonds (O-CO2...Zn) between CO2 and H2-ICOP and Zn-ICOP are investigated via symmetry adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) analysis and electrostatic potential maps (MEP). The strength of non-covalent interactions in H2-ICOP and Zn-ICOP is decreasing in the following order Delta E-C...(N) > Delta E-C...(-)(Cl) > Delta E-O...(+)(N) and Delta E-Zn...(O) > Delta E-C...(-)(Cl) > Delta E-C...(N) > Delta E-O...(+)(N), respectively. The major CO2 uptake contribution comes from C-CO2...N tetrel bonding (-22.02 kJ mol(-1)) interactions for H2-ICOP, whereas O-CO2...Zn spodium bonding (-21.065 kJ mol(-1)) interactions for Zn-ICOP. H2-ICOP has more CO2-philic moieties with powerful non-covalent interactions compared to Zn-ICOP, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, the CO2 catalytic conversion performances of Zn-ICOP and H2-ICOP gave good yields of 83% and 54%, respectively. Surprisingly, Zn-ICOP, despite having significantly lower CO2 uptake capacity, displayed better catalytic activity than H2-ICOP, owing to a higher number of counter anions (Cl-) on its surface, which shows the crucial role of the counter anion (Cl-) in the mechanism of this catalytic reaction., Science Academy, Young Scientist Award (BAGEP), The authors thank the TUBITAK ULAKBIM High Performance and Grid Computing Center (TRUBA resources), Turkey, for computational facilities. Y. Zorlu acknowledges financial support from The Science Academy, Young Scientist Award (BAGEP).

Hydroethidine (HE) and hydropropidine ($$\hbox {HPr}^{+}$$ HPr + ) are fluorogenic probes used for the detection of the intra- and extracellular superoxide radical anion ($$\hbox {O}_{ {2}}^{\bullet -}$$ O 2 ∙ - ). In this study, we provide evidence that HE and $$\hbox {HPr}^{+}$$ HPr + react rapidly with the biologically relevant radicals, including the hydroxyl radical, peroxyl radicals, the trioxidocarbonate radical anion, nitrogen dioxide, and the glutathionyl radical, via one-electron oxidation, forming the corresponding radical cations. At physiological pH, the radical cations of the probes react rapidly with $$\hbox {O}_{ {2}}^{\bullet -}$$ O 2 ∙ - , leading to the specific 2-hydroxylated cationic products. We determined the rate constants of the reaction between $$\hbox {O}_{ {2}}^{\bullet -}$$ O 2 ∙ - and the radical cations of the probes. We also synthesized N-methylated analogs of $$\hbox {HPr}^{+}$$ HPr + and HE which were used in mechanistic studies. Methylation of the amine groups was not found to prevent the reaction between the radical cation of the probe and the superoxide, but it significantly increased the lifetime of the radical cation and had a substantial effect on the profiles of the oxidation products by inhibiting the formation of dimeric products. We conclude that the N-methylated analogs of HE and $$\hbox {HPr}^{+}$$ HPr + may be used as a scaffold for the design of a new generation of probes for intra- and extracellular superoxide.

International audience; Triangular shapes have inspired scientists over time and are common in nature, such as the flower petals ofoxalis triangularis, or the triangular faces of tetrahedrite crystals or on the icosahedron faces of virus capsids. Supramolecular chemistry has enabled the construction of triangular assemblies, many of which possess functional features.Among these structures, cucurbiturils have been used to build supramolecular triangles and we recently reported paramagnetic - cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) triangles but reasons of their formation remain unclear. Several parameters have nowbeen identified to explain their formation. At first sight, the radical nature of the guest appeared of prime importance toget the triangles and we focused on extending this concept to biradicals for obtaining supramolecular hexaradicals. Twosodium ions were systematically observed by ESI-MS in trimer structures and the presence of Na+triggered or strengthened the triangulation of CB[8]:guest 1:1 complexes in solution. X-ray crystallography and molecular modelling have allowed proposing two plausible sites of residence for the two sodium cations. We then found that a diamagnetic guestwith an H bond acceptor function is equally good at forming CB[8] triangles. Hence, a guest molecule containing a ketonefunction has been precisely triangulated thanks to CB[8] and sodium cations as determined by DOSY-NMR and DLS. Abinding constant for the triangulation of 1:1, to 3:3 complexes, is proposed. This concept has finally been extended to thetriangulation of ditopic guests toward network formation by reticulation of CB[8] triangles using dinitroxide biradicals.

This work describes latent fluorescence particles (LFPs) based on a new environmentally sensitive carbazole compound aggregated in water and their use as sensors for probing various cavitands and the different stages of aggregating systems. Cyclodextrins (CDs), cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n], n = 6, 7, 8), and a resorcinarene capsule were used to study the dynamic nature of the LFPs. The fluorescence was dramatically enhanced by a proposed disaggregation-induced emission enhancement (DIEE) mechanism with specific features for CB[n]. Then, the aggregated states of the dipeptides Leu-Leu, Phe-Phe, and Fmoc-Leu-Leu (vesicles, crystals, fibers) were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy thanks to the adaptive and emissive behavior of the LFPs, allowing us to study an interesting polymorphism phenomenon. The LFPs have then been used in the sensing of the aggregation of the polysaccharide alginate, for which distinct fluorescence turn-on is detected upon stepwise biopolymer assembly, and for amylose detection. The carbazole particles not only adapt to various environments but also display multicolor fluorescent signals. They can be used for the fast probing of the aggregation propensity of newly prepared molecules or biologically relevant compounds or to accelerate the discovery of new macrocycles or of self-assembling peptides in water.

We describe a photochemical method to introduce a single alcohol function directly on cucurbit[n]urils (n = 5, 6, 7, 8) with conversions of the order 95-100% using hydrogen peroxide and UV light. The reaction was easily scaled up to 1 g for CB[6] and CB[7]. Spin trapping of cucurbituril radicals combined with MS experiments allowed us to get insights about the reaction mechanism and characterize CB[5], CB[6], CB[7], and CB[8] monofunctional compounds. Experiments involving 18O isotopically labeled water indicated that the mechanism was complex and showed signs of both radical and ionic intermediates. DFT calculations allowed estimating the Bond Dissociation Energies (BDEs) of each hydrogen atom type in the CB series, providing an explanation of the higher reactivity of the "equatorial" C-H position of CB[n] compounds. These results also showed that, for CB[8], direct functionalization on the cucurbituril skeleton is more difficult because one of the methylene hydrogen atoms (Hb) has its BDE lowering within the series and coming close to that of Hc, thus opening the way to other types of free radicals generated on the CB[8] skeleton leading to several side products. Yet CB[5]-(OH)1 and CB[8]-(OH)1, the first CB[8] derivative, were obtained in excellent yields thanks to the soft method presented here.

The (15-oxo-3,7,11-triazadispiro[5.1.5.3]hexadec-7-yl)oxidanyl, a bis-spiropiperidinium nitroxide derived from TEMPONE, can be included in cucurbit[7]uril to form a strong (Ka ∼ 2 × 105 M−1) CB[7]@bPTO complex. EPR and MS spectra, DFT calculations, and unparalleled increased resistance (a factor of ∼103) toward ascorbic acid reduction show evidence of deep inclusion of bPTO inside CB[7]. The unusual shape of the CB[7]@bPTO EPR spectrum can be explained by an anisotropic Brownian rotational diffusion, the global tumbling of the complex being slower than rotation of bPTO around its “long molecular axis” inside CB[7]. The CB[7] (stator) with the encapsulated bPTO (rotator) behaves as a supramolecular paramagnetic rotor with increased rotational speed of the rotator that has great potential for advanced nanoscale machines requiring wheels such as cucurbiturils with virtually no friction between the wheel and the axle for optimum wheel rotation (i.e. nanopulleys and nanocars)., Nanoscale, 7 (28), ISSN:2040-3364, ISSN:2040-3372

International audience; The use of visible absorbing and fluorescent tags for sensing and structural analysis of carbohydrates is a promising route in a variety of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic contexts. Here we report an easy method for covalent attachment of nonfluorescent push-pull chromophores based on the 4-cyano-5-dicyanomethylene-2-oxo-3-pyrroline ring to carbohydrate moieties. The impact of sugar grafting on the optical properties of the push-pull chromophore in the gas phase and in solution was investigated by absorption and action spectroscopy and theoretical methods. The labeled sugars efficiently absorb photons in the visible range, as demonstrated by their intense photodissociation in a quadrupole ion trap. A strong blue shift (-70 nm) of the gas-phase photodissociation intensity maximum is observed upon sugar grafting, whereas no such effect is visible on the solution absorption spectra. Molecular dynamics simulations of labeled maltose in the gas phase describe strong interactions between the sulfonated chromophore and the carbohydrate, which lead to cyclic conformations. These are not observed in the simulations with explicit solvation. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations on model molecules permit us to attribute the observed shift to the formation of such cyclic conformations and to the displacement of the negative charge relative to the aromatic moiety of the chromophore.

International audience; Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) carried out on triple-quadrupole mass spectrometers coupled to liquid chromatography has been a reference method to develop quantitative analysis of small molecules in biological or environmental matrices for years and is currently emerging as a promising tool in clinical proteomic. However, sensitive assays in complex matrices are often hampered by the presence of co-eluted compounds that share redundant transitions with the target species. On-the-fly better selection of the precursor ion by high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) or increased quadrupole resolution is one way to escape from interferences. In the present work we document the potential interest of substituting classical gas-collision activation mode by laser-induced dissociation in the visible wavelength range to improve the specificity of the fragmentation step. Optimization of the laser beam pathway across the different quadrupoles to ensure high photo-dissociation yield in Q2 without detectable fragmentation in Q1 was assessed with sucrose tagged with a push-pull chromophore. Next, the proof of concept that photo-SRM ensures more specific detection than does conventional collision-induced dissociation (CID)-based SRM was carried out with oxytocin peptide. Oxytocin was derivatized by the thiol-reactive QSY® 7 C(5)-maleimide quencher on cysteine residues to shift its absorption property into the visible range. Photo-SRM chromatograms of tagged oxytocin spiked in whole human plasma digest showed better detection specificity and sensitivity than CID, that resulted in extended calibration curve linearity. We anticipate that photo-SRM might significantly improve the limit of quantification of classical SRM-based assays targeting cysteine-containing peptides.