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Abstract: Quinone diazides are a class of diazo compounds, having a planar six-membered ring system with diazo, carbonyl and al-kene groups in conjugation. Earlier it was used in optical, electronic, polymer materials etc. In the last few years, various rearrangements reactions and insertion reactions were explored by these diazo compounds via the formation of metallo-carbenoids. Recently, it has been used to incorporate phenol moieties to hydrocarbons or arene/heteroarenes systems via transition metal-catalyzed C-H bond activation. The reactions proceed via C-H bond insertion or migratory insertion of metal-carbenes. In many cases, the site-selectivities were obtained by the guidance of various directing groups (remova-ble or non-removable). At the same time, several asymmetric approaches were also studied to incorporate phenol deriv-atives to arenes/heteroarenes furnishing compounds showing axial chirality with high stereoselectivity. In this review, we will mainly focus on directed regioselective arylation with quinone diazides under transition metal catalysis through C-H bond activation.

Life is fueled by multi-enzymatic tandem processes that display unmatched catalytic efficiencies owing to certain features of the biological reactors such as compartmentalization, nano-confinement, and out-of-equilibrium dynamics. With an attempt to match such natural catalytic systems, herein, we present a chemoenzymatic pH clock mediated transient assembly of a vesicular nanozyme. Distinct confinement of two catalytically discrete units, Histidine groups on the periphery and hemin in the lipid bilayer, results in an efficient hydrolase-peroxidase tandem catalysis in a temporally controlled fashion. The pH clock, constituted by alkaline TRIS (Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride) buffer (promoter) and glucose oxidase (GOx) catalyzed oxidation of glucose, steers the transience in an asymmetric fashion. Alkaline TRIS buffer enhances the pH of the system and triggers the formation of imine linked Supramolecular Peptide Amphiphiles (SPAs) that further assemble into vesicles. On the other hand, oxidation of glucose produces gluconolactone and H

Chemoselective on-site construction of naphthoxazoles (NapOx) for proline selective labeling of peptides.

Leishmaniasis, caused by the intramacrophage protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani, is a life-threatening yet neglected vector-borne disease. Few medications for the treatment of this disease are available. However, targeted delivery of drugs to macrophages remains a significant concern. Macrophages are equipped with many receptors, and therefore putting suitable ligands in the macrophage targeting drug delivery vehicle gained a lot of attention. One such receptor is the mannose receptor, abundantly expressed by macrophages. To treat this deadly disease, in this study, a mannose containing composite hydrogel is prepared by combining a self-aggregating short peptide (Nap-FFGE-NH

Supramolecular assembly of short peptides is a crucial process and has shown numerous potential applications as biomaterials. In the present work, the hydrogelation process of short peptides containing C-terminal "Lys-Cys" (KC) residues have been studied in detail. The N-terminal capping is found to be essential for effective gelation. Out of 12 peptides we studied, two of them could form hydrogels efficiently: Ac-VVKC-NH2 and Ac-FFKC-NH2. In both cases, the monomer-to-dimer formation through disulfide linkages by Cys residues controls the aggregation process. Interestingly, the presence of H2O2 facilitated the dimerization and thereby reduced the gelation time but could not impart much effect on the mechanical properties of the gels. Detailed rheological study revealed that both hydrogels are thixotropic in nature. Moreover, they are responsive to glutathione (GSH) due to the presence of disulfide linkages. However, the hydrogel of Ac-FFKC-NH2 is found to be stronger and more effective for biological applications. The thixotropic nature as well as a model drug release study in response to varying GSH concentration indicates the possible use of the hydrogel as an injectable local drug delivery vehicle. The hydrogel of Ac-FFKC-NH2 is noncytotoxic in nature. Three-dimensional cell proliferation has been found to be more effective than 2D, as it mimics the in vivo situation more closely if not exactly. In the present study, we have shown that both differentiated RAW macrophages and undifferentiated THP-1 monocytes could proliferate significantly within the 3D matrix of the hydrogel, without depicting any apparent cytotoxicity. Thus, the hydrogel of Ac-FFKC-NH2 has potential for application in localized drug administration and as a supporting biomaterial to study basic phenomena involving cell behavior.

Chemoselective construction of naphthoxazoles (NapOx)

Biocatalysis is an important area of modern research and is extensively explored by various industries to attain greener methods in various applications. Supramolecular interactions of short peptides have been under the scanner for developing artificial smart materials inspired from natural systems. Peptide-based artificial enzymes have been proved to show various enzyme-like activities. Therefore, immobilization of catalytic peptides on solid surfaces can be an extremely useful breakthrough for development of cost-effective catalytic formulations. In this work, a series of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) have been systematically analyzed to find the most effective catalyst with esterase like activity. The PA, containing a catalytic triad, 'Asp(Ser)His' in a branched manner, was further immobilized onto silica nanoparticles through covalent bonding method to obtain surface coated catalytic silica nanoparticles. The heterogenous catalytic formulation not only showed enhanced esterase activity than the self-assembled PA in homogenous phase, but also exceeded the activity of natural CV lipase. The catalytic formulation showed high stereoselectivity towards chiral esters. Moreover, the catalyst remained stable at higher temperature, in presence of various denaturant and retained its activity after several catalytic cycles. The ease of separation, robust nature, reusability and high stereoselectivity of the catalyst opens up the possibility of creating new generation heterogeneous catalysts for further industrial applications.

Nature has evolved a unique mechanism of self-regulatory feedback loops that help in maintaining an internal cellular environment conducive to growth, healing and metabolism. In biology, enzymes display feedback controlled switchable behaviour to upregulate/downregulate the generation of metabolites as per the need of the cells. To mimic the self-inhibitory nature of certain biological enzymes under laboratory settings, herein, we present a cucurbit[8]uril based pH responsive supramolecular peptide amphiphile (SPA) that assembles into hydrolase mimetic vesicular nanozymes upon addition of alkaline TRIS buffer (activator) but disintegrates gradually owing to the catalytic generation of acidic byproducts (deactivator). The lifetime of these nanozymes could be manipulated in multiple ways, either by varying the amount of catalytic groups on the surface of the vesicles, by changing the acid generating substrate, or by changing the ratio between the activator and the substrate. The self-inhibitory nanozymes displayed highly tunable lifetimes ranging from minutes to hours, controlled and

Peptide-based hydrogels have captivated remarkable attention in recent times and serve as an excellent platform for biomedical applications owing to the impressive amalgamation of unique properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, easily tunable hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, modular incorporation of stimuli sensitivity and other functionalities, adjustable mechanical stiffness/rigidity and close mimicry to biological molecules. Putting all these on the same plate offers smart soft materials that can be used for tissue engineering, drug delivery, 3D bioprinting, wound healing to name a few. A plethora of work has been accomplished and a significant progress has been realized using these peptide-based platforms. However, designing hydrogelators with the desired functionalities and their self-assembled nanostructures is still highly serendipitous in nature and thus a roadmap providing guidelines toward designing and preparing these soft-materials and applying them for a desired goal is a pressing need of the hour. This review aims to provide a concise outline for that purpose and the design principles of peptide-based hydrogels along with their potential for biomedical applications are discussed with the help of selected recent reports.

A RhIII -catalyzed strategy was developed for the rapid construction of highly substituted 2-pyridone scaffolds using α,β-unsaturated oximes and fluorinated diazomalonate. The reaction proceeds through direct, site-selective alkylation based on migratory insertion and subsequent cyclocondensation. A wide substrate scope with different functional groups was explored. The requirement of fluorinated diazomalonate was explored for this transformation. The developed methodology was further extended with the synthesis of the bioactive compound.

A peptide/carbon dot (CD) composite xerogel is used as a selective p-xylene VOC (volatile organic compound) sensor. The fiber formation by the peptide allows us to attain a semiconducting property,...

Owing to the worldwide threats from the terrorist activities, easy and convenient sensing of explosives is extremely important. Picric acid (PA) is a well-known explosive that is commonly used in m...

Widespread use of picric acid (PA) in chemical industries and deadly explosives poses dreadful impact on all living creatures as well as the natural environment and has raised global concerns that necessitate the development of fast and efficient sensing platforms. To address this issue, herein, we report a perylenediimide-peptide conjugate, PDI-1, for detection of PA in methanol. The probe displays typical aggregation caused quenching (ACQ) behaviour and exhibits a fluorescence "turn-off" sensory response towards PA which is unaffected by the presence of other interfering nitroaromatic compounds. The sensing mechanism involves PA induced aggregation of the probe into higher order tape like structures which leads to quenching of emission. The probe possesses a low detection limit of 5.6 nM or 1.28 ppb and a significantly high Stern-Volmer constant of 6.87×104 M-1 . It also exhibits conducting properties in the presence of PA vapours and thus represents a prospective candidate for vapour phase detection of PA. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first example of a perylenediimide based probe that demonstrates extremely specific, selective and sensitive detection of PA and thus grasps the potential for application in practical scenarios.

Understanding intermolecular interactions among supramolecular self-assembled organization and identifying the molecular structure relevant to the self-assembly are crucial for designing materials with desired functionalities. Interactions of aromatic rings in a peptide–perylenediimide conjugate (P-1) are investigated using dispersion-corrected density functional theory. The binding energies of fully optimized dimeric P-1 are calculated to identify the most stable conformation of the dimer. We show that the dispersion correction terms have significant contributions to the total energies of the dimers. The combined results from electronic structure calculations and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that the stacked dimer with negative inter-planar angle with clock-wise rotation has stronger binding energy than the dimer with positive inter-planar angle. The excess stability of the dimer with clock-wise rotation is attributed to the intra- and inter-molecular $$\uppi $$ – $$\uppi $$ stacking of the side aromatic rings of the dimer facilitated by formation of less number of hydrogen bonds. The stacked P-1 dimer with negative inter-planar angle and stronger binding energy is identified as the building block of a super structure with left-handed helical arrangements. Our calculations will build the first step towards understanding the molecular origin of the stability of a specific super structure of P-1 over the other, as obtained in the experiment relevant to material science and technology.

A new strategy to construct a transient supramolecular peptide amphiphile (SPA) and its vesicular aggregates is displayed. The construction of the amphiphile is assisted by the ternary complexation of cucurbit[8]uril and pH responsive imine bond formation. The transient assembly follows a pH clock set by urea/urease and hydrolysis of glucono delta-lactone (GdL). The transient assembly can be repeated for several cycles through feeding the system with the fuel (urea).

A short peptide based hydrogel exhibits aqueous insolubility, thixotropy and efficient light induced syneresis. Upon irradiation with UV light, the hydrogel shrinks and expells ∼50% of the solvent. Syneresis is caused by light-triggered trans-cis isomerisation of an azobenzene moiety in the peptide derivative. This expulsion of solvent can be effectively exploited in the removal of low molecular weight contaminants in water.

A straightforward Pd(II)-catalyzed general strategy was developed for the C5-selective arylation of the 2-pyridone core with easily available aryl iodides. The transformation was highly regioselective and accomplished with a wide scope and functional group tolerance. Silver nitrate played a crucial role in this direct site-selective arylation. The method was extended to synthesize biologically active molecules.

Development of biocompatible polymeric systems capable of cell adhesion and proliferation is a challenging task. Proper cross-linking of small cell adhesive peptide sequences is useful in this respect as it provides the inherent nontoxic environment as well as the cross-linked polymeric network to the cells for adhesion and proliferation. A multiple cross-linking strategy is applied to create a peptide-based cross-linked polymer. Covalent linkage through disulfide bond formation, supramolecular linkage using homoternary complexation by CB[8], and enzymatic cross-linking by HRP-mediated dimerization of tyrosine are used to prepare the cross-linked, peptide-based polymer decorated with cell-adhesive RGDS sequence. The supramolecular cross-linking via CB[8] provided stability as well as brings the RGDS sequences at the surface of the polymer particles. The order of cross-linking allowed to fine-tune the particle size of the polymer and polymer particles of wide range (200-1000 nm) can be prepared by varying the order. The cross-linked polymer particles (P1 and P2) were found to be stable at wide range of temperature and pH. Moreover, as intended, the polymer was noncytotoxic in nature and showed efficient cell adhesion and proliferation property, which can be used for further biological applications.

Perylenediimide (PDI) chromophores with redox-active groups have facilitated the construction of several novel functional materials. For the first time, unusual spectroscopic changes and differential binding behavior of a tetracationic ethyl viologen tethered PDI derivative, PDEV, with calf-thymus DNA (ct-DNA) is reported here and is ascertained as due to the DNA compaction. From an initial aggregation on the DNA backbone, resulting in quenching in the emission intensity (turn off), with increase in ct-DNA concentration, a novel and strong fluorescence band (turn on) emerged in the blue region. Distinct absorption spectral changes having sharp features in vibronic patterns, increased fluorescence lifetime (from 0.33 to 4.5 ns), anisotropy values are also displayed on titration with ct-DNA corroborating the changes in microenvironment of PDEV in commensurate with structural transition from coil state to compact state. The structural changes in the DNA are also established from the circular dichroism spectr...

In the last two decades, several Schiff bases have been reported as AIEgens which remain nonemissive in organic solvents but show strong fluorescence in the presence of water. A methodical analysis...

A tandem sensor for Pd2+ and CN− ions based on perylenediimide-peptide conjugate is reported. The probe showed high selectivity toward Pd2+ ion over other metal cations and the sensitivity was observed to be 0.55 ppb, significantly lower than other similar chemosensors. Binding with Pd2+ leads to aggregation of the ligand and consequently results in quenching of its emission. The quenched emission can be turned on in presence of CN− ions as the cyanides form stronger complex with Pd2+ leading to disaggregation of the aggregated system. The system was found to be extremely selective to CN− and the detection limit in this case was calculated to be as low as 0.226 ppb. The sensor is also utilized to construct a practical and simple TLC based tool to sense these two ions efficiently.

To develop a new sensor for histone, a series of Naphthalenediimide (NDI) derivatieves were subjected to DNA binding studies and the NDI derivative with strongest affinity for DNA was selected. This NDI-DNA hybrid is used for highly selective and sensitive detection of a DNA binding protein, histone which dislodges the intercalated NDI groups and thus “turn-on” the emission.

A rhodium catalyzed direct regioselective oxidative annulation by double C-H activation is described to synthesize highly substituted quinolones from pyridones. The reaction proceeds at mild conditions with broad scope and wide functional group tolerance. These novel quinolones were explored to recognize nitroaromatic compounds.

This study reports the self-assembly and application of a naphthalene diimide (NDI)-appended peptide amphiphile (PA). H-bonding among the peptide moiety in conjunction with π-stacking between NDI and hydrophobic interactions within the alkyl chain are the major driving forces behind the stepwise aggregation of the PA to form hydrogels. The PA produced efficient self-assemblies in water, forming a nanofibrous network that further formed a self-supportive hydrogel. The molecule followed a three-step self-assembly mechanism. At a lower concentration (50 μM), it forms extremely small aggregates with a very low population of the molecules. With an increase in concentration, spherical aggregates are formed above 450 μM concentration. Importantly, this water-soluble conjugate was found to be nontoxic, cell permeable, and usable for cell imaging. Moreover, the aggregation process and consequently the emission behavior are highly responsive to the pH of the medium. Thus, the pH responsive aggregation and emission behavior has an extended biological application for assessing intracellular pH. The biocompatibility and intracellular pH determining capability suggest it is a promising candidate for use as a supramolecular material in biomedical applications.

Understanding the regulatory factors of self-assembly processes is a necessity in order to modulate the nano-structures and their properties. Here, the self-assembly mechanism of a peptide-perylenediimide (P-1) conjugate in mixed solvent systems of THF/water is studied and the semiconducting properties are correlated with the morphology. In THF, right handed helical fibers are formed while in 10% THF-water, the morphology changes to nano-rings along with a switch in the helicity to left-handed orientation. Experimental results combined with DFT calculations reveal the critical role of thermodynamic and kinetic factors to control these differential self-assembly processes. In THF, P-1 forms right handed helical fibers in a kinetically controlled fashion. In case of 10% THF-water, the initial nucleation of the aggregate is controlled kinetically. Due to differential solubility of the molecule in these two solvents, elongation of the nuclei into fibers is restricted after a critical length leading to the formation of nano-rings which is governed by the thermodynamics. The helical fibers show superior semi-conducting property to the nano-rings as confirmed by conducting-AFM and conventional I-V characteristics.

A cascade iridium-catalysed oxindole synthesis was achieved using pyridyl-protected anilines and bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) 2-diazomalonate. The developed protocol is simple and scalable, and has a broad scope and excellent regioselectivity. The pyridyl directing group can easily be removed. The method was further extended to give C-7-functionalized oxindole derivatives in a straightforward manner. The role of bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) 2-diazomalonate for oxindole preparation has been explored.

An efficient, direct C6-arylation of 2-pyridones has been successfully accomplished with quinone diazides under Rh(III)-catalyzed redox-neutral conditions. The optimized method is simple, mild, and highly regioselective with a broad substrate scope. The strict regioselectivity is guided by the pyridyl substituent attached to the nitrogen of the pyridone ring. As the directing 2-pyridyl group can easily be removed at any suitable stage after functionalization, the method provides a facile access to complex heteroarylated phenol moieties by wide-ranging heterocyclic scaffolds.

Peptide-amphiphile (PA)-based supramolecular thixotropic hydrogels are useful in medical sciences due to multiple advantageous features along with its biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this work, we have developed a self-assembled peptide-based hydrogel from a $$\upbeta $$ -sheet forming short PA. Hydrogelation of the PA is controlled by pH and consequent changes in secondary structures attained by the PA. Under acidic conditions, the PA remains in random coil conformation. While increasing the pH to 9, a rapid transformation to anti-parallel $$\upbeta $$ -sheet leads to a strong hydrogel. Interestingly, the disulphide-linked dimer of the PA failed to attain such aggregation pattern. The pH-induced sol–gel–sol transition can be achieved for several cycles without any change in aggregation pattern. The hydrogel was also found to show thixotropic rheological behaviour and thus, it can be utilized as an injectable hydrogel for biomedical applications.

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Peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are extremely attractive as molecular building blocks, especially in the bottom-up fabrication of supramolecular soft materials, and have potential in many important applications across various fields of science and technology. In recent years, we have designed and synthesized a large group of peptide amphiphiles. This library of PAs has the ability to self-assemble into a variety of aggregates such as fibers, nanosphere, vesicles, nanosheet, nanocups, nanorings, hydrogels, and so on. The mechanism behind the formation of such a wide range of structures is intriguing. Each system has its individual method of aggregation and results in assemblies with important applications in areas including chemistry, biology, and materials science. The aim of this feature article is to bring together our recent achievements with designer PAs with respect to their self-assembly processes and applications. Emphasis is placed on rational design, mechanistic aspects of the self-assembly processes, and the applications of these PAs. We hope that this article will provide a conceptual demonstration of the different approaches taken toward the construction of these task-specific PAs.

Aqueous CT complexes of donor and acceptor molecules with reactive thiol groups were frozen and lyophilized to get alternate D–A assemblies in the solid state. Oxidation of the thiols resulted in asymmetric disulfides exclusively., Charge transfer (CT) complexes between electron donor and acceptor molecules provide unique alternate D–A arrangements. However, these arrangements cannot be fully translated into chemo-selective organic transformations as the dynamicity of CT complexes in solution results in the co-existence of D–A assemblies and free monomers during the reaction time-scale. A conceptually new strategy to exploit CT complexes toward chemo-selective products by means of seizing the dynamicity of CT complexes is reported here. Aqueous CT complexes of donor and acceptor molecules bearing reactive thiol groups were frozen instantly and cryo-desiccated to get the alternate D–A assemblies intact in the solid state. Oxidation of reactive thiols in an oxygen rich solvent in the solid state resulted in the formation of the hetero-dimer exclusively. CT complexation and appropriate molecular arrangements are the key factors behind successful execution of this novel methodology. The strategy also paves the way to prepare unsymmetrical disulfide molecules from two dissimilar thiols.

Noble metals comprise any of several metallic chemical elements that are outstandingly resistant to corrosion and oxidation, even at elevated temperatures. This group is not strictly defined, but the tentative list includes ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, osmium, iridium, platinum and gold, in order of atomic number. The emerging properties of noble metal nanoparticles are attracting huge interest from the translational scientific community and have led to an unprecedented expansion of research and exploration of applications in biotechnology and biomedicine. Noble metal nanomaterials can be synthesised both by top-down and bottom up approaches, as well asviaorganism-assisted routes, and subsequently modified appropriately for the field of use. Nanoscale analogues of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in particular, have gained primary importance owing to their excellent intrinsic properties and diversity of applications; they offer unique functional attributes, which are quite unlike the bulk material. Modulation of noble metal nanoparticles in terms of size, shape and surface functionalisation has endowed them with unusual capabilities and manipulation at the chemical level, which can lead to changes in their electrical, chemical, optical, spectral and other intrinsic properties. Such flexibility in multi-functionalisation delivers ‘Ockham's razor’ to applied biomedical science. In this feature article, we highlight recent advances in the adaptation of noble metal nanomaterials and their biomedical applications in therapeutics, diagnostics and sensing. We believe, this revised MS will be suitable for reader to better understand the fundamental aspects of noble metal nanomaterials and how they are emerging within the application field of biomedical sciences. We have a full plan for a cover design as well. We believe this revised MS will interest to a broad spectrum of CC readers across disciplines of chemistry, biochemists, pharmacologists, clinicians, and biologists.

Cation-π and charge-transfer (CT) interactions are ubiquitous in nature and involved in several biological processes. Although the origin of both the interactions in isolated pairs has extensively been studied, CT interactions are more prominent in supramolecular chemistry. Involvement of cation-π interactions in the preparation of advanced functional soft materials is uncommon. Moreover, a combination of these two interactions within a pair of electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) is uncharted. Here, we present a rational design to incorporate a combination of these two interactions within a D-A pair. A pyrene-peptide conjugate exhibits a combination of cation-π and CT interactions with a cationic naphthalenediimide (NDI) molecule in water. Nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy NMR along with other techniques and density functional theory calculations reveal the involvement of these interactions. The π-planes of pyrene and NDI adopt an angle of 56° to satisfy both the interactions, whereas β-sheet formation by the peptide sequence facilitates self-assembly. Notably, the binary system forms a self-supporting hydrogel at a higher concentration. The hydrogel shows efficient self-healing and injectable property. The hydrogel retains its thixotropic nature even at an elevated temperature. Broadly, we demonstrate a pathway that should prove pertinent to various areas, ranging from understanding biological assembly to peptide-based functional soft materials.