Exploring the Tunable Optical and Mechanical Properties of Multicomponent Low-Molecular-Weight Gelators.

A class of amino acid-based low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) was used for single and multicomponent gel studies to investigate their tunable optical properties and their self-assembly process. The optical properties of multicomponent gels were found to be easily tuned by changing the proportion of the components, varying from opaque to highly transparent gels as analyzed using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. This phenomenon allows tunability without introducing another variable into the system.

Demonstrating Aqueous-Phase Low-Molecular-Weight-Gel Wicking of Oil for the Remediation of Oil Spilled into Surface Water.

Oils spilled into surface water require effective and timely treatment. In this paper, we report on a low-molecular-weight gelator that can form gels in organic and aqueous phases. The aqueous gel was observed to absorb oils, which is proposed as a new class of materials for remediating oil spilled into surface water.

Amino Acid-Containing Phase-Selective Organogelators: A Water-Based Delivery System for Oil Spill Treatment.

The simple structural modification of replacing a terminal carboxylic acid with a primary amide group was found to lower the minimum gelation concentration (MGC), by at least an order of magnitude, for a series of -lauroyl-l-amino acid phase-selective organogelators in decane. The amide-functionalized analogue -lauroyl-l-alanine-CONH was demonstrated to gel a broad range of solvents from diesel to THF at MGCs of 2.5% w/v or less, as well as to produce gels with a higher thermal stability ( 30 °C) and enhanced mechanical properties (5 times increase in complex modulus), compared to the carboxylic acid analogue, -lauroyl-l-alanine-COOH.

Synthesis of [difluoro-(3-alkenylphenyl)-methyl]-phosphonic acids on non-crosslinked polystyrene and their evaluation as inhibitors of PTP1B.

A series of [difluoro-(3-alkenylphenyl)-methyl]-phosphonates were prepared on non-crosslinked polystyrene, a soluble polymer support. After cleavage from the support, the resulting phosphonic acids were examined for inhibition with protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B. Compound 20, bearing an alpha,beta-unsaturated allyl ester moiety, was the most potent of this series of compounds, being a reversible, competitive inhibitor with a K(i) of 8.

The difluoromethylenesulfonic acid group as a monoanionic phosphate surrogate for obtaining PTP1B inhibitors.

Three peptides, 7-9, bearing sulfono(difluoromethyl)phenylalanine (F(2)Smp, 2), a nonhydrolyzable, monoanionic phosphotyrosine mimetic, were prepared and evaluated as PTP1B inhibitors. The most effective inhibitor was the nonapeptide, ELEF(F(2)Smp)MDYE-NH(2), (9) which exhibited a K(i) of 360 nM. A comparison of F(2)Smp-bearing peptides 7 [DADE(F(2)Smp)LNH(2), K(i)=3.