One-step antifouling coating of polystyrene using engineered polypeptides.

Unwanted nonspecific adsorption caused by biomolecules influences the lifetime of biomedical devices and the sensing performance of biosensors. Previously, we have designed B-M-E triblock proteins that rapidly assemble on inorganic surfaces (gold and silica) and render those surfaces antifouling. The B-M-E triblock proteins have a surface-binding domain B, a multimerization domain M and an antifouling domain E.

Click Chemistry for Biofunctional Polymers: From Observing to Steering Cell Behavior.

Click chemistry has become one of the most powerful construction tools in the field of organic chemistry, materials science, and polymer science, as it offers hassle-free platforms for the high-yielding synthesis of novel materials and easy functionalization strategies. The absence of harsh reaction conditions or complicated workup procedures allowed the rapid development of novel biofunctional polymeric materials, such as biopolymers, tailor-made polymer surfaces, stimulus-responsive polymers, etc. In this review, we discuss various types of click reactions─including azide-alkyne cycloadditions, nucleophilic and radical thiol click reactions, a range of cycloadditions (Diels-Alder, tetrazole, nitrile oxide, etc.

Modular Point-of-Need Tropane Alkaloid Detection at Regulatory Levels: Combining Solid-Liquid Extraction from Buckwheat with a Paper-Immobilized Liquid-Phase Microextraction and Immuno-Detection in Interconnectable 3D-Printed Devices.

Contamination with tropane alkaloids in cereals is expected to increase globally. However, current identification tools (e.g.

Rim-differentiated pillar[5]arene-modified surfaces for rapid PFOA/PFOS detection.

A new rim-differentiated pillar[5]arene (RD-P5) has been synthesized and immobilized onto an AlO surface for the rapid detection of perfluoroalkyl acids. This P5-AlO surface provides a novel approach for measuring perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) using contact angle measurements, with limits of detection down to 10 ng L.

Furfural analysis of aqueous and oily foodstuffs using a single modified paper for combined headspace extraction, derivatization and paper spray mass spectrometry.

Furfurals, including 2-furaldehyde, 5-methylfurfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, widely exist in carbohydrate-rich daily foods, and may have toxic effects on humans. Here, a new headspace extraction-paper spray mass spectrometry (HSPS-MS/MS) method was established for furfural detection, in which the extraction and derivatization of volatiles with pre-loaded derivatization agent on paper tips is combined with paper spray mass spectrometry for detection. By this simple and cheap approach, interference of non-volatile matrix compounds is prevented, and the derivatization agent improves electrospray-type ionization efficiency, thus increasing selectivity and sensitivity.

Recent advances and challenges in the analysis of natural toxins.

Natural toxins (NTs) are poisonous secondary metabolites produced by living organisms developed to ward off predators. Especially low molecular weight NTs (MW<∼1 kDa), such as mycotoxins, phycotoxins, and plant toxins, are considered an important and growing food safety concern. Therefore, accurate risk assessment of food and feed for the presence of NTs is crucial.

Ultrafast, Selective, and Highly Sensitive Nonchromatographic Analysis of Fourteen Cannabinoids in Cannabis Extracts, Δ8-Tetrahydrocannabinol Synthetic Mixtures, and Edibles by Cyclic Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry.

The diversity of cannabinoid isomers and complexity of Cannabis products pose significant challenges for analytical methodologies. In this study, we developed a method to analyze 14 different cannabinoid isomers in diverse samples within milliseconds by leveraging the unique adduct-forming behavior of silver ions in advanced cyclic ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry. The developed method achieved the separation of isomers from four groups of cannabinoids: Δ3-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (), Δ8-THC (), Δ9-THC (), cannabidiol (CBD) (), Δ8-iso-THC (), and Δ(4)8-iso-THC () (all MW = 314); 9α-hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol (), 9β-hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol (), and 8-hydroxy-iso-THC () (all MW = 332); tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) () and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) () (both MW = 358); Δ8-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) (), Δ8-iso-THCV (), and Δ9-THCV () (all MW = 286).

2-Methylimidazole-1-(N-tert-octyl)sulfonimidoyl Fluoride: A Bench-Stable Alternative to SOF as Precursor to N,O-Substituted S(VI) Compounds.

S(VI) compounds with multiple N or O substituents are often difficult to make and several crucial routes, such as multimodal SuFEx (Sulfur (VI) Fluoride Exchange) chemistry, rely on the highly useful but hazardous SOF gas. Safety issues and inaccessibility of SOF strongly hamper the developments of these organic compounds. Here we describe the synthesis and applications of 2-methylimidazole-1-(N-tert-octyl)sulfonimidoyl fluoride (ImSF), a novel bench-stable analogue of SOF.

2D and 3D Self-Assembly of Fluorine-Free Pillar-[5]-Arenes and Perfluorinated Diacids at All-Aqueous Interfaces.

The interaction of perfluorinated molecules, also known as "forever chemicals" due to their pervasiveness, with their environment remains an important yet poorly understood topic. In this work, the self-assembly of perfluorinated molecules with multivalent hosts, pillar-[5]-arenes, is investigated. It is found that perfluoroalkyl diacids and pillar-[5]-arenes rapidly and strongly complex with each other at aqueous interfaces, forming solid interfacially templated films.

Probing Peptidoglycan Synthesis in the Gut Commensal Akkermansia Muciniphila with Bioorthogonal Chemical Reporters.

Our gut microbiota directly influences human physiology in health and disease. The myriad of surface glycoconjugates in both the bacterial cell envelope and our gut cells dominate the microbiota-host interface and play a critical role in host response and microbiota homeostasis. Among these, peptidoglycan is the basic glycan polymer offering the cell rigidity and a basis on which many other glycoconjugates are anchored.

Tunable Cell-Adhesive Surfaces by Surface-Initiated Photoinduced Electron-Transfer-Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain-Transfer Polymerization.

Cell adhesion involves many interactions between various molecules on the cell membrane (receptors, coreceptors, integrins, etc.) and surfaces or other cells. Cell adhesion plays a crucial role in the analysis of immune response, cancer treatment, tissue engineering, etc.

Comprehensive cannabinoid profiling of acid-treated CBD samples and Δ-THC-infused edibles.

Δ-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) is increasingly popular as a controversial substitute for Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) in cannabinoid-infused edibles. Δ-THC is prepared from cannabidiol (CBD) by treatment with acids. Side products including Δ-THC and other isomers that might end up in Δ-THC edibles are less studied.

Bifunctional Ti-modified paper for selective extraction or removal of phospholipids and paper spray mass spectrometry for bioanalysis in urine and plasma.

Background: Phospholipids (PLs) are major constituents of cell membranes, play important roles in cell proliferation and death, as well as in signal transduction, and therefore are relevant biomarkers for different pathologies. On the other hand, when the analysis of small compounds, such as therapeutics in blood is desired, then phospholipids are part of the matrix and cause serious interference during analysis. Currently, both the analysis and removal of PLs from biological samples are limited by extensive sample preparation and instrumental separation.

A simple and low-energy strategy for the separation of water and acetonitrile.

As acetonitrile is a widely used solvent for the chemical industry, the recovery of acetonitrile from acetonitrile wastewater is significant for both industrial cost reduction and environmental protection. In this article, a simple, low-energy, and low-cost strategy is proposed for the effective separation of acetonitrile from high-concentration acetonitrile wastewater. The approach is based on a sequential combination of two steps: salt-induced phase separation and hydrophobic filtration.

DFT Study of Imine-Exchange Reactions in Iron(II)-Coordinated Pincers.

The imine bond is among the most applied motifs in dynamic covalent chemistry. Although its uses are varied and often involve coordination to a transition metal for stability, mechanistic studies on imine exchange reactions so far have not included metal coordination. Herein, we investigated the condensation and transimination reactions of an Fe -coordinated diimine pyridine pincer, employing wB97XD/6-311G(2d,2p) DFT calculations in acetonitrile.

SI-PET-RAFT in flow: improved control over polymer brush growth.

Surface-initiated photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (SI-PET-RAFT) provides a light-dependent tool to synthesize polymer brushes on different surfaces that tolerates oxygen and water, and does not require a metal catalyst. Here we introduce improved control over SI-PET-RAFT polymerizations continuous flow conditions. We confirm the composition and topological structure of the brushes by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and AFM.

Enantiospecific Synthesis of Aniline-Derived Sulfonimidamides.

Reaction of sulfonimidoyl fluorides with anilines and Ca(NTf) results in the formation of chiral sulfonimidamides. The reaction proceeds with inversion of the stereocenter at a sulfur atom. Enantiospecificity of the reaction was observed for all studied non-heterocyclic anilines.

Modular Design for Proteins Assembling into Antifouling Coatings: Case of Gold Surfaces.

We analyze modularity for a triblock protein designed to self-assemble into antifouling coatings. Previously, we have shown that the design performs well on silica surfaces when is taken to be a silica-binding peptide, is a thermostable trimer domain, and is the uncharged elastin-like polypeptide (ELP), = (GSGVP). Here, we demonstrate that we can modulate the nature of the substrate on which the coatings form by choosing different solid-binding peptides as binding domain and that we can modulate antifouling properties by choosing a different hydrophilic block .

Modular and Substrate-Independent Grafting-To Procedure for Functional Polymer Coatings.

The ability to tailor polymer brush coatings to the last nanometer has arguably placed them among the most powerful surface modification techniques currently available. Generally, the synthesis procedures for polymer brushes are designed for a specific surface type and monomer functionality and cannot be easily employed otherwise. Herein, we describe a modular and straightforward two-step grafting-to approach that allows introduction of polymer brushes of a desired functionality onto a large range of chemically different substrates.