Thiol–Ene Click Chemistry: Computational and Kinetic Analysis of the Influence of Alkene Functionality

Thiolated hemicellulose as a versatile platform for one-pot click-type hydrogel synthesis

A one-pot synthetic methodology for the thiolation of O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan (AcGGM) was developed to merge hemicellulose chemistry with "click" chemistry. This was realized by the AcGGM-mediated nucleophilic ring-opening of γ-thiobutyrolactone via the activation of the polysaccharide pendant hydroxyl groups. The incorporation of thiol functionalities onto the hemicellulose backbone was visualized by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and was assessed by an Ellman's reagent assay of the thiol groups. The versatility of the thiolated AcGGM was elaborated and demonstrated by conducting several postmodification reactions together with hydrogel formation utilizing thiol-ene and thiol-Michael addition "click" reactions. The one-pot synthesis of thiolated AcGGM is a straightforward approach that can expand the applications of hemicelluloses derived from biomass by employing "click" chemistry.

Fluorescent porous film modified polymer optical fiber via "click" chemistry: stable dye dispersion and trace explosive detection

In this paper, we report a facile strategy to fabricate fluorescent porous thin film on the surface of U-bent poly(methyl methacrylate) optical fiber (U-bent POF) in situ via "click" polymerization for vapor phase sensing of explosives. Upon irradiation of evanescent UV light transmitting within the fiber under ambient condition, a porous film (POSS-thiol cross-linking film, PTCF) is synthesized on the side surface of the fiber by a thiol-ene "click" reaction of vinyl-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS-V8) and alkane dithiols. When vinyl-functionalized porphyrin, containing four allyl substituents at the periphery, is added into precursors for the polymerization, fluorescence porphyrin can be covalently bonded into the cross-linked network of PTCF. This "fastened" way reduces the aggregation-induced fluorescence self-quenching of porphyrin and enhances the physicochemical stability of the porous film on the surface of U-bent POF. Fluorescent signals of the PTCF/U-bent POF probe made by this method exhibit high fluorescence quenching toward trace TNT and DNT vapor and the highest fluorescence quenching efficiency is observed for 1, 6-hexanedimercaptan-based film. In addition, because of the presence of POSS-V8 with multi cross-linkable groups, PTCF exhibits well-organized pore network and stable dye dispersion, which not only causes fast and sensitive fluorescence quenching against vapors of nitroaromatic compounds, but also provides a repeatability of the probing performance.

Thiol–maleimide “click” chemistry: evaluating the influence of solvent, initiator, and thiol on the reaction mechanism, kinetics, and selectivity

The mechanism and kinetics of thiol–maleimide “click” reactions have been modeled computationally under a variety of conditions and further investigated using experimental competition reactions.

Sequential Michael addition thiol–ene and radical-mediated thiol–ene reactions in one-pot produced sequence-ordered polymers

Sequential Michael addition-based thiol–ene and free radical mediated thiol–ene reactions for preparing sequence-ordered polymers are reported for the first time.

Model-based design of the polymer microstructure: bridging the gap between polymer chemistry and engineering

A state-of-the-art review is presented on model-based design for next-generation polymer synthesis and modification.

Ionic liquid – containing ionogels by thiol–ene photopolymerization. Kinetics and solvent effect

Vinyl ether/thiol photopolymerization is accelerated by solvents; it occurs faster in non-ionic solvents than in ionic liquids.

Wide bicontinuous compositional windows from co-networks made with telechelic macromonomers

Phase-separated and self-assembled co-network materials offer a simple route to bicontinuous morphologies, which are expected to be highly beneficial for applications such as ion, charge, and oxygen transport. Despite these potential advantages, the programmed creation of co-network structures has not been achieved, largely due to the lack of well-controlled chemistries for their preparation. Here, a thiol-ene end-linking platform enables the systematic investigation of phase-separated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polystyrene (PS) networks in terms of the molecular weight and relative volume fractions of precursor polymers. The ion conductivity and storage modulus of these materials serve as probes to demonstrate that both phases percolate over a wide range of compositions, spanning PEG volume fractions from ∼0.3-0.65. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) shows that microphase separation of these co-networks yields disordered structures with d-spacings that follow d∼Mn0.5, for 4.8 kg/mol<Mn<37 kg/mol, where Mn is the molecular weight of the precursor polymers at the same ratio of PEG to PS. Over this range of molecular weights and corresponding d-spacings (22-55 nm), the ion conductivity (10(-4.7) S/cm at 60 °C), thermal properties (two glass transitions, low PEG crystallinity), and mechanical properties (storage modulus ≈90 MPa at 30 °C) remained similar. These findings demonstrate that this approach to thiol-ene co-networks is a versatile platform to create bicontinuous morphologies.

Synthesis of non-linear protein dimers through a genetically encoded Thiol-ene reaction

Site-specific incorporation of bioorthogonal unnatural amino acids into proteins provides a useful tool for the installation of specific functionalities that will allow for the labeling of proteins with virtually any probe. We demonstrate the genetic encoding of a set of alkene lysines using the orthogonal PylRS/PylTCUA pair in Escherichia coli. The installed double bond functionality was then applied in a photoinitiated thiol-ene reaction of the protein with a fluorescent thiol-bearing probe, as well as a cysteine residue of a second protein, showing the applicability of this approach in the formation of heterogeneous non-linear fused proteins.

Multiblock Copolymers by Thiol Addition Across Norbornene

Multiblock copolymers, composed of different combinations and number of blocks, offer appreciable opportunities for new advanced materials. However, exploring this parameter space using traditional block copolymer synthetic techniques, such as living polymerization of sequential blocks, is time-consuming and requires stringent conditions. Using thiol addition across norbornene chemistry, we demonstrate a simple synthetic approach to multiblock copolymers that produces either random or alternating architectures, depending on the choice of reactants. Past reports have highlighted the challenges associated with using thiol-ene chemistry for polymer-polymer conjugation; however, using norbornene as the "ene" yielded multiblock copolymers at least four or five blocks. Preparation of new multiblock copolymers containing two or three block chemistries highlights the versatility of this new approach. These materials were thermally stable and showed microphase separation according to characterization by DSC, SAXS, and AFM. This chemical platform offers a facile and efficient route to exploring the many possibilities of multiblock copolymers.

Controlling topological entanglement in engineered protein hydrogels with a variety of thiol coupling chemistries

Topological entanglements between polymer chains are achieved in associating protein hydrogels through the synthesis of high molecular weight proteins via chain extension using a variety of thiol coupling chemistries, including disulfide formation, thiol-maleimide, thiol-bromomaleimide and thiol-ene. Coupling of cysteines via disulfide formation results in the most pronounced entanglement effect in hydrogels, while other chemistries provide versatile means of changing the extent of entanglement, achieving faster chain extension, and providing a facile method of controlling the network hierarchy and incorporating stimuli responsivities. The addition of trifunctional coupling agents causes incomplete crosslinking and introduces branching architecture to the protein molecules. The high-frequency plateau modulus and the entanglement plateau modulus can be tuned by changing the ratio of difunctional chain extender to the trifunctional branching unit. Therefore, these chain extension reactions show promise in delicately controlling the relaxation and mechanical properties of engineered protein hydrogels in ways that complement their design through genetic engineering.

A high-performance recycling solution for polystyrene achieved by the synthesis of renewable poly(thioether) networks derived from D-limonene

Nanocomposite polymers are prepared using a new sustainable materials synthesis process in which d-Limonene functions simultaneously both as a solvent for recycling polystyrene (PS) waste and as a monomer that undergoes UV-catalyzed thiol-ene polymerization reactions with polythiol comonomers to afford polymeric products composed of precipitated PS phases dispersed throughout elastomeric poly(thioether) networks. These blended networks exhibit mechanical properties that greatly exceed those of either polystyrene or the poly(thioether) network homopolymers alone.

Thiol–ene “click” reactions and recent applications in polymer and materials synthesis: a first update

This contribution serves as an update to a previous review (Polym. Chem.2010,1, 17–36) and highlights recent applications of thiol–ene ‘click’ chemistry as an efficient tool for both polymer/materials synthesis as well as modification.

“Click” reactions: a versatile toolbox for the synthesis of peptide-conjugates

Peptides that comprise the functional subunits of proteins have been conjugated to versatile materials (biomolecules, polymers, surfaces and nanoparticles) in an effort to modulate cell responses, specific binding affinity and/or self-assembly behavior.

Synthesis of homo- and heteromultivalent carbohydrate-functionalized oligo(amidoamines) using novel glyco-building blocks

We present the solid phase synthesis of carbohydrate-functionalized oligo(amidoamines) with different functionalization patterns utilizing a novel alphabet of six differently glycosylated building blocks. Highly efficient in flow conjugation of thioglycosides to a double-bond presenting diethylentriamine precursor is the key step to prepare these building blocks suitable for fully automated solid-phase synthesis. Introduction of the sugar ligands via functionalized building blocks rather than postfunctionalization of the oligomeric backbone allows for the straightforward synthesis of multivalent glycoligands with full control over monomer sequence and functionalization pattern. We demonstrate the potential of this building-block approach by synthesizing oligomers with different numbers and spacing of carbohydrates and also show the feasibility of heteromultivalent glycosylation patterns by combining building blocks presenting different mono- and disaccharides.

Conceptual design of large surface area porous polymeric hybrid media based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane precursors: preparation, tailoring of porous properties, and internal surface functionalization

We report on the preparation of hybrid, organic-inorganic porous materials derived from polyhedral oligomeric vinylsilsesquioxanes (vinylPOSS) via a single-step molding process. The monolithic, large surface area materials are studied with a particular focus on morphology and porous properties. Radical vinyl polymerization of the nanometer-sized POSS building blocks is therefore utilized via a thermally initiated route and in porogenic diluents such as tetrahydrofuran and polyethylene glycols of varying composition. Careful choice of these porogenic solvents and proper choice of initiator concentration lead to highly porous monolithic building entities which show a rigid, 3D-adhered, porous structure, macroscopically adapting the shape of a given mold. The described materials reflect Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas of 700 m2/g or more and maximum tunable mesopore volumes of up to 2 cm3/g. Experimental investigations demonstrate the option to tailor nanoporosity and macroporosity in the single-step free-radical polymerization process. While studies on the influence of the used porogenic solvents reveal tuneability of pore sizes due to the unique pore formation process, tailored existence of residual vinyl groups allows facile postpolymerization modification of the highly porous, large surface area hybrid materials exploited via thiol-ene "click" chemistry. Our developed, simply realizable preparation process explores a new route to derive porous organic-inorganic hybrid adsorbents for a wide variety of applications such as extraction, separation science, and catalysis.