Der Effekt chiraler Doppelschichten: Wachsröhrchen aus (S)-Nonacosan-10-ol

Rigid lipid membranes and nanometer clefts: motifs for the creation of molecular landscapes

Amphiphilic lipids associate in water spontaneously to form micelles, vesicles, monolayers, or biological membranes. These aggregates are soft and their shape can be changed easily. They behave like complex fluids because they are merely held together by weak, nondirected forces. The most important characteristic of these monolayers is their ability to dissolve hydrophobic molecules in the form of freely movable monomers. The fluid molecular layers are not suitable to anchor the components of chain reactions. However, if the alkyl chains are replaced by rigid skeletons or if the head groups are connected through intermolecular interactions, the aggregates become rigid and their fluid solvent character is lost. The construction of chiral surfaces by synkinesis (synthesis of noncovalent compounds) and of enzyme-type surface clefts of defined size can now be carried out by using rigid lipid membranes. Monolayers and nanometer pores on solid substrates attain sharp edges, and upright nanometer columns on smooth surfaces no longer dissipate. Five examples illustrate the advantages of using rigid molecular assemblies: 1) Cationic domains of rigid edge amphiphiles in fluid membranes act as manipulable ion channels. 2) Spherical micelles, micellar helical fibers, and vesicular tubes can be dried and stored as stable material. Molecular landscapes form on smooth surfaces. 3) alpha,omega-Diamide bolaamphiphiles form rigid nanometer-thick walls on smooth surfaces and these barriers cannot be penetrated by amines. Around steroids and porphyrins, they form rigid nanometer clefts whose walls and water-filled centers can be functionalized. 4) The structure of rigid oligophenylene- and quinone monolayers on electrodes can be changed drastically and reversibly by changing the potential. 5) 10(10) Porphyrin cones on a 1-cm2 gold electrode can be controlled individually by AFM- and STM-tips and investigated by electrochemical, photochemical, and mechanical means. In summary, rigid monolayers and bilayers allow the formation of a great variety of membrane structures that cannot be obtained from classical fluid alkyl amphiphiles.

Synthesis and Molecular Structures of Phenylamides of Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium, and Barium − From Molecular to Polymeric Structures

Several preparative procedures for the synthesis of the THF complexes of the alkaline earth metal bis(phenylamides) of Mg (1), Ca (2), Sr (3), and Ba (4) are presented such as metalation of aniline with strontium and barium, metathesis reactions of MI2 with KN(H)Ph, and metalation of aniline with arylcalcium compounds or dialkylmagnesium. The THF content of these compounds is rather low and an increasing aggregation is observed with the size of the metal atom. Thus, tetrameric [(THF)2Ca{mu-N(H)Ph}2]4 (2) and polymeric [(THF)2Sr{mu-N(H)Ph}2]infinity and {[(THF)2Ba{mu-N(H)Ph}2]2[(THF)Ba{mu-N(H)Ph}2]2}infinity show six-coordinate metal atoms with increasing interactions to the pi systems of the phenyl groups with increasing the radius of the alkaline earth metal atom.

Epicuticular wax crystals of Wollemia nobilis: morphology and chemical composition

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The morphology of the epicuticular leaf waxes of Wollemia nobilis (Araucariaceae) was studied with special emphasis on the relationship between the microstructure of epicuticular wax crystals and their chemical composition. Wollemia nobilis is a unique coniferous tree of the family Araucariaceae and is of very high scientific value as it is the sole living representative of an ancient genus, which until 1994 was known only from fossils.

METHODS

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), gas chromatography (GC) combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) were used for characterizing the morphology and the chemical structure of the epicuticular wax layer of W. nobilis needles.

KEY RESULTS

The main component of the leaf epicuticular wax of W. nobilis is nonacosan-10-ol. This secondary alcohol together with nonacosane diols is responsible for the tubular habit of the epicuticular wax crystals. Scanning electron micrographs revealed differences in the fine structure of adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces that could be explained by gas chromatographic studies after selective mechanical removal of the waxes.

CONCLUSIONS

SEM investigations established the tubular crystalline microstructure of the epicuticular wax of W. nobilis leaves. GC-MS and NMR experiments showed that nonacosan-10-ol is the major constituent of the epicuticular wax of W. nobilis leaves.

Self-Organisation in the Assembly of Gels from Mixtures of Different Dendritic Peptide Building Blocks

This paper investigates dendritic peptides capable of assembling into nanostructured gels, and explores the effect on self-assembly of mixing different molecular building blocks. Thermal measurements, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy are used to probe these materials on macroscopic, nanoscopic and molecular length scales. The results from these investigations demonstrate that in this case, systems with different "size" and "chirality" factors can self-organise, whilst systems with different "shape" factors cannot. The "size" and "chirality" factors are directly connected with the molecular information programmed into the dendritic peptides, whilst the shape factor depends on the group linking these peptides together--this is consistent with molecular recognition hydrogen bond pathways between the peptidic building blocks controlling the ability of these systems to self-recognise. These results demonstrate that mixtures of relatively complex peptides, with only subtle differences on the molecular scale, can self-organise into nanoscale structures, an important step in the spontaneous assembly of ordered systems from complex mixtures.

Ligand Exchange Reaction Between an Alkylzinc Primary Amide and a Dialkylmagnesium Compound: Crystal Structures of [(thf)MeMg-μ-N(H)SiiPr3]2 and (tmeda)Mg[N(H)SiiPr3]2

The reaction of alkylzinc triisopropylsilylamide with dialkylmagnesium leads to a ligand exchange. Besides the starting materials, heteroleptic alkylmagnesium triisopropylsilylamide and homoleptic magnesium bis(triisopropylsilylamide) are detected by NMR spectroscopy. After the addition of 1,2-bis(dimethylamino)ethane (TMEDA) to the reaction mixture, (tmeda)Mg[N(H)SiiPr3]2 (1) precipitates as colorless cuboids (C24H60MgN4Si2, a = 2269.6(2), b = 1029.58(5), c = 1593.2(1) pm, beta = 120.826(8) degrees , monoclinic, C2/c, Z = 4). The amide nitrogen atoms are coordinated planarily with strongly widened Mg-N-Si bond angles of 139.2(1) degrees . The metalation of triisopropylsilylamine with dimethylmagnesium in THF yields quantitatively heteroleptic [(thf)MeMg-N(H)SiiPr3]2 (2) which crystallizes as colorless needles (C28H66Mg2N2O2Si2, a = 1982.4(2), b = 2034.1(1), c = 907.22(6) pm, beta = 95.021(9), monoclinic, P2(1)/n, Z = 4). Because of the bridging position of the triisopropylsilylamide anion, the tetracoordinate nitrogen atoms show rather long Mg-N bond lengths of 210.7 pm (average value).