Flavonol dyes with different substituents in photopolymerization

Structure-Photoreactivity Relationship Study of Substituted 3-Hydroxyflavones and 3-Hydroxyflavothiones for Improving Carbon Monoxide Photorelease

Carbon monoxide (CO) is notorious for its toxic effects but is also recognized as a gasotransmitter with considerable therapeutic potential. Due to the inherent challenges in its delivery, the utilization of organic CO photoreleasing molecules (photoCORMs) represents an interesting alternative to CO administration characterized by high spatial and temporal precision of release. This paper focused on the design, synthesis, and photophysical and photochemical studies of 20 3-hydroxyflavone (flavonol) and 3-hydroxyflavothione derivatives as photoCORMs. Newly synthesized compounds bearing various electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups show bathochromically shifted absorption maxima and considerably enhanced CO release yields compared to the parent unsubstituted flavonol, exceeding 0.8 equiv of released CO in derivatives exhibiting excited states with a charge-transfer character. Until now, such outcomes have been limited to flavonol derivatives possessing a π-extended aromatic system. In addition, thione analogs of flavonols, 3-hydroxyflavothiones, show substantial bathochromic shifts of their absorption maxima and enhanced photosensitivity but provide lower yields of CO formation. Our study elucidates in detail the mechanism of CO photorelease from flavonols and flavothiones, utilizing steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies and photoproduct analyses, with a particular emphasis on unraveling the structure-photoreactivity relationship and understanding competing side processes.

Recent Advances in Monocomponent Visible Light Photoinitiating Systems Based on Sulfonium Salts

During the last decades, multicomponent photoinitiating systems have been the focus of intense research efforts, especially for the design of visible light photoinitiating systems. Although highly reactive three-component and even four-component photoinitiating systems have been designed, the complexity to elaborate such mixtures has incited researchers to design monocomponent Type II photoinitiators. Using this approach, the photosensitizer and the radical/cation generator can be combined within a unique molecule, greatly simplifying the elaboration of the photocurable resins. In this field, sulfonium salts are remarkable photoinitiators but these structures lack absorption in the visible range. Over the years, various structural modifications have been carried out in order to redshift their absorptions in the visible region. In this work, an overview of the different sulfonium salts activable under visible light and reported to date is proposed.

Digital Database of Absorption Spectra of Diverse Flavonoids Enables Structural Comparisons and Quantitative Evaluations

Flavonoids play diverse roles in plants, comprise a non-negligible fraction of net primary photosynthetic production, and impart beneficial effects in human health from a plant-based diet. Absorption spectroscopy is an essential tool for quantitation of flavonoids isolated from complex plant extracts. The absorption spectra of flavonoids typically consist of two major bands, band I (300-380 nm) and band II (240-295 nm), where the former engenders a yellow color; in some flavonoids the absorption tails to 400-450 nm. The absorption spectra of 177 flavonoids and analogues of natural or synthetic origin have been assembled, including molar absorption coefficients (109 from the literature, 68 measured here). The spectral data are in digital form and can be viewed and accessed at http://www.photochemcad.com. The database enables comparison of the absorption spectral features of 12 distinct types of flavonoids including flavan-3-ols (e.g., catechin, epigallocatechin), flavanones (e.g., hesperidin, naringin), 3-hydroxyflavanones (e.g., taxifolin, silybin), isoflavones (e.g., daidzein, genistein), flavones (e.g., diosmin, luteolin), and flavonols (e.g., fisetin, myricetin). The structural features that give rise to shifts in wavelength and intensity are delineated. The availability of digital absorption spectra for diverse flavonoids facilitates analysis and quantitation of these valuable plant secondary metabolites. Four examples are provided of calculations─multicomponent analysis, solar ultraviolet photoprotection, sun protection factor (SPF), and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)─for which the spectra and accompanying molar absorption coefficients are sine qua non.

Effects of the number and position of methoxy substituents on triphenylamine-based chalcone visible-light-absorbing photoinitiators

Five visible-light-absorbing triphenylamine-based chalcone photoinitiators (CY1–CY5) have been synthesized for application in free radical photopolymerization.

Recent Advances in bis-Chalcone-Based Photoinitiators of Polymerization: From Mechanistic Investigations to Applications

Over the past several decades, photopolymerization has become an active research field, and the ongoing efforts to develop new photoinitiating systems are supported by the different applications in which this polymerization technique is involved-including dentistry, 3D and 4D printing, adhesives, and laser writing. In the search for new structures, bis-chalcones that combine two chalcones' moieties within a unique structure were determined as being promising photosensitizers to initiate both the free-radical polymerization of acrylates and the cationic polymerization of epoxides. In this review, an overview of the different bis-chalcones reported to date is provided. Parallel to the mechanistic investigations aiming at elucidating the polymerization mechanisms, bis-chalcones-based photoinitiating systems were used for different applications, which are detailed in this review.

3D printing of functional microrobots

3D printing (also called "additive manufacturing" or "rapid prototyping") is able to translate computer-aided and designed virtual 3D models into 3D tangible constructs/objects through a layer-by-layer deposition approach. Since its introduction, 3D printing has aroused enormous interest among researchers and engineers to understand the fabrication process and composition-structure-property correlation of printed 3D objects and unleash its great potential for application in a variety of industrial sectors. Because of its unique technological advantages, 3D printing can definitely benefit the field of microrobotics and advance the design and development of functional microrobots in a customized manner. This review aims to present a generic overview of 3D printing for functional microrobots. The most applicable 3D printing techniques, with a focus on laser-based printing, are introduced for the 3D microfabrication of microrobots. 3D-printable materials for fabricating microrobots are reviewed in detail, including photopolymers, photo-crosslinkable hydrogels, and cell-laden hydrogels. The representative applications of 3D-printed microrobots with rational designs heretofore give evidence of how these printed microrobots are being exploited in the medical, environmental, and other relevant fields. A future outlook on the 3D printing of microrobots is also provided.

Photopolymerization with AIE dyes for solid-state luminophores

The photoinitiating activities of MPAs/ONI were evaluated. The AIE emission of MPAs occurred during photocuring. MPAs showed potential as fluorescent molecular probes to monitor the progress of photopolymerization.