A novel "double-coupling" strategy for iterative oligothiophene synthesis using orthogonal Si/Ge protection

Click cross-linking improves retention and targeting of refillable alginate depots

Injectable alginate hydrogels have demonstrated utility in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications due in part to their mild gelation conditions, low host responses and chemical versatility. Recently, the potential of these gels has expanded with the introduction of refillable hydrogel depots - alginate gels chemically decorated with click chemistry groups to efficiently capture prodrug refills from the blood. Unfortunately, high degrees of click group substitution on alginate lead to poor viscoelastic properties and loss of ionic cross-linking. In this work, we introduce tetrabicyclononyne (tBCN) agents that covalently cross-link azide-modified alginate hydrogels for tissue engineering and drug delivery application in vivo. Adjusting cross-linker concentration allowed tuning the hydrogel mechanical properties for tissue-specific mechanical strength. The bioorthogonal and specific click reaction creates stable hydrogels with improved in vivo properties, including improved retention at injected sites. Azide-alginate hydrogels cross-linked with tBCN elicited minimal inflammation and maintained structural integrity over several months and efficiently captured therapeutics drug surrogates from the circulation. Taken together, azide-alginate hydrogels cross-linked with tBCN convey the benefits of alginate hydrogels for use in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications of refillable drug delivery depots. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Ionically cross-linked, injectable alginate biomaterials hold promise in many different clinical settings. However, adding new chemical functionality to alginate can disrupt their ionic cross-linking, limiting their utility. We have developed a "click" cross-linking strategy to improve the mechanical properties and tissue function of modified alginate biomaterials and enable them to capture small molecule drugs from the blood. We show that click cross-linked materials remain in place better than ionically cross-linked materials and efficiently capture payloads from the blood. Development of click cross-linking for refillable depots represents a crucial step toward clinical application of this promising drug delivery platform.

Traceless Solid-Phase Organic Synthesis

Traceless solid-phase synthesis represents an ultimate sophisticated synthetic strategy on insoluble supports. Compounds synthesized on solid supports can be released without a trace of the linker that was used to tether the intermediates during the synthesis. Thus, the target products are composed only of the components (atoms, functional groups) inherent to the target core structure. A wide variety of synthetic strategies have been developed to prepare products in a traceless manner, and this review is dedicated to all aspects of traceless solid-phase organic synthesis. Importantly, the synthesis does not need to be carried out on a linker designed for traceless synthesis; most of the synthetic approaches described herein were developed using standard, commercially available linkers (originally devised for solid-phase peptide synthesis). The type of structure prepared in a traceless fashion is not restricted. The individual synthetic approaches are divided into eight sections, each devoted to a different methodology for traceless synthesis. Each section consists of a brief outline of the synthetic strategy followed by a description of individual reported syntheses.

High performance p-type molecular electron donors for OPV applications via alkylthiophene catenation chromophore extension

The synthesis of key 4-alkyl-substituted 5-(trimethylsilyl)thiophene-2-boronic acid pinacol esters 3 allowed a simplified alkylthiophene catenation process to access bis-, ter-, quater-, and quinquethiophene π-bridges for the synthesis of acceptor–π-bridge-donor– π-bridge-acceptor (A–π-D–π-A) electron donor molecules. Based on the known benzodithiophene-terthiophene-rhodanine (BTR) material, the BXR series of materials, BMR (X = M, monothiophene), BBR (X = B, bithiophene), known BTR (X = T, terthiophene), BQR (X = Q, quaterthiophene), and BPR (X = P(penta), quinquethiophene) were synthesised to examine the influence of chromophore extension on the device performance and stability for OPV applications. The BT^xR (x = 4, butyl, and x = 8, octyl) series of materials were synthesised by varying the oligothiophene π-bridge alkyl substituent to examine structure–property relationships in OPV device performance. The devices assembled using electron donors with an extended chromophore (BQR and BPR) are shown to be more thermally stable than the BTR containing devices, with un-optimized efficiencies up to 9.0% PCE. BQR has been incorporated as a secondary donor in ternary blend devices with PTB7-Th resulting in high-performance OPV devices with up to 10.7% PCE.

Polymers for electronics and spintronics

This critical review is devoted to semiconducting and high spin polymers which are of great scientific interest in view of further development of the organic electronics and the emerging organic spintronic fields. Diversified synthetic strategies are discussed in detail leading to high molecular mass compounds showing appropriate redox (ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA)), electronic (charge carrier mobility, conductivity), optoelectronic (electroluminescence, photoconductivity) and magnetic (magnetization, ferromagnetic spin interactions) properties and used as active components of devices such as n- and p-channel field effect transistors, ambipolar light emitting transistors, light emitting diodes, photovoltaic cells, photodiodes, magnetic photoswitches, etc. Solution processing procedures developed with the goal of depositing highly ordered and oriented films of these polymers are also described. This is completed by the description of principal methods that are used for characterizing these macromolecular compounds both in solution and in the solid state. These involve various spectroscopic methods (UV-vis-NIR, UPS, pulse EPR), electrochemistry and spectroelectrochemistry, magnetic measurements (SQUID), and structural and morphological investigations (X-ray diffraction, STM, AFM). Finally, four classes of polymers are discussed in detail with special emphasis on the results obtained in the past three years: (i) high IP, (ii) high |EA|, (iii) low band gap and (iv) high spin ones.

Fluoride-promoted cross-coupling of chloro(mono-, di-, or triphenyl)germanes with aryl halides in "moist" toluene. Multiple transfer of the phenyl group from organogermane substrates and comparison of the coupling efficiencies of chloro(phenyl)germanes with their corresponding stannane and silane counterparts

The trichlorophenyl-, dichlorodiphenyl-, and chlorotriphenylgermanes undergo Pd-catalyzed cross-couplings with aryl bromides and iodides in the presence of tetrabutylammonium fluoride in toluene with addition of the measured amount of water. One chloride ligand on the Ge center allows efficient activation by fluoride to promote transfer of one, two, or three phenyl groups from the organogermanes. The corresponding chlorophenylstannanes were found to be more reactive than chlorophenylsilanes, which in turn were more effective than chlorophenylgermanes. One chloride ligand on the Ge or Si center allows efficient activation by fluoride to promote transfer of up to three aryl groups from germane or silicon. However, no haloligand was necessary to be present on the Sn center, since tetraphenyltin efficiently transferred up to four phenyl groups during fluoride-promoted couplings with aryl halides. (19)F NMR studies suggested formation of the fluorophenylgermanes and the hypervalent germanate species as possible intermediates.

Derivatives of 4,9-Dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b‘]dithiophene-4,9-dione: Synthesis and Properties

A new family of organic semiconducting materials (1-4) integrating the structural components of thiophene and fluorene into a single molecular entity was synthesized and characterized. Optical and electrochemical properties of these previously unknown 4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene-4,9-dione derivatives were studied in detail. These materials possess unique optical properties with the longest wavelength absorption maxima around 500-800 nm, which gradually reached a saturation limit with the total number of thiophene units approaching eight. They also display dramatic change in the redox properties with increasing conjugation chain lengths. A thin film of oligomer 3 prepared by a solution-casting method showed a well-ordered solid-state structure according to X-ray diffraction analysis.

Towards a general solid phase approach for the iterative synthesis of conjugated oligomers using a germanium based linker - first solid phase synthesis of an oligo-(triarylamine)

The development of a germanium-based linker system for the solid phase synthesis (SPS) of 3-(n-hexyl)thiophene oligomers and the first SPS of triarylamine oligomers via iterative chain extension is described. The efficiency of the key steps in the oligomer syntheses and their compatibility with the germanium linker are demonstrated by the SPS of bi-[3-(n-hexyl)thiophene] 19 and ter-(triarylamine) 50. The use of a germanium-based linker in combination with appropriately selected silicon-based blocking/protecting groups allows double coupling to drive the key cross coupling steps to completion hence minimising deletion sequences and also allows for traceless and potentially functionalisative cleavage from the resin. The latter feature has yet to be fully explored but towards this end the first ipso-borodegermylation reaction of a 2-germyl-3-(n-hexyl)thiophene is presented.

Application of vinyl tris(trimethylsilyl)germanes in Pd-catalyzed couplings

The oxidative treatment of vinyltris(trimethylsilyl)germanes with hydrogen peroxide (NaOH/H(2)O/THF) or tert-butyl peroxide (KH/THF) generates reactive germanol or germanoxane species that undergo Pd-catalyzed cross-couplings with aryl and alkenyl halides and aryl triflates in the presence of Pd(PPh(3))(4). Vinylgermanes having either a conjugated or isolated double bond serve as versatile transmetalation reagents. The E-germanes undergo coupling with retention of stereochemistry under aqueous and anhydrous conditions, while coupling of Z-germanes occurs with less stereoselectivity to produce a mixture of E/Z products.

Traceless solid phase synthesis of 2-substituted pyrimidines using an 'off-the-shelf' chlorogermane-functionalised resin

The parallel solid phase synthesis of an 18-member library of 2-substituted pyrimidines is described using a chlorogermane-functionalised resin. The success of the key Pinner-type condensations between a resin-bound enaminone and an array of amidine hydrochlorides highlights the stability of arylgermane linkers (cf. arylsilanes) towards strongly basic/nucleophilic conditions.