Bis-amino Acid Derivatives of 1,1′-Ferrocenedicarboxylic Acid: Structural, Electrochemical, and Metal Ion Binding Studies

Ferrocene: an exotic building block for supramolecular assemblies

Ferrocene (Fc), a classical organometallic complex, has found potential applications in ligand design, catalysis, and analytical, biological, medicinal and materials chemistry. In recent years, the use of Fc as a building block in supramolecular chemistry has emerged. The molecular shape, size, and hydrophobicity of Fc make it an ideal guest for a variety of macrocyclic host molecules to form stable host-guest complexes. The vertical distance (3.3 Å) between two cyclopentadienyl rings and molecular "ball bearing" property in Fc support the formation of intramolecular π-π stacking, H-bonding and metallophilic interactions between two appropriate substituents in 1,n'-disubstituted ferrocenes. Along with these molecular features, the rigidity along with rotational flexibility, redox reversibility and oxidation-triggered tunable hydrophobicity of Fc have led to its use as an exotic building block for the development of a wide range of supramolecular assemblies such as smart molecular receptors, intricate metal-organic assemblies, supramolecular polymers, and gels including out-of-equilibrium assemblies and metal nanoparticle assemblies. This review highlights the concepts behind the design and development of these assemblies, where the Fc unit has a direct and defined role in their formation and function. The use of Fc in supramolecular assembly is still a relatively young field and set to be the subject of increasing research interest towards the development of fascinating supramolecular structures with tailored properties and programmable functions towards applications in materials and biological sciences.

A Virus-like-inspired Nanoparticles Facilitates Bacterial Internalization for Enhanced Eradication of Drug-resistant Pathogen

The emergence and rapid spread of bacterial resistance pose an extremely serious threat to treat infections. Inspired that the spiny surface structure of virus plays an important role in mediating...

Amphiphilic conjugates of ferrocene with amino acids and peptides: Design, synthesis, and studies on their aggregation behavior

A new class of ferrocenyl surfactants based on covalent linkage between amino acids or peptides and ferrocene was designed. Accordingly, five ferrocenyl amphiphiles, FcS1-5, were synthesized, and their aggregation behaviors in aqueous solutions were studied. Compared to the other surfactants containing ferrocenyl units, FcS have a relatively smaller size and low molecular weight and are easy to synthesize. The influences of the number of carboxylic acid head groups and the number of Fc group in the hydrophobic tail, on the stability and aggregation behavior of these amphiphiles in aqueous medium, were explored to deduce the structure property relationships. A combination of fluorescence and dynamic light scattering techniques was used to elucidate the behavior of these molecules. A good agreement between the results obtained using different techniques was observed.

Systematic exploration of the pH dependence of a peptide hydrogel

Stimuli-responsive peptide gels are a growing class of functional biomaterials that are involved in many applications in research. Here, we present a novel di-peptide hydrogel from the compound Boc–Phe–Trp–OH in various buffer and pH conditions. We examine the effects of different stimuli, including temperature and pH, on the mechanical strength of the gels through frequency rheology studies. We found that this hydrogelator is highly pH dependent, only forming a gel in a narrow range of pH 6–7. This hydrogelator hold promise for the development of new stimuli-responsive biomaterials for specific applications that require this type of specific stimuli.

Extra hydrogen bonding interactions by peripheral indole groups stabilize benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide helical assemblies

Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide monomers derived from alkyl esters of tryptophan (BTA Trp) self-assemble into helices with an inner threefold hydrogen bond network surrounded by a second network involving the indole N-H groups. As a consequence of this extra stabilization of its helical assemblies, BTA Trp forms more viscous solutions than a range of ester and alkyl BTAs.

Synthesis and structural characterization of electrochemically reversible bisferrocenes containing bis(acyl-thiourea)s: enantiomers and conformers

Enantiomeric and conformational isomers of chiral bisferrocenyl-modified bis(acyl-thiourea)s; their crystal packing and electrochemically reversible redox reaction properties.

Metal coordination of ferrocene–histidine conjugates

Synthesis and complete structural characterization of ferrocene–histidine dipeptides including detailed analysis of the ligand–metal complexation.

A ferrocene-based organogel with multi-stimuli properties and applications in naked-eye recognition of F− and Al3+

Ferrocene-based gelator F-6/chloroform gel exhibited multi-stimuli responsiveness, through which ‘naked eye’ recognition of both Al³⁺ and F⁻ was realized.

Two-dimensional self-assembly of single-, poly- and co-crystals at the liquid/solid interface

The observation of two polymorphs indicates that C2 cannot form single crystals because of an increase in molecular flexibility.