Dendrimer Coated Silica as a Sorbent for Dispersive Solid-Phase Extraction of Select Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs from Water

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been recognized as a potentially serious threat to the natural environment. NSAIDs are popular painkillers, and the main pathway for them to reach natural water is via discharge from wastewater and sewage treatment plants. In order to monitor contamination caused by these drugs, as well as their impact on the environment, a new material based on Silica Gel 60, functionalized with a dendrimeric copolymer of methylamine and 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (named MA-BDDE), was prepared. Initial physicochemical characterization of the MA-BDDE material was carried out using ATR FT-IR spectroscopy as well as solid-state carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy. Its effectiveness at NSAID extraction was evaluated by the application of five select drugs in dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE): aspirin, ketoprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and ibuprofen. This was followed by their simultaneous determination using the HPLC-UV/Vis system demonstrating good sensitivity, with limits of detection values within the 63-265 ng mL-1 range. A comparison of the sorption capacity of each pharmaceutical with unmodified base silica showed an at least tenfold increase in capacity after modification. Initial MA-BDDE application in a quick, low-waste extraction procedure of those select NSAIDs from spiked surface water samples yielded promising results for its use as a sorbent, as recovery values of analytes adsorbed from various samples were found to exceed 72%.

Mesoporous organosilicas with thiol functionalised pores: multifunctional dendrimers as sacrificial building block and template

The synthesis of multifunctional poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM)-based dendrimers containing a cleavable disulfide linker within each arm of the dendrimer, together with condensable triethoxysilyl groups on the periphery of the dendrimer, is described. The dendrimers were mixed with 1,4-bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene and subsequently transformed into silsesquioxane gels or periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) to generate materials with dendrimers covalently embedded within the interior of the silsesquioxane networks. Subsequent treatment of the gels with dithiothreitol enabled the core of the dendrimers to be selectively cleaved at the disulfide site, thus generating thiol functions localised within the pores. The effect of different dendrimer generations on the reactivity of the pendant thiol functions was probed by impregnation with gold salts, which were reduced to obtain gold nanoparticles within the pore networks of the gels and PMOs. The gels yielded polydisperse gold nanoparticles (2 to 70 nm) with dimensions modulated by the generation of the dendrimer, together with well-defined gold/thiolate clusters with Au⋯S distances of 2.3 Å. Such clusters were also observed in the PMO system, together with monodispersed gold nanoparticles with diameters comparable to that of the organised pores in the PMO. The role of surface functionalisation in controlling the formation of gold clusters and/or nanoparticles is discussed.

Unconventional Approaches to Prepare Triazine-Based Liquid Crystal Dendrimers

Most triazine-based liquid crystalline (LC) dendrimers reported thus far are the main-chain LC macromolecules with long flexible chains at their periphery and attached to internal rigid or semi-rigid frameworks. Their formation of mesogenic phases often depends on the intermolecular face-to-face π-π interactions between dendritic molecules, which are unusual. Their mesogenic phases can also be formed by incorporation of mesogenic units to the dendritic skeletons through long flexible chains, as most side-chain LC dendrimers, in which the peripheral mesogenic units generally play the important roles. For main-chain triazine-based dendrimers, their morphology is maintained by restricted freedom of rigid or semi-rigid connecting units, and their formations of LC phases are therefore not straightforward to be controlled. In this review, we thus describe modulating of the intermolecular face-to-face π-π interactions between the triazine-based dendritic molecules, with the aim of forming LC phases through molecular design.

Dendrons containing boric acid and 1,3,5-tris(2-hydroxyethyl)isocyanurate covalently attached to silica-coated magnetite for the expeditious synthesis of Hantzsch esters

A new multifunctional dendritic nanocatalyst containing boric acid and 1,3,5-tris(2-hydroxyethyl)isocyanurate covalently attached to core-shell silica-coated magnetite (Fe3O4@SiO2@PTS-THEIC-(CH2)3OB(OH)2) was designed and properly characterized by different spectroscopic or microscopic methods as well as analytical techniques used for mesoporous materials. It was found that the combination of both aromatic π-π stacking and boron-oxygen ligand interactions affords supramolecular arrays of dendrons. Furthermore, the use of boric acid makes this dendritic catalyst a good choice, from corrosion, recyclability and cost points of view. The catalytic activity of Fe3O4@SiO2@PTS-THEIC-(CH2)3OB(OH)2, as an efficient magnetically recoverable catalyst, was investigated for the synthesis of polyhydroacridines (PHAs) as well as polyhydroquinolines (PHQs) via one-pot multicomponent reactions of dimedone and/or ethyl acetoacetate, different aldehydes and ammonium acetate in EtOH under reflux conditions. Very low loading of the catalyst, high to quantitative yields of the desired PHAs or PHQs products, short reaction times, wide scope of the substrates, eliminating any toxic heavy metals or corrosive reagents for the modification of the catalyst, and simple work-up procedure are remarkable advantages of this green protocol. An additional advantage of this magnetic nanoparticles catalyst is its ability to be separated and recycled easily from the reaction mixture with minimal efforts in six subsequent runs without significant loss of its catalytic activity. This magnetic and dendritic catalyst can be extended to new two- and three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks with different applications.

Hybrid phosphorus–viologen dendrimers as new soft nanoparticles: design and properties

Design of new families of dendritic soft nanoparticles constituted of phosphorus, viologen and carbosilane fragments and their properties as nanomaterials and applications in biology.

Dendritic Polymers as Promising Additives for the Manufacturing of Hybrid Organoceramic Nanocomposites with Ameliorated Properties Suitable for an Extensive Diversity of Applications

As the field of nanoscience is rapidly evolving, interest in novel, upgraded nanomaterials with combinatory features is also inevitably increasing. Hybrid composites, offer simple, budget-conscious and environmental-friendly solutions that can cater multiple needs at the same time and be applicable in many nanotechnology-related and interdisciplinary studies. The physicochemical idiocrasies of dendritic polymers have inspired their implementation as sorbents, active ingredient carriers and templates for complex composites. Ceramics are distinguished for their mechanical superiority and absorption potential that render them ideal substrates for separation and catalysis technologies. The integration of dendritic compounds to these inorganic hosts can be achieved through chemical attachment of the organic moiety onto functionalized surfaces, impregnation and absorption inside the pores, conventional sol-gel reactions or via biomimetic mediation of dendritic matrices, inducing the formation of usually spherical hybrid nanoparticles. Alternatively, dendritic polymers can propagate from ceramic scaffolds. All these variants are covered in detail. Optimization techniques as well as established and prospected applications are also presented.

Interfacial complexation driven three-dimensional assembly of cationic phosphorus dendrimers and graphene oxide sheets

High content nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus heteroatoms assembled in tree-like dendrimers (DG _n ) are confined within the galleries of two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO). The presence of the ternary diethyl-N-ethyl-ammonium groups on the dendrimer peripheries ensures the exfoliation of graphene sheets thereby affording interfacially bridged, three-dimensional heteroatom-enriched graphene-based hybrid nanostructures (DG _n -GO). Dendrimer generation (from 1 to 4) that reflects the bulkiness of these conceived nano-trees impacts increasingly the degree of dispersion-exfoliation and sheet desordering. The long-term stability of these aqueous suspensions associated with their handling flexibility allows uniform accommodation of the resulting hybrid materials as flame-retardants in bioplastics.

Urea-assisted cooperative assembly of phosphorus dendrimer–zinc oxide hybrid nanostructures

The interplay of phosphorus dendrimer–urea during sol–gel mineralization of soluble zinc precursors provides porous lamellar nanostructures.

Preparation and evaluation of maltose modified polymer-silica composite based on cross-linked poly glycidyl methacrylate as high performance liquid chromatography stationary phase

A new maltose modified polymer-silica composite was fabricated and applied as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) stationary phase. The cross-linked poly glycidyl methacrylate (pGMA) layer was chemically bonded to the outer surface as well as pore inner surface of silica beads via in-situ polymerization, and then maltose was modified onto the polymer layer via a [3 + 2] "click" reaction. The porous spherical silica (4 μm diameter) with 300 Å pore size was selected as the matrix so that the 3.25 nm-thick polymer layer fabricated on the pore inner surface would not affect its permeability. The typical 'U-shape' retention curves indicated a mixed-mode retention mechanism of the as-synthesized stationary phase. Both polar and non-polar analytes could be well separated on the stationary phase with column efficiency reaching 123809 plates/m for guanosine in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode and 46808 plates/m for fluorene in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) mode, respectively. Nucleotides and their bases were baseline separated with good peak shape without any buffer salt in mobile phase, suggesting the effective shielding of the silanol groups. The packing material also showed excellent chromatographic repeatability with intraday RSDs of the retention time of five nucleosides less than 0.048% (n = 3) and interday RSDs less than 0.33% (n = 7) and great pH stability (from 1.5 to 10.2). Finally, the stationary phase was applied to the separation of ginseng extract.

Cu0-Loaded organo-montmorillonite with improved affinity towards hydrogen: an insight into matrix-metal and non-contact hydrogen-metal interactions

Copper-loaded organo-montmorillonite showed improved affinity towards hydrogen under ambient conditions. Clay ion exchange with a propargyl-ended cation followed by thiol-yne coupling with thioglycerol resulted in a porous structure with a 6 fold higher specific surface area, which dramatically decreased after copper incorporation. X-ray diffraction and photoelectron spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H and ¹³C) and CO₂-thermal programmed desorption revealed strong sulfur:Cu⁰ and oxygen:Cu⁰ interactions. This was explained in terms of structure compaction that 'traps' Cu⁰ nanoparticles (CuNPs) and reduces their mobility. Transmission electron microscopy showed predominant 1.0-1.5 nm CuNPs. Hydrogen capture appears to involve predominantly physical interaction, since differential scanning calorimetry measurements gave low desorption heat and almost complete gas release between 20 °C and 75 °C. Possible hydrogen condensation within the compacted structure should hinder gas diffusion inside CuNPs and prevent chemisorption. These results allow safe hydrogen storage with easy gas release to be envisaged even at room temperature under vacuum. The reversible capture of hydrogen can be even more attractive when using natural inorganic supports and commercial plant-derived dendrimers judiciously functionalized, even at the expense of porosity.

Nanotoxicity in Systemic Circulation and Wound Healing

Nanotoxicity of nanomaterials is an important issue in view of their potential applications in systemic circulation and wound healing dressing. This account specifically deals with several characteristic features of different nanomaterials which induce hemolysis and how to make them hemocompatible. The shape, size, and surface functionalities of naked metallic as well as nonmetallic nanoparticles surfaces are responsible for the hemolysis. An appropriate coating of biocompatible molecules dramatically reduces hemolysis and promotes their ability as safe drug delivery vehicles. The use of coated nanomaterials in wound healing dressing opens several new strategies for rapid wound healing processes. Properly designed nanomaterials should be selected to minimize the nanotoxicity in the wound healing process. Future directions need new synthetic methods for engineered nanomaterials for their best use in nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology.

Preparation of SBA-15 with penetrating pores and their performance in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

A novel SBA-15 material containing penetrating pores as supports of Co-based Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) catalysts exhibits high catalytic performance due to improving access for reagent molecules to reach the active site, resulting in a facile transport of heavy hydrocarbons.

Ternary cooperative assembly--polymeric condensation of photoactive viologen, phosphonate-terminated dendrimers and crystalline anatase nanoparticles

Photoactive viologen fragments were covalently embedded within the material framework during the self-assembly and sol-gel polymerisation of phosphonate-terminated dendrimers and soluble titanium-oxo-species. The resulting porous anisotropic phosphonate-bridged-crystalline anatase materials serve as new hosts to disperse and stabilize small gold nanoparticles.

Periodic mesoporous organosilicas derived from amphiphilic bulky polymethylsiloxane

Depending on the synthetic conditions (surfactant, acid, base, and presence or absence of TEOS), the sol–gel polymerization of functionalized polyorganosiloxane affords various textured silica-based materials.

Dendrimer-Functionalized Laponite Nanodisks as a Platform for Anticancer Drug Delivery

In this study, we synthesized dendrimer-functionalized laponite (LAP) nanodisks for loading and delivery of anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Firstly, LAP was modified with silane coupling agents and succinic anhydride to render abundant carboxyl groups on the surface of LAP. Then, poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer of generation 2 (G2) were conjugated to form LM-G2 nanodisks. Anticancer drug DOX was then loaded on the LM-G2 with an impressively high drug loading efficiency of 98.4% and could be released in a pH-sensitive and sustained manner. Moreover, cell viability assay results indicate that LM-G2/DOX complexes could more effectively inhibit the proliferation of KB cells (a human epithelial carcinoma cell line) than free DOX at the same drug concentration. Flow cytometry analysis and confocal laser scanning microscope demonstrated that LM-G2/DOX could be uptaken by KB cells more effectively than free DOX. Considering the exceptional high drug loading efficiency and the abundant dendrimer amine groups on the surface that can be further modified, the developed LM-G2 nanodisks may hold a great promise to be used as a novel platform for anticancer drug delivery.

Biological Activity of Mesoporous Dendrimer-Coated Titanium Dioxide: Insight on the Role of the Surface-Interface Composition and the Framework Crystallinity

Hitherto, the field of nanomedicine has been overwhelmingly dominated by the use of mesoporous organosilicas compared to their metal oxide congeners. Despite their remarkable reactivity, titanium oxide-based materials have been seldom evaluated and little knowledge has been gained with respect to their "structure-biological activity" relationship. Herein, a fruitful association of phosphorus dendrimers (both "ammonium-terminated" and "phosphonate-terminated") and titanium dioxide has been performed by means of the sol-gel process, resulting in mesoporous dendrimer-coated nanosized crystalline titanium dioxide. A similar organo-coating has been reproduced using single branch-mimicking dendrimers that allow isolation of an amorphous titanium dioxide. The impact of these materials on red blood cells was evaluated by studying cell hemolysis. Next, their cytotoxicity toward B14 Chinese fibroblasts and their antimicrobial activity were also investigated. Based on their variants (cationic versus anionic terminal groups and amorphous versus crystalline titanium dioxide phase), better understanding of the role of the surface-interface composition and the nature of the framework has been gained. No noticeable discrimination was observed for amorphous and crystalline material. In contrast, hemolysis and cytotoxicity were found to be sensitive to the nature of the interface composition, with the ammonium-terminated dendrimer-coated titanium dioxide being the most hemolytic and cytotoxic material. This surface-functionalization opens the door for creating a new synergistic machineries mechanism at the cellular level and seems promising for tailoring the biological activity of nanosized organic-inorganic hybrid materials.

Synthesis of onion-peel nanodendritic structures with sequential functional phosphorus diversity

The preparation of novel families of phosphorus-based macromolecular architectures called "onion peel" phosphorus nanodendritic systems is reported. This construct is based on the versatility of methods of synthesis using several building blocks and on the capability of these systems to undergo regioselective reactions within the cascade structure. Sustainable metal-free routes such as the Staudinger reaction or Schiff-base condensation, involving only water and nitrogen as byproducts, allow access to several dendritic macromolecules bearing up to seven different phosphorus units in their backbone, each of them featuring specific reactivity. The presence of the highly aurophilic P=N-P=S fragment enables selective ligation of Au(I) within the dendritic framework.

Fabrication of a dendrimer-modified boronate affinity material for online selective enrichment of cis-diol-containing compounds and its application in determination of nucleosides in urine

A high binding capacity dendrimer-modified boronate affinity material (SiO₂@dBA) was synthesized and coupled with large-volume injection/online column-switching solid phase extraction to facilitate the determination process of cis-diols.

Organophosphonate bridged anatase mesocrystals: low temperature crystallization, thermal growth and hydrogen photo-evolution

Tuning P-doping: phosphorus dendrimers enabled access, at 60 °C, to ultra-stable organophosphonate-bridged-anatase mesocrystals with a promising water-splitting photo-activity.

One-step synthesis of structure controlled vinyl functionalized hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres

A simple synthetic strategy of vinyl functionalized hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres using CTAB as a template and ammonia as a catalyst.

Chitosan as a sustainable organocatalyst: a concise overview

Increased demand for more sustainable materials and chemical processes has tremendously advanced the use of polysaccharides, which are natural biopolymers, in domains such as adsorption, catalysis, and as an alternative chemical feedstock. Among these biopolymers, the use of chitosan, which is obtained by deacetylation of natural chitin, is on the increase due to the presence of amino groups on the polymer backbone that makes it a natural cationic polymer. The ability of chitosan-based materials to form open-network, macroporous, high-surface-area hydrogels with accessible basic surface sites has enabled their use not only as macrochelating ligands for active metal catalysts and as a support to disperse nanosized particles, but also as a direct organocatalyst. This review provides a concise overview of the use of native and modified chitosan, possessing different textural properties and chemical properties, as organocatalysts. Organocatalysis with chitosan is primarily focused on carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, multicomponent heterocycle formation reactions, biodiesel production, and carbon dioxide fixation through [3+2] cycloaddition. Furthermore, the chiral, helical organization of the chitosan skeleton lends itself to use in enantioselective catalysis. Chitosan derivatives generally display reactivity similar to homogeneous bases, ionic liquids, and organic and inorganic salts. However, the introduction of cooperative acid-base interactions at active sites substantially enhances reactivity. These functional biopolymers can also be easily recovered and reused several times under solvent-free conditions. These accomplishments highlight the important role that natural biopolymers play in furthering more sustainable chemistry.

Confinement of a bioinspired nonheme Fe(II) complex in 2D hexagonal mesoporous silica with metal site isolation

A mixed amine pyridine polydentate Fe(II) complex was covalently tethered in hexagonal mesoporous silica of the MCM-41 type. Metal site isolation was generated using adsorbed tetramethylammonium cations acting as a patterned silanol protecting mask and trimethylsilylazane as a capping agent. Then, the amine/pyridine ligand bearing a tethering triethoxysilane group was either grafted to such a pretreated silica surface prior to or after complexation to Fe(II). These two synthetic routes, denoted as two-step and one-step, respectively, were also applied to fumed silica for comparison, except that the silanol groups were capped after tethering the metal unit. The coordination of the targeted complex was monitored using UV-visible spectrophotometry and, according to XPS, the best control was achieved inside the channels of the mesoporous silica for the two-step route. For the solid prepared according to the one-step route, tethering of the complex occurred mainly at the entrance of the channel.

Low temperature synthesis of ordered mesoporous stable anatase nanocrystals: the phosphorus dendrimer approach

The scarcity of low temperature syntheses of anatase nanocrystals prompted us to explore the use of surface-reactive fourth generation phosphorus-dendrimers as molds to control the nucleation and growth of titanium-oxo-species during the sol-gel mineralization process. Unexpectedly, the dendritic medium provides at low temperature, discrete anatase nanocrystals (4.8 to 5.2 nm in size), in marked contrast to the routinely obtained amorphous titanium dioxide phase under standard conditions. Upon thermal treatment, heteroatom migration from the branches to the nanoparticle surface and the ring opening polymerization of the cyclophosphazene core provide stable, interpenetrating mesoporous polyphosphazene-anatase hybrid materials (-P[double bond, length as m-dash]N-)n-TiO2. The steric hindrance of the dendritic skeleton, the passivation of the anatase surface by heteroatoms and the ring opening of the core limit the crystal growth of anatase to 7.4 nm and prevent, up to 800 °C, the commonly observed anatase-to-rutile phase transformation. Performing this mineralization in the presence of similar surface-reactive but non-dendritic skeletons (referred to as branch-mimicking dendrimers) failed to generate crystalline anatase and to efficiently limit the crystal growth, bringing thus clear evidence of the virtues of phosphorus dendrimers in the design of novel nanostructured materials.