Optimizing 2-furylated imidazole π-bridges for NIR lipid droplet imaging

Lipid droplets (LDs) are globular biological organelles found in the human body, essential for lipid storage, homeostasis, energy reserve, cellular stress response, membrane biogenesis, and cellular signaling. Dysregulated accumulation of LDs leads to various diseases, including breast and liver cancers. Therefore, the development of diagnostic tools for monitoring LDs using suitable probes for bio-imaging applications is imperative. However, identifying promising probes with near-infrared emission characteristics is still a challenging and intriguing task, requiring extensive exploration of the structure-emission property relationship to design efficient probes for LDs. In this context, we envision the impact of 2-furylated imidazole as a π-bridge and have designed nine LD probes by substituting it with electron-releasing groups like CH3, NH2, NH(CH3), and N(CH3)2 at the 3rd and 4th positions via DFT, TD-DFT, FMO, ESP, NCI, and QTAIM analyses. Our results demonstrate that LDP7 with NH(CH3) at the 3rd position is the most promising molecule, exhibiting the highest emission maxima (772.02 nm) with a lower HOMO-LUMO gap, suggesting its suitability for a range of biomedical applications. An enhancement of ∼200 nm is achieved through tailoring the molecular structure using the designed 2-furylated imidazole-derived π-bridge. ADMET and molecular docking analysis followed by molecular dynamics simulations with the human pyruvate kinase protein reveal these LDPs' bioavailability, binding ability and their stability towards their bio-imaging applications. In summary, our study offers valuable insights to aid researchers in developing and refining various π-linkers for lipid droplet bio-imaging applications.

Quantum Computational and Spectroscopic Investigation of 3-aminosalicylic Acid

Quantum chemical calculations of 3-aminosalicylic acid (3ASA) (monomer and dimer forms) have been performed using DFT and TD-DFT theories with B3LYP/6-311 G(d,p) functional level in the ground and excited states. Using TD-DFT with IEF-PCM model, the electronic spectra of 3ASA in solvents were computed and correlated with the experimental data. The theoretically calculated absorption and emission maxima of 3ASA (monomer) are observed in the range of 343 - 347 nm (S0 → S1 transition) and 429 - 448 nm (S1 → S0 transition), respectively. The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis shows that charge transfer interaction contributes significantly to stabilize the molecular system. In the case of dimer, hydrogen bonding plays a dominant role in stabilizing the molecular framework. Additionally, the obtained nonlinear optical (NLO) properties: polarizability (13.86 × 10-24 e.s.u for monomer and 29.46 × 10-24 e.s.u. for dimer), first-order hyperpolarizability (4.21 × 10-30 e.s.u for monomer and 0.18 × 10-30 e.s.u for dimer) and second-order hyperpolarizability (7.44 × 10-36 e.s.u. for monomer and 14.32 × 10-36 e.s.u. for dimer) were found to be larger than those of standard organic compounds suggesting that 3ASA has a significant NLO character for optoelectronic applications. The NLO properties of dimer may differ from monomer due to dimerization. Further, the radiative lifetime, light harvesting efficiency and band gap energy were calculated, and proposed that 3ASA may be useful in photovoltaics and wide bandgap power devices. HIGHLIGHTS: • DFT and TD-DFT theories were employed to calculate structural and molecular properties of 3ASA (monomer and dimer) in ground and excited states. • HOMO-LUMO study shows monomer and dimer of 3ASA are good reactive. • NBO analysis reflects that charge transfer interactions stabilized the 3ASA molecule. • Electronic absorption/emission spectra in solvents calculated by IEF-PCM/TD-DFT method correlate with experimental results. • Calculated NLO parameters suggested that 3ASA is a potential candidate for NLO material.

Styrene monomer as potential material for design of new optoelectronic and nonlinear optical polymers: density functional theory study

Using density functional theory, we have studied the intrinsic properties of styrene. First, we determine the optimized structures, structural parameters and thermodynamic properties to make our simulations more realistic to experimental results and check the stability. Second, we investigate optoelectronic, electronic and global descriptors, transport properties of holes and electrons, natural bond orbital analysis, absorption and fluorescence properties. Finally, we study nonlinear optical (NLO) properties: first- and second-order hyperpolarizability, second and third-order optical susceptibilities, hyper-Rayleigh scattering hyperpolarizability, electro-optical Pockel effect, direct current Kerr effects and quadratic refractive index. The bandgap energy E g = 5.146 eV and dielectric constantε r = 3.062 show that styrene is a good insulator with an average electric field value of 4.43 × 108 Vm-1. Thermodynamic findings show that our molecule is thermodynamically and chemically stable. Electron and hole reorganization energies of 0.393 and 0.295 eV, respectively, show that styrene is more favourable to hole transport than electron transport. Styrene is transparent with linear refractive index n = 1.750 and quadratic n 2 = 1.748 × 10-20 m2 W-1. At the NLO, styrene has a non-zero value ofβ H R S , which confirms the existence of first-order NLO activity. Globally the study shows that the styrene monomer is suitable for the architecture design of new polymer materials for NLO applications and optoelectronic by functionalization.

Nonlinear optical properties of azo sulfonamide derivatives

CONTEXT

The present work deals with the linear and nonlinear optical properties such as the dipole moment, polarizability, total hyperpolarizability, electric field-induced second harmonic generation, and hyper-Rayleigh scattering first hyperpolarizability of four heterocyclic azo compounds containing the sulfonamide group considered promise in nonlinear optic. The obtained polarizability and hyperpolarizability were supported by the frontier molecular orbital analysis. The properties have been effectively estimated and thoroughly examined to shed light on the nonlinear optical activity based on the density functional theory. The observed results show a high total first hyperpolarizability β tot up to 2503 a.u. and a low energy gap E g less than 1.41 eV. An inverse relationship has been obtained between the β tot and E g . The calculated E g values confirm that charge occurs within the azo sulfonamides. The new study provides a promising avenue for the development of these azo sulfonamides as novel NLO materials.

METHODS

The molecular modeling and the theoretical studies were performed with Gaussian software packages. The B3LYP/6-311 + G** level was used for optimization. All the linear and nonlinear optical properties reported here are obtained using the DFT. The optimized structures and their frontier molecular orbitals were plotted using the GaussView 5.1 program.

Systematic centricity control using a chiral template: novel noncentrosymmetric polar niobium oxyfluorides and tantalum fluorides directed by chiral histidinium cations, [(l-hisH2)NbOF5], [(d-hisH2)NbOF5], [(l-hisH2)TaF7], and [(d-hisH2)TaF7]

Novel noncentrosymmetric polar niobium and tantalum (oxy)fluorides have been systematically synthesized by using a chiral histidinium template.

NLO-active Y-shaped ferrocene conjugated imidazole chromophores as precursors for SHG polymeric films

New Y-shaped ferrocene conjugated imidazole chromophores were prepared and fully characterized. The Y-shaped structure was confirmed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The chromophores show interesting second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties in solution, as determined by the Electric-Field Induced Second Harmonic generation (EFISH) technique. Remarkably, the trifluoro substituted compound 3 is characterized by a high μβEFISH value and has good potential as a molecular building block for composite films with Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) properties. For all compounds, the dipole moments and frontier orbital energies were calculated by the Density Functional Theoretical method.

First principles study of electronic and nonlinear optical properties of A–D–π–A and D–A–D–π–A configured compounds containing novel quinoline–carbazole derivatives

Materials with nonlinear optical (NLO) properties have significant applications in different fields, including nuclear science, biophysics, medicine, chemical dynamics, solid physics, materials science and surface interface applications. Quinoline and carbazole, owing to their electron-deficient and electron-rich character respectively, play a role in charge transfer applications in optoelectronics. Therefore, an attempt has been made herein to explore quinoline–carbazole based novel materials with highly nonlinear optical properties. Structural tailoring has been made at the donor and acceptor units of two recently synthesized quinoline–carbazole molecules (Q1, Q2) and acceptor–donor–π–acceptor (A–D–π–A) and donor–acceptor–donor–π–acceptor (D–A–D–π–A) type novel molecules Q1D1–Q1D3 and Q2D2–Q2D3 have been quantum chemically designed, respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) computations are performed to process the impact of acceptor and donor units on photophysical, electronic and NLO properties of selected molecules. The λ_max values (321 and 319 nm) for Q1 and Q2 in DSMO were in good agreement with the experimental values (326 and 323 nm). The largest shift in absorption maximum is displayed by Q1D2 (436 nm). The designed compounds (Q1D3–Q2D3) express absorption spectra with an increased border and with a reduced band gap compared to the parent compounds (Q1 and Q2). Natural bond orbital (NBO) investigations showed that the extended hyper conjugation and strong intramolecular interaction play significant roles in stabilising these systems. All molecules expressed significant NLO responses. A large value of β_tot was elevated in Q1D2 (23 885.90 a.u.). This theoretical framework reveals the NLO response properties of novel quinoline–carbazole derivatives that can be significant for their use in advanced applications.

Materials with nonlinear optical properties have significant applications in nuclear science, biophysics, medicine, chemical dynamics, solid physics & materials science. We show how π bridges, donors & acceptors can be reconfigured to improve optical properties.

Electron Donor and Acceptor Influence on the Nonlinear Optical Response of Diacetylene-Functionalized Organic Materials (DFOMs): Density Functional Theory Calculations

Herein, we report the quantum chemical results based on density functional theory for the polarizability (α) and first hyperpolarizability (β) values of diacetylene-functionalized organic molecules (DFOM) containing an electron acceptor (A) unit in the form of nitro group and electron donor (D) unit in the form of amino group. Six DFOM 1–6 have been designed by structural tailoring of the synthesized chromophore 4,4′-(buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl) dianiline (R) and the influence of the D and A moieties on α and β was explored. Ground state geometries, HOMO-LUMO energies, and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of all DFOM (R and 1–6) were explored through B3LYP level of DFT and 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The polarizability (α), first hyperpolarizability (β) values were computed using B3LYP (gas phase), CAM-B3LYP (gas phase), CAM-B3LYP (solvent DMSO) methods and 6-31G(d,p) basis set combination. UV-Visible analysis was performed at CAM-B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. Results illustrated that much reduced energy gap in the range of 2.212–2.809 eV was observed in designed DFOM 1–6 as compared to parent molecule R (4.405 eV). Designed DFOM (except for 2 and 4) were found red shifted compared to parent molecule R. An absorption at longer wavelength was observed for 6 with 371.46 nm. NBO analysis confirmed the involvement of extended conjugation and as well as charge transfer character towards the promising NLO response and red shift of molecules under study. Overall, compound 6 displayed large <α> and β_tot, computed to be 333.40 (a.u.) (B3LYP gas), 302.38 (a.u.) (CAM-B3LYP gas), 380.46 (a.u.) (CAM-B3LYP solvent) and 24708.79 (a.u.), 11841.93 (a.u.), 25053.32 (a.u.) measured from B3LYP (gas), CAM-B3LYP (gas) and CAM-B3LYP (DMSO) methods respectively. This investigation provides a theoretical framework for conversion of centrosymmetric molecules into non-centrosymmetric architectures to discover NLO candidates for modern hi-tech applications.

Structural Properties and Nonlinear Optical Responses of Halogenated Compounds: A DFT Investigation on Molecular Modelling

Computational chemistry is used to evaluate structures of different compounds by using principles of theoretical and quantum chemistry integrated into useful computer programs. It is used to determine energies, dipole moments and thermodynamic properties of different compounds. The present work reports the computational study of six donor-acceptor dyes. The computational method CAM-B3LYP with 6-31G(d,p) was used in this research to determine the effect of halogens on non-linear optical compounds. HOMO-LUMO energy gaps, dipole polarizabilities, first hyperpolarizabilities, and absorption spectra of six studied compounds (dye 1: 4-(2-(4-fluorophenyl)ethynyl)benzenamine; dye 2: 4-(2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethynyl)benzenamine; dye 3: 4-(2-(4-bromophenyl)ethynyl)benzenamine; dye 4: 5-(2-(4-fluorophenyl)ethynyl)benzene-1,2,3-triamine; dye 5: 5-(2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethynyl)benzene-1,2,3-triamine; dye 6: 5-(2-(4-bromophenyl)ethynyl)benzene-1,2,3-triamine) with aniline and halo phenyl segments were computed by using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). Results indicate that all dyes showed wavelengths of maximum absorbance in the visible region. Small HOMO-LUMO energy gaps were observed in all investigated dyes. The present calculations on these dyes (1-6) offer an understanding of the direction of charge transfer (CT) and how NLO behavior can be explained. The aniline-to-halo phenyl CT, caused by the combination of the donor amino group and the acceptor halo group, could be a reason for NLO behavior of these sorts of compounds. These compounds exhibit significant molecular second-order NLO responses, especially dyes (6) and (5), with second-order polarizability determined to be approximately 4600 a.u.

First Principle Study of Electronic and Non-Linear Optical (NLO) Properties of Triphenylamine Dyes: Interactive Design Computation of New NLO Compounds

In this study, density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory are used to determine how the size of π-conjugated system influences the absorption spectra and non-linear optical (NLO) properties of dyes. Double and triple bonds, as well the benzene rings, are used in conjugated systems. The results of the theoretical computation show that the absorption spectra are gradually broadened and red-shifted with increases in the conjugation length. Theoretical examination of the NLO properties was performed on the key parameters of polarizability and hyperpolarizability. A notable increase in the non-linear optical response was observed with an increase in the conjugation length of the π-spacer.

Enhancement of nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of indigo through modification of auxiliary donor, donor and acceptor

In this study, indigo based dyes with high non-linear optical response have been investigated. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to study non-linear optical properties of indigo and newly designed dyes (IM-Dye-0, IM-Dye-1, IM-Dye-2 and IM-Dye-3). The time dependant density functional theory (TDDFT) was used to calculate the excitation energies. The HOMO-LUMO energy gaps of newly designed dyes were smaller as compare with indigo dye. Absorption maxima of newly designed dyes strongly red shifted as compare with indigo dye. High non-linear optical (NLO) response of newly designed dyes revealed that these materials would be excellent for NLO applications. This theoretical approach of designing will pave the way for experimentalists to synthesize high response NLO compound.

Solvent-Dependent Non-Linear Optical Properties of 5,5′-Disubstituted-2,2′-bipyridine Complexes of Ruthenium(II): A Quantum Chemical Perspective

In this research article, we reported solvent effects on non-linear optical (NLO) properties of 5,5′-disubstituted-2,2′-bipyridine complexes of ruthenium. The polarizability (α) and hyperpolarizability (β) were calculated in the gas phase. Benzene (ϵ (dielectric constant) = 2.3), THF (ϵ = 7.52), dichloromethane (ϵ = 8.93), acetone (ϵ = 21.01), methanol (ϵ = 33.00), and water (ϵ = 80.10) were used by density functional theory. These solvents cover a wide range of polarities. The results of theoretical investigation showed that the non-linear optical properties were significantly increased with the increase in solvent polarity. The results of this study also showed that similarly to structural modifications, polarity of the medium may play a significant role in modulating the NLO properties.

Solvent effects on nonlinear optical response of certain tetrammineruthenium(II) complexes of modified 1,10-phenanthrolines

In this research paper, we have reported solvent effects on nonlinear optical properties of tetrammineruthenium(II) complexes of modified 1,10-phenanthrolines. Polarizability and hyperpolarizability were calculated in the gas phase, benzene (ε = 2.3), THF (ε = 7.52), dichloromethane (ε = 8.93), acetone (ε = 21.01), methanol (ε = 33.00), acetonitrile (ε = 36.64), and water (ε = 80.10) using density functional theory. These solvents cover a wide range of polarities. The results of theoretical investigation have shown that nonlinear optical properties significantly increased with the increase of solvent polarity. Solvent strongly affected hyperpolarizability as compared with polarizability. Nonlinear optical properties were also changed by the change of functional. Hyperpolarizability significantly changed with the change of functional as compared with polarizability. The results of this study indicate that like structural modification, polarity of the medium can significantly change the nonlinear optical properties.

Theoretical investigation of the mechanism of primary amines reacting with hexamolybdate: an insight into the organoimido functionalization and related reactions of polyoxometalates

The functionalization of polyoxometalates (POMs), especially with an amino group to yield organonitrogenous derivatives of POMs, is an efficient approach to the enrichment of their structures and the diversification of their properties for various applications. The mechanism for the formation of organonitrogenous-derivatized hexamolybdates was explored by investigating the monofunctionalization of the [Mo(6)O(19)](2-) ion with methylamine using the density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculations show that the direct imidoylization of hexamolybdate with methylamine is both kinetically and thermodynamically unfavorable. However, this imidoylization was found to take place readily in the presence of dimethylcarbodiimide (DMC), for which the free-energy barrier was calculated to be +32.5 kcal mol(-1) in acetonitrile. Moreover, various factors controlling the efficiency of the imidoylization were examined. The calculations show that [W(5)MoO(19)](2-) has a relatively lower reactivity than [Mo(6)O(19)](2-), and that the imidoylization of [W(6)O(19)](2-) is an unfavorable process. With respect to the effect of carbodiimides, it is found that the catalytic activity is directly proportional to the electron-withdrawing effects of the substituents. As to the reactivity of R-NH(2) , the computation results indicate that the free-energy barriers of the substitution reactions are linearly correlated with the basicity constants (pK(b)) of the amino groups. It is noteworthy that the introduction of the proton dramatically decreases the free-energy barrier of the imidoylization of [Mo(6)O(19)](2-) catalyzed by DMC to 24.3 kcal mol(-1) in acetonitrile.