Two novel zinc Schiff-base complexes, bis-(N-(2-hydroxybenzidene)-p-aminodimethylaniline)zinc(II) (2) and bis-(N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthidene)-p-aminodimethylaniline)zinc(II) (4) were designed and synthesized. Both the complexes exhibit good solubility in organic solvents and excellent thermal stabilities. A single crystal of 2 was grown and its crystalline structure was determined from X-ray diffraction data. Analysis of the electronic structures of both the zinc complexes calculated by density functional theory reveals a localization of orbital. The UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence profiles of 4 in thin film are similar to those of 2, but the emission for 4 is red-shifted compared to 2. Three-layered devices with a configuration of ITO/NPB/2/Alq 3 /LiF/Al and ITO/NPB/4/Alq 3 /LiF/Al show a yellow and red emission, respectively.
A cationic dendritic polyfluorene (PFP) is examined as a siRNA delivery vector. This material was designed to facilitate the nucleic acid binding, encapsulation and efficient cellular uptake. PFP can effectively protect siRNA against nuclease degradation, which is necessary for gene carriers. PFP can be used for multidrug resistance gene-targeted siRNA delivery in doxorubicin (Dox)-resistant human breast cancer cells (MCF7) cells. As a siRNA transfection agent, PFP can efficiently achieve the reversal of drug resistance and enhance the drug sensitivity. These new features and capabilities represent a major step toward conjugated polymers that can function for therapeutic application.
A new strategy is performed to fabricate conjugated polymer microarray with the assistance of protein in this work.The water-soluble cationic conjugated polymer employed in the present work is capable of absorbing light at 510 nm,which makes it compatible with a variety of commercial microarray scanners.It is demonstrated that the protein-assisted conjugated polymer microarray exhibits higher fluorescence signal and better stability in comparison with the case without protein.The conjugated polymer microarray can be used for sensitive detection of picric acid(PA).A major advantage of our approach is its simplicity and chemical linking is not required between the conjugated polymer and microarray substrate.Considering the simplicity of the preparation of the conjugated polymer microarray,it is anticipated that novel sensing platforms will be constructed by employing this versatile method.
A new star-shaped donor-acceptor molecule has been synthesized for application as the donor material in solution-processed bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs). The molecule consists of a triphenylamine (TPA) unit as the core and a donor unit with three arms containing benzo[1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT) acceptor units and 5,5''-dihexyl-2,2′:3′,2″-terthiophene (tTh) end groups. The molecule, denoted S(TPA-BT-tTh), exhibits a broad absorption band in the wavelength range 300-650 nm and high hole mobility of 1.1×10 -4 cm2 V -1 s 1 . An OSC device based on S(TPA-BT-tTh) as donor and [6,6]-phenyl C71 -butyric acid methyl ester (PC 70 BM) as the acceptor (1:3, w/w) exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 2.28% with a short circuit current density of 6.39 mA/cm2 under illumination of AM.1.5, 100 mW/cm2 .
A new gelator 1 based on tetraphenylethylene(TPE) and diphenylalanine was designed and synthesized.Compound 1 was non-emissive in solution,but its fluorescence turned on after the formation of gels,due to the aggregation-induced emission(AIE) feature of TPE.Interestingly,the fluorescence was reversibly switched "on-off" upon the "gel-sol" transition.Scanning electron microscope(SEM),confocal laser scanning microscope(CLSM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) were employed to study the gels.
New analogues of green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore mGFP-Cn (n = 1, 3, 5, 11) with alkyl chains of different lengths in the imidazolinone rings were synthesized and their crystal structures were determined. These GFP-like chromophores are all emissive in the solid state. And the solid-state emission quantum yields of increase by extending the lengths of alkyl chains, owing to the fact that the intermolecular pi-pi interactions are significantly weakened based on their crystal structures.
The mutation detections of KRAS and BRAF genes are of significant importance to predict the responses to anti-cancer therapy and develop new drugs. In this paper, we developed a multi-step fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay for multiplex detection of KRAS and BRAF mutations using cationic conjugated polymers (CCP). The newly established detection system could detect as low as 2% mutant DNAs in DNA admixtures. By triggering the emission intensity change of CCP and the dyes labeled in the DNA, four possible statuses (three mutations and one wildtype) can be differentiated in one extension reaction. The detection efficiency of this new method in clinical molecular diagnosis was validated by determining KRAS and BRAF mutations of 51 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) ovary tissue samples. Furthermore, the result of the CCP-based multi-step FRET assay can be directly visualized under UV light so that no expensive instruments and technical expertise are needed. Thus, the assay provides a sensitive, reliable, cost-effective and simple method for the detection of disease-related gene mutations.
XING BaoLingSONG JinZhaoGE SuMeiTANG ZhengHuaLIU MengLuYANG QiongLü FengTingLIU LiBingWANG Shu
A new electroactive polymer 1 with alternating NDI （naphthalene diimide） moieties and fluorinated alkyl chains was prepared and characterized. Gels of polymer 1 were formed in several solvents. Interestingly, gels of polymer 1 exhibited responsiveness toward N2H4, F and CN . Absorption and ESR spectroscopic studies revealed that such responsiveness is owing to the reduction of NDI moieties into the respective NDI＇-. In addition, thin films of polymer 1 were easily prepared with spin-coating technique and the electrical conductivity of thin films reached 52.4 S/m after exposure to NeH4 vapor.
