Peptide photowrapping of gold-silica nanocomposites for constructing MMP-responsive drug capsules for chemo-photothermal therapy.

A multifunctional undecapeptide, YYDPLGLADYY, was designed and synthesized for the photowrapping of silica-coated gold nanorods. The obtained nanocapsules, bearing a well-defined core-shell structure, were able to encapsulate a therapeutic drug, respond to an MMP-upregulated tumor microenvironment, and achieve NIR-triggered anticancer chemo-photothermal therapy with favorable efficacy.

Efficient Aerobic Oxidative Coupling of Methyl Heteroarenes with Indoles.

Direct oxidative coupling of inert C(sp3 )-H bond has been a great challenge. Herein, an environmentally friendly aerobic oxidative coupling of α-methyl substituted N-heteroarenes with indoles is reported. A variety of diheteroaryl ketones were prepared in good yields (up to 72 %). This protocol features simple operation and broad substrates scope (26 examples). Significantly, a plausible mechanism about catalytic cycle was proposed, and two key intermediates were confirmed by high resolution mass spectrometry.

The C(sp3)-H bond functionalization of thioethers with styrenes with insight into the mechanism.

A metal-free inactive C(sp3)-H bond functionalization of thioethers with styrenes using TBHP as an initiator and DBU as a base has been developed. This transformation has broken through the low activity of thioethers and realized moderate yields. Herein extended experiments were conducted to confirm the radical relay process, reaction energy and intermediate transformations.

Copper-Catalyzed Aldehyde Exchanged Amidation.

The synthesis of bioactive amides has been the pursuit of chemists. Herein secondary amides incorporated with an aldehyde group were first generated using aldehydes and secondary amines. Various (hetero)aryl aldehydes and even aliphatic aldehydes (>40 examples) were converted into the desired products in moderate to excellent yields (up to 89%). A plausible mechanism involving a Cu(I/II/III) catalytic cycle combined with radical rearrangement was proposed and confirmed with four key intermediates detected by high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Light-Promoted and Tertiary-Amine-Assisted Hydroxysulfenylation of Alkenes: Selective and Direct One-Pot Synthesis of ß-Hydroxysulfides.

A light-promoted and tertiary-amine-assisted strategy for efficient hydroxysulfenylation of both electron-rich and electron-deficient alkenes with thiophenols to selectively and directly access ß-hydroxysulfides in one pot is described herein. In contrast to the previously reported thiol-oxygen co-oxidation reactions, this simple and sustainable approach features mild reaction conditions, high efficiency, and excellent functional group tolerance.

Efficient self-photo-degradation of cationic textile dyes involved triethylamine and degradation pathway.

Cationic textile dyes such as astrazon brilliant red (ABR), are frequently used in the textile industry and contaminait the water ecology. Photodegradation of such dyes in wastewater is considered as a promising method, while the existing approaches are usually involved complicated and costly materials as photocatalysts. Facial, effective and low-cost approaches for their decontamination are needed. What's more, the detailed decomposition path of ABR is not revealed. The present study shows that ABR could suffer effective self-photo-degradation under triethylamine treatment without a photocatalyst. Almost 100% of the dye degraded within 1 h under visible light irradiation. UV-vis, FTIR and UPLC-MS analysis conformed the degradation of ABR. Factors involved in the degradation system were investigated clearly. What's more, the accurate and detailed analysis of UV-vis, FTIR and UPLC-MS data combined with computational analysis revealed the decomposition process of ABR. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated from ROS trapping experiments and EPR measurements, which revealed that O2- was the critical ROS in the degradation process, while 1O2 and OH had slightly influence on the degradation progression.

Merging an organic TADF photosensitizer and a simple terpyridine-Fe(iii) complex for photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

An earth-abundant photocatalytic system composed of an organic TADF photosensitizer and a simple terpyridine-Fe(iii) complex was developed for CO2 reduction. In the presence of water, significant enhancement of CO generation was observed with 99.3% selectivity. The turnover number (TON) and turnover frequency (TOF) were determined to be 2250 and 60 min-1, respectively.

Selective photoredox decarboxylation of α-ketoacids to allylic ketones and 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds dependent on cobaloxime catalysis.

A photoredox/cobaloxime co-catalyzed coupling reaction of α-ketoacids and methacrylates to obtain allylic ketones is described. Without the cobaloxime catalyst, 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds are generated. The cobaloxime catalyst enables dehydrogenation to generate the formation of new olefins. The generality, good substrate scope and mild conditions are good features in the photoredox/cobaloxime catalysis protocol, and this method will provide new opportunities for the functionalization of more olefins.

A long-lived Donor-Acceptor fluorescent probe for sequential detection of Cu2+ and biothiols.

A new long-lived Donor-Acceptor (D-A) fluorophore based on carbazolyl dicyanobenzene was developed as an ON-OFF-ON multifunctional fluorescent probe 1 for sequential detection of Cu2+ and biothiols (Cys, Hcy and GSH). The fluorescence of probe 1 can be significantly and selectively quenched by Cu2+. Meanwhile, the fluorescence lifetime decreased from 2.1 µs to 18.5 ns. The limit of detection was determined to be 33.6 nM. Upon addition of biothiols (Cys, Hcy and GSH), the generated ensemble 1-Cu2+ displayed a "turn-on" fluorescent response at 555 nm and an obvious recovery in fluorescence lifetime and UV-vis absorption within 1 min. The limit of detection for Cys, Hcy and GSH were calculated by fluorescence titration experiments to be 0.19, 0.21 and 0.29 µM, respectively. The ensemble 1-Cu2+ was further successfully applied in bioimaging.

Rare-Earth Y(OTf)3 Catalyzed Coupling Reaction of Ethers with Azaarenes.

Rare-earth catalysis has become a hot topic in the field of catalytic organic reaction. Chain ethers mostly have lower reactivity and lower boiling points which limited their reaction scope. Herein, we found a rare-earth Y(OTf)3 can catalyze the coupling reaction of ethers especially chain ethers and thioethers with azaarenes. This protocol features simple operations, a broad substrate scope (31 examples), moderate to good yields (up to 85%), and atom economy.

Photoinduced synthesis of fluorinated dibenz[b,e]azepines via radical triggered cyclization.

A simple, mild and efficient approach to access fluorinated dibenz[b,e]azepines via visible-light photoredox catalysis is presented. Inexpensive and commercially available fluoroalkyl anhydrides in concert with pyridine N-oxide are employed as the source of the fluoroalkyl radicals. A one-pot process involving the trifluoroacetylation of unprotected secondary benzyl amines followed by radical cyclization could also afford the desired fluorinated dibenz[b,e]azepines.

Selectively Light-up Detection of Phosgene with an Aggregation-Induced Emission-Based Fluorescent Sensor.

Phosgene, a widely used but highly toxic substance, may pose a serious risk to public safety and health because of the potential abuse and possible accidental leakage. Consequently, it is of great significance to develop a rapid, reliable, and sensitive detection method for this noxious agent. In this work, an aggregation-induced emission-based sensor, 3,6-bis(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)benzene-1,2-diamine (DATPE), has been rationally designed for detecting phosgene by conjugation of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) core as the reactive recognition moiety decorated with two peripheral triphenylethylene (TPE) units. A light-up fluorescence response is achieved by the fast cyclization reaction of OPD part and phosgene along with the formation of 2-imidazolidinone ring, thus inhibiting the intramolecular charge transfer quenching process in the sensor. Moreover, an easy-to-use test paper with DATPE is fabricated for onsite visual detection of phosgene in the gas phase even at a concentration of as low as 0.1 ppm.

Highly efficient inhibition of spring viraemia of carp virus replication in vitro mediated by bavachin, a major constituent of psoralea corlifonia Lynn.

As one of nine piscine viruses recognized by the International Office of Epizootics, spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) is an important pathogen bringing high mortality to cyprinids. Up to now, there is no approved therapy on SVCV, making them strong public health threat in aquaculture. In this study, the anti-SVCV activities of 12 plant crude extracts were investigated by using epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells. Among these plants, Psoralea corylifolia Linn. showed the highest inhibition on SVCV replication, with an inhibitory percentage of 67.98%. Further studies demonstrated that bavachin (BVN), one of the major constituents of Psoralea corylifolia Linn., was also highly effective to SVCV infection. The half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of BVN on SVCV glycoprotein and nucleoprotein expression were 0.46 (0.29-0.73) and 0.31 (0.13-0.55) mg/L, respectively. In addition, SVCV-induced apoptosis which may be negative to SVCV replication was inhibited by BVN. The apoptotic cells were decreased 21.42% for BVN compared with SVCV group. These results indicated that the inhibition of BVN on SVCV replication was, in some extent, via blocking SVCV induced apoptosis. Furthermore, cellular morphological damage induced by SVCV was also blocked by BVN treatment. Mechanistically, BVN did not affect SVCV infectivity and cannot be used for prevention of SVCV infection. Time-of-addition and viral binding assays revealed that BVN mainly inhibited the early events of SVCV replication but did not interfere with SVCV adsorption. In conclusion, BVN was considered to develop as a promising agent to treat SVCV infection.

Identifying key intermediates generated in situ from Cu(II) salt-catalyzed C-H functionalization of aromatic amines under illumination.

Copper compounds involved in photocatalysis have recently spurred considerable interest for their novel transformations. However, mechanistic investigations are still in infancy. We find a new type of reaction, that is, Cu(II) salt-catalyzed C-H functionalization of aromatic amines triggered by visible light irradiation. An array of mechanistic observations, including high-resolution mass spectrometry, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum, electron spin resonance, x-ray absorption near-edge structure, and density functional theory calculation, have identified the key intermediates generated in situ in the transformation. Integration of single-electron transfer, singlet oxygen (1O2), and new absorption species, intermediate I and intermediate II formed in situ from Cu(II) salts and substrate amines or imines, respectively, is responsible for the N-H and C-H bond activation of secondary amines to couple with nucleophiles in air, thereby leading to the formation of quinoline, indolo[3,2-c]quinoline, ß-amino acid, and 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives in moderate to good yields under visible light irradiation at room temperature.

A Redox Shuttle Accelerates O2 Evolution of Photocatalysts Formed In Situ under Visible Light.

A redox shuttle strategy is demonstrated to be a promising approach to accelerate hole removal for efficient O2 production with mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride, WO3 , BiVO4 , NiTi-LDH, and Ag3 PO4 water-oxidation catalysts under visible-light irradiation.

Homocoupling of 3-Halooxindole via Visible-Light Photocatalysis: A Mild Access to 3,3'-Bioxindoles.

This paper introduces a simple way to the homocoupling of tertiary halides induced by photocatalysis. This method features mild reaction conditions, excellent functional group tolerance, high yields, low photocatalyst loading and successful application to the highly sterically hindered systems. On the basis of the reaction results, a novel stable-radical-induced homocoupling reaction mechanism has been proposed.

An Unexpected Controlled New Oxidant: SO4(·-).

A controlled new oxidant sulfate radical anion (SO4(·-)) was found and it can be easily prepared by mixing Na2S2O4 and TBHP with stirring. In this new metal-free oxidation system (Na2S2O4/TBHP), SO4(·-) can be used as a controllable oxidant to oxidize various aromatic alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes in good yields without any acid formation at room temperature. SO4(·-) was determined by a DMPO (5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide) spin-trapping EPR method at room temperature on a Bruker E500 spectrometer and the results suggested that SO4(·-) was generated in this transformation.

A Water-Soluble Copper-Polypyridine Complex as a Homogeneous Catalyst for both Photo-Induced and Electrocatalytic O2 Evolution.

The water-soluble polypyridine copper complex [Cu(F3TPA)(ClO4)2] [1; F3TPA=tris(2-fluoro-6-pyridylmethyl)amine] catalyzes water oxidation in a pH 8.5 borate buffer at a relatively low overpotential of 610 mV. Assisted by photosensitizer and an electron acceptor, 1 also exhibits activity as a homogeneous catalyst for photo-induced O2 evolution with a maximum turnover frequency (TOF) of (1.58 ± 0.03) × 10(-1) s(-1) and a maximum turnover number (TON) of 11.61 ± 0.23. In comparison, the reference [Cu(TPA)(ClO4)2] [TPA=tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine] displayed almost no activity under either set of conditions, implying the crucial role of the ligand in determining the behavior of the catalyst. Experimental evidence indicate the molecular catalytic nature of 1, leading to a potentially practical strategy to apply the copper complex in a photoelectrochemical device for water oxidation.

Combining visible light catalysis and transfer hydrogenation for in situ efficient and selective semihydrogenation of alkynes under ambient conditions.

By combining visible light catalysis and transfer hydrogenation, we are able to convert a series of alkynes to their corresponding alkenes in high chemical yields. Then the visible light catalytic transfer hydrogenation reaction can couple photoisomerization to produce E-alkenes or Z-alkenes exclusively depending on the aryl or alkyl substituted alkynes.

The singlet excited state of BODIPY promoted aerobic cross-dehydrogenative-coupling reactions under visible light.

In contrast to previous studies, we disclose for the first time that the singlet excited state ((1)PS*) of BODIPY rather than the triplet excited state ((3)PS*) can drive C-H bond activation to form C-C and C-P bonds smoothly, which offers new methods to promote organic transformation under visible light irradiation.