Direct Addition of Grignard Reagents to Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids Enabled by Bulky turbo-Organomagnesium Anilides.

The synthesis of ketones through addition of organometallic reagents to aliphatic carboxylic acids is a straightforward strategy that is limited to organolithium reagents. More desirable Grignard reagents can be activated and controlled with a bulky aniline-derived turbo-Hauser base. This operationally simple procedure allows the straightforward preparation of a variety of aliphatic and perfluoroalkyl ketones alike from functionalized alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl Grignard reagents.

Nanoscale chemical characterization of a post-consumer recycled polyolefin blend using tapping mode AFM-IR.

The routine analysis of polymer blends at the nanoscale is usually carried out using electron microscopy techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which often require several sample preparation steps including staining with heavy metals and/or etching. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is also commonly used, but provides no direct chemical information about the samples analyzed. AFM-IR, a recent technique which combines the AFM's nanoscale resolution with the chemical information provided by IR spectroscopy, is a valuable complement to the already established techniques. Resonance enhanced AFM-IR (contact mode) is the most commonly used measurement mode, due to its signal enhancement and relative ease of use. However, it has severe drawbacks when used in highly heterogenous samples with changing mechanical properties, such as polymer recyclates. In this work, we use the recently developed tapping mode AFM-IR to chemically image the distribution of rubber in a real-world commercially available polyethylene/polypropylene (PE/PP) recycled blend derived from municipal and household waste. Furthermore, the outstanding IR resolution of AFM-IR allowed for the detection of small PP droplets inside the PE phase. The presence of micro and nanoscale particles of other polymers in the blend was also established, and the polymers identified.

Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics Enable Detection of Intracellular Protein Distribution.

Determination of the intracellular location of proteins is one of the fundamental tasks of microbiology. Conventionally, label-based microscopy and super-resolution techniques are employed. In this work, we demonstrate a new technique that can determine intracellular protein distribution at nanometer spatial resolution. This method combines nanoscale spatial resolution chemical imaging using the photothermal-induced resonance (PTIR) technique with multivariate modeling to reveal the intracellular distribution of cell components. Here, we demonstrate its viability by imaging the distribution of major cellulases and xylanases in Trichoderma reesei using the colocation of a fluorescent label (enhanced yellow fluorescence protein, EYFP) with the target enzymes to calibrate the chemometric model. The obtained partial least squares model successfully shows the distribution of these proteins inside the cell and opens the door for further studies on protein secretion mechanisms using PTIR.

AFM-IR for Nanoscale Chemical Characterization in Life Sciences: Recent Developments and Future Directions.

Despite the ubiquitous absorption of mid-infrared (IR) radiation by virtually all molecules that belong to the major biomolecules groups (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids), the application of conventional IR microscopy to the life sciences remained somewhat limited, due to the restrictions on spatial resolution imposed by the diffraction limit (in the order of several micrometers). This issue is addressed by AFM-IR, a scanning probe-based technique that allows for chemical analysis at the nanoscale with resolutions down to 10 nm and thus has the potential to contribute to the investigation of nano and microscale biological processes. In this perspective, in addition to a concise description of the working principles and operating modes of AFM-IR, we present and evaluate the latest key applications of AFM-IR to the life sciences, summarizing what the technique has to offer to this field. Furthermore, we discuss the most relevant current limitations and point out potential future developments and areas for further application for fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration.