Exploring the Effects of Wetting and Free Fatty Acid Deposition on an Atomistic Hair Fiber Surface Model Incorporating Keratin-Associated Protein 5-1.

The complex development of cosmetic and medical formulations relies on an ever-growing accuracy of predictive models of hair surfaces. Hitherto, modeling efforts have focused on the description of 18-methyl eicosanoic acid (18-MEA), the primary fatty acid covalently attached to the hair surface, without explicit modeling of the protein layer. Herein, the molecular details of the outermost surface of the human hair fiber surface, also called the F-layer, were studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The F-layer is composed primarily of keratin-associated proteins KAP5 and KAP10, which are decorated with 18-MEA on the outer surface of a hair fiber. In our molecular model, we incorporated KAP5-1 and evaluated the surface properties of 18-MEA through MD simulations, resulting in 18-MEA surface density, layer thickness, and tilt angles in agreement with previous experimental and computational studies. Subsequent models with reduced 18-MEA surface density were also generated to mimic damaged hair surfaces. Response to wetting of virgin and damaged hair showed rearrangement of 18-MEA on the surface, allowing for water penetration into the protein layer. To demonstrate a potential use case for these atomistic models, we deposited naturally occurring fatty acids and measured 18-MEA's response in both dry and wet conditions. As fatty acids are often incorporated in shampoo formulations, this work demonstrates the ability to model the adsorption of ingredients on hair surfaces. This study illustrates, for the first time, the complex behavior of a realistic F-layer at the molecular level and opens up the possibility of studying the adsorption behavior of larger, more complex molecules and formulations.

Bistetracene: an air-stable, high-mobility organic semiconductor with extended conjugation.

We report the synthesis and characterization of "bistetracene", an unconventional, linearly extended conjugated core with eight fused rings. The annellation mode of the system allows for increased stability of the conjugated system relative to linear analogues due to the increased number of Clar aromatic sextets. By attaching the appropriate solubilizing substituents, efficient molecular packing with large transfer integrals can be obtained. The electronic structure calculations suggest these large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exhibit excellent intrinsic charge transport properties. Charge carrier mobilities as large as 6.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and current on/off ratios of 10(7) were determined experimentally for one of our compounds. Our study provides valuable insight into the design of unconventional semiconductor compounds based on higher PAHs for use in high-performance devices.

Dimers of nineteen-electron sandwich compounds: crystal and electronic structures, and comparison of reducing strengths.

The dimers of some Group 8 metal cyclopentadienyl/arene complexes and Group 9 metallocenes can be handled in air, yet are strongly reducing, making them useful n-dopants in organic electronics. In this work, the X-ray molecular structures are shown to resemble those of Group 8 metal cyclopentadienyl/pentadienyl or Group 9 metal cyclopentadienyl/diene model compounds. Compared to those of the model compounds, the DFT HOMOs of the dimers are significantly destabilized by interactions between the metal and the central CC σ-bonding orbital, accounting for the facile oxidation of the dimers. The lengths of these CC bonds (X-ray or DFT) do not correlate with DFT dissociation energies, the latter depending strongly on the monomer stabilities. Ru and Ir monomers are more reducing than their Fe and Rh analogues, but the corresponding dimers also exhibit much higher dissociation energies, so the estimated monomer cation/neutral dimer potentials are, with the exception of that of [RhCp2 ]2 , rather similar (-1.97 to -2.15 V vs. FeCp2 (+/0) in THF). The consequences of the variations in bond strength and redox potentials for the reactivity of the dimers are discussed.

Triisopropylsilylethynyl-functionalized graphene-like fragment semiconductors: synthesis, crystal packing, and density functional theory calculations.

Tri-isopropylsilylethynyl (TIPS)-functionalized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules incorporate structural components of graphene nanoribbons and represent a family of model molecules that form organic crystal semiconductors for electronic devices. Here, we report a series of TIPS-functionalized PAHs and discuss their electronic properties and crystal packing features. We observe that these soluble compounds easily form one-dimensional (1 D) packing arrangements and allow a direct evolution of the π stacking by varying the geometric shape. We find that the aspect ratio between length and width plays an important role on crystal packing. Our result indicates that when the PAH molecules have zigzag edges, these can provide enough volume for the molecules to rotate and reorient, alleviating the unfavorable electrostatic interactions found in perfectly cofacial π-π stacking. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to provide insights into how the molecular geometric shape influences the electronic structure and transport properties. The calculations indicate that, among the compounds studied here, "brick-layer" stacks provide the highest hole mobility.

Design, synthesis, and structural and spectroscopic studies of push-pull two-photon absorbing chromophores with acceptor groups of varying strength.

A new series of unsymmetrical diphenylaminofluorene-based chromophores with various strong π-electron acceptors were synthesized and fully characterized. The systematic alteration of the structural design facilitated the investigation of effects such as molecular symmetry and strength of electron-donating and/or -withdrawing termini have on optical nonlinearity. In order to determine the electronic and geometrical properties of the novel compounds, a thorough investigation was carried out by a combination of linear and nonlinear spectroscopic techniques, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and quantum chemical calculations. Finally, on the basis of two-photon absorption (2PA) cross sections, the general trend for π-electron accepting ability, i.e., ability to accept charge transfer from diphenylamine was: 2-pyran-4-ylidene malononitrile (pyranone) > dicyanovinyl > bis(dicyanomethylidene)indane >1-(thiophen-2-yl)propenone > dicyanoethylenyl >3-(thiophen-2-yl)propenone. An analogue with the 2-pyran-4-ylidene malononitrile acceptor group exhibited a nearly 3-fold enhancement of the 2PA cross section (1650 GM at 840 nm), relative to other members of the series.

2,6-Diacylnaphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximides): synthesis, reduction potentials, and core extension.

2,6-Diacyl derivatives of naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide)s have been synthesized via Stille coupling reactions of the corresponding 2,6-distannyl derivative with acyl halides. Reaction of these diketones with hydrazine gave phthalazino[6,7,8,1-lmna]pyridazino[5,4,3-gh][3,8]phenanthroline-5,11(4H,10H)-dione fused-ring derivatives. The products were characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and electrochemistry, modeled using density functional theory calculations, and, in some cases, studied and compared using single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Mode-selective vibrational modulation of charge transport in organic electronic devices.

The soft character of organic materials leads to strong coupling between molecular, nuclear and electronic dynamics. This coupling opens the way to influence charge transport in organic electronic devices by exciting molecular vibrational motions. However, despite encouraging theoretical predictions, experimental realization of such approach has remained elusive. Here we demonstrate experimentally that photoconductivity in a model organic optoelectronic device can be modulated by the selective excitation of molecular vibrations. Using an ultrafast infrared laser source to create a coherent superposition of vibrational motions in a pentacene/C60 photoresistor, we observe that excitation of certain modes in the 1,500-1,700 cm(-1) region leads to photocurrent enhancement. Excited vibrations affect predominantly trapped carriers. The effect depends on the nature of the vibration and its mode-specific character can be well described by the vibrational modulation of intermolecular electronic couplings. This presents a new tool for studying electron-phonon coupling and charge dynamics in (bio)molecular materials.

Absolute Configuration and Polymorphism of 2-Phenylbutyramide and α-Methyl-α-phenylsuccinimide.

Crystal structures of racemic and homochiral forms of 2-phenylbutyramide (1) and 3-methyl-3-phenylpyrrolidine-2,5-dione (2) were investigated in detail by a single crystal X-ray diffraction study. Absolute configurations of the homochiral forms of 1 and 2, obtained by chromatographic separation of racemates, were determined. It was revealed that racemate and homochiral forms of 1 are very similar in terms of supramolecular organization (H-bonded ribbons) in crystal, infrared (IR) spectral characteristics, and melting points. The presence of two different molecular conformations in homochiral forms of 1 allowed mimicking of crystal packing of the H-bonded ribbons in racemate 1. Two polymorph modifications (monoclinic and orthorhombic) comprising very similar H-bonded zigzag-like chains were found for the homochiral forms of compound 2 that were significantly different in terms of crystal structure, IR spectra, and melting points from the racemic form of 2. Unlike compound 1, homochiral forms of compound 2 have a higher density than the corresponding racemate which contradicts the Wallach rule and indicates that, in this case, homochiral forms are more stable than racemate forms.

Reengineered epipodophyllotoxin.

A variant structural skeleton of epipodophyllotoxin was synthesized and found to rival the natural cyclolignan in antiproliferative and microtubule destabilizing properties. This discovery leads to a new structural class of tubulin targeting agents.