Formation, Structure and Reactivity of a Beryllium(0) Complex with Mgδ+ ̶̶ Beδ- Bond Polarization.

Attempts to create a novel Mg-Be bond by reaction of [(DIPePBDI*)MgNa]2 with Be[N(SiMe3)2]2 failed; DIPePBDI* = HC[(tBu)C=N(DIPeP)]2, DIPeP = 2,6-Et2C-phenyl. Even at elevated temperatures, no conversion was observed. This is likely caused by strong steric shielding of the Be center. A similar reaction with the more open Cp*BeCl gave in quantitative yield (DIPePBDI)MgBeCp* (1). The crystal structure shows a Mg-Be bond of 2.469(4) Å. Homolytic cleavage of the Mg-Be bond requires ΔH = 69.6 kcal mol-1 (cf. CpBe-BeCp 69.0 kcal mol-1 and (DIPPBDI)Mg-Mg(DIPPBDI) 55.8 kcal mol-1). Natural-Population-Analysis (NPA) shows fragment charges: (DIPePBDI*)Mg +0.27 / BeCp* -0.27. The very low NPA charge on Be (+0.62) compared to Mg (+1.21) and the strongly upfield 9Be NMR signal at -23.7 ppm are in line with considerable electron density on Be and the formal oxidation state assignment of MgII-Be0. Despite this Mgδ+-Beδ- polarity, 1 is extremely thermally stable and unreactive towards H2, CO, N2, cyclohexene and carbodiimide. It reacted with benzophenone, azobenzene, phenyl acetylene, CO2 and CS2. Reaction with 1-adamantyl azide led to reductive coupling and formation of an N6-chain. The azide reagent also inserted in the Cp*-Be bond. The inertness of 1 is likely due to bulky ligands protecting the Mg-Be unit.

Chronic kidney disease induces a systemic microangiopathy, tissue hypoxia and dysfunctional angiogenesis.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with excessive mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Endothelial dysfunction, an early manifestation of CVD, is consistently observed in CKD patients and might be linked to structural defects of the microcirculation including microvascular rarefaction. However, patterns of microvascular rarefaction in CKD and their relation to functional deficits in perfusion and oxygen delivery are currently unknown. In this in-vivo microscopy study of the cremaster muscle microcirculation in BALB/c mice with moderate to severe uremia, we show in two experimental models (adenine feeding or subtotal nephrectomy), that serum urea levels associate incrementally with a distinct microangiopathy. Structural changes were characterized by a heterogeneous pattern of focal microvascular rarefaction with loss of coherent microvascular networks resulting in large avascular areas. Corresponding microvascular dysfunction was evident by significantly diminished blood flow velocity, vascular tone, and oxygen uptake. Microvascular rarefaction in the cremaster muscle paralleled rarefaction in the myocardium, which was accompanied by a decrease in transcription levels not only of the transcriptional regulator HIF-1α, but also of its target genes Angpt-2, TIE-1 and TIE-2, Flkt-1 and MMP-9, indicating an impaired hypoxia-driven angiogenesis. Thus, experimental uremia in mice associates with systemic microvascular disease with rarefaction, tissue hypoxia and dysfunctional angiogenesis.

Ligand-Dependent Nanoparticle Assembly and Its Impact on the Printing of Transparent Electrodes.

Metal grids with submicron line diameters are optically transparent, mechanically flexible, and suitable materials for transparent and flexible electronics. Printing such narrow lines with dilute metal nanoparticle inks is challenging because it requires percolation throughout the particle packing. Here, we print fully connected submicron lines of 3.2 nm diameter gold nanoparticles and vary the organic ligand shell to study the relation between colloidal interactions, ligand binding to the metal core, and conductivity of the printed lines. We find that particles with repulsive potentials aid the formation of continuous lines, but the required long ligand molecules impede conductivity and need to be removed after printing. Weakly bound alkylamines provided sufficient interparticle repulsion and were easy to remove with a soft plasma treatment after printing, so that grids with a transparencies above 90% and a conductivity of 150 Ω sq-1 could be printed.

Spinning Hierarchical Gold Nanowire Microfibers by Shear Alignment and Intermolecular Self-Assembly.

Hierarchical structures lend strength to natural fibers made of soft nanoscale building blocks. Intermolecular interactions connect the components at different levels of hierarchy, distribute stresses, and guarantee structural integrity under load. Here, we show that synthetic ultrathin gold nanowires with interacting ligand shells can be spun into biomimetic, free-standing microfibers. A solution spinning process first aligns the wires, then lets their ligand shells interact, and finally converts them into a hierarchical superstructure. The resulting fiber contained 80 vol % organic ligand but was strong enough to be removed from the solution, dried, and mechanically tested. Fiber strength depended on the wire monomer alignment. Shear in the extrusion nozzle was systematically changed to obtain process-structure-property relations. The degree of nanowire alignment changed breaking stresses by a factor of 1.25 and the elongation at break by a factor of 2.75. Plasma annealing of the fiber to form a solid metal shell decreased the breaking stress by 65%.

Templated Self-Assembly of Ultrathin Gold Nanowires by Nanoimprinting for Transparent Flexible Electronics.

We fabricated flexible, transparent, and conductive metal grids as transparent conductive materials (TCM) with adjustable properties by direct nanoimprinting of self-assembling colloidal metal nanowires. Ultrathin gold nanowires (diameter below 2 nm) with high mechanical flexibility were confined in a stamp and readily adapted to its features. During drying, the wires self-assembled into dense bundles that percolated throughout the stamp. The high aspect ratio and the bundling yielded continuous, hierarchical superstructures that connected the entire mesh even at low gold contents. A soft sintering step removed the ligand barriers but retained the imprinted structure. The material exhibited high conductivities (sheet resistances down to 29 Ω/sq) and transparencies that could be tuned by changing wire concentration and stamp geometry. We obtained TCMs that are suitable for applications such as touch screens. Mechanical bending tests showed a much higher bending resistance than commercial ITO: conductivity dropped by only 5.6% after 450 bending cycles at a bending radius of 5 mm.

Sintering of ultrathin gold nanowires for transparent electronics.

Ultrathin gold nanowires (AuNWs) with diameters below 2 nm and high aspect ratios are considered to be a promising base material for transparent electrodes. To achieve the conductivity expected for this system, oleylamine must be removed. Herein we present the first study on the conductivity, optical transmission, stability, and structure of AuNW networks before and after sintering with different techniques. Freshly prepared layers consisting of densely packed AuNW bundles were insulating and unstable, decomposing into gold spheres after a few days. Plasma treatments increased the conductivity and stability, coarsened the structure, and left the optical transmission virtually unchanged. Optimal conditions reduced sheet resistances to 50 Ω/sq.

Genetically improved monolayer-forming tobacco mosaic viruses to generate nanostructured semiconducting bio/inorganic hybrids.

The genetically determined design of structured functional bio/inorganic materials was investigated by applying a convective assembly approach. Wildtype tobacco mosaic virus (wt TMV) as well as several TMV mutants were organized on substrates over macroscopic-length scales. Depending on the virus type, the self-organization behavior showed pronounced differences in the surface arrangement under the same convective assembly conditions. Additionally, under varying assembly parameters, the virus particles generated structures encompassing morphologies emerging from single micrometer long fibers aligned parallel to the triple-contact line through disordered but dense films to smooth and uniform monolayers. Monolayers with diverse packing densities were used as templates to form TMV/ZnO hybrid materials. The semiconducting properties can be directly designed and tuned by the variation of the template architecture which are reflected in the transistor performance.

Sharing genomes: an integrated approach to funding, managing and distributing genomic clone resources.

National biological resource centres have a vital role in archiving and distributing biological reagents that result from large-scale genome programmes. These reagents are invaluable to the research community as they enable independent validation of results disclosed in peer review and provide tools that facilitate the next steps in discovery science. Here we address the crucial issues of open access, quality of materials, integration with public databases and sustainability of resources.