@article{KellyRolandZhangetal.2017, author = {Kelly, Mary Allison and Roland, Steffen and Zhang, Qianqian and Lee, Youngmin and Kabius, Bernd and Wang, Qing and Gomez, Enrique D. and Neher, Dieter and You, Wei}, title = {Incorporating Fluorine Substitution into Conjugated Polymers for Solar Cells}, series = {The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces}, volume = {121}, journal = {The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1932-7447}, doi = {10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b10993}, pages = {2059 -- 2068}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Fluorinating conjugated polymers is a proven strategy for creating high performance materials in polymer solar cells, yet few studies have investigated the importance of the fluorination method. We compare the performance of three fluorinated systems: a poly(benzodithieno-dithienyltriazole) (PBnDT-XTAZ) random copolymer where 50\% of the acceptor units are difluorinated, PBnDT-mFTAZ where every acceptor unit is monofluorinated, and a 1:1 physical blend of the difluorinated and nonfluorinated polymer. All systems have the same degree of fluorination (50\%) yet via different methods (chemically vs physically, random vs regular). We show that these three systems have equivalent photovoltaic behavior:,similar to 5.2\% efficiency with a short-circuit current (J(sc)) at,similar to 11 mA cm(-2), an open-circuit voltage (v(oc)) at 0.77 V, and a fill factor (FF) of similar to 60\%. Further investigation of these three systems demonstrates that the charge generation, charge extraction, and charge transfer state are essentially identical for the three studied systems. Transmission electron microscopy shows no significant differences in the morphologies. All these data illustrate that it is possible to improve performance not only via regular or random fluorination but also by physical addition via a ternary blend. Thus, our results demonstrate the versatility of incorporating fluorine in the active layer of polymer solar cells to enhance device performance.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmidtAudoersch2017, author = {Schmidt, Bernd and Aud{\"o}rsch, Stephan}, title = {Stereoselective Total Syntheses of Polyacetylene Plant Metabolites via Ester-Tethered Ring Closing Metathesis}, series = {The journal of organic chemistry}, volume = {82}, journal = {The journal of organic chemistry}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0022-3263}, doi = {10.1021/acs.joc.6b02987}, pages = {1743 -- 1760}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Total syntheses of five naturally occurring polyacetylenes from three different plants are described. These natural products have in common an E,Z-configured conjugated diene linked to a di-or triyne chain. As the key method to stereoselectively establish the E,Z-diene part, an ester-tethered ring-closing metathesis/base-induced eliminative ring opening sequence was used. The results presented herein do not only showcase the utility of this tethered RCM variant but have also prompted us to suggest that the originally assigned absolute configurations of chiral polyacetylenes from Atractylodes macrocephala should be revised or at least reconsidered.}, language = {en} } @article{SchweighoeferMorenoBoboneetal.2017, author = {Schweigh{\"o}fer, F. and Moreno, J. and Bobone, Sara and Chiantia, Salvatore and Herrmann, A. and Hecht, S. and Wachtveitl, Josef}, title = {Connectivity pattern modifies excited state relaxation dynamics of fluorophore-photoswitch molecular dyads}, series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, volume = {19}, journal = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1463-9076}, doi = {10.1039/c6cp07112k}, pages = {4010 -- 4018}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In order to modulate the emission of BODIPY fluorophores, they were connected to a diarylethene (DAE) photoswitch via phenylene-ethynylene linkers of different lengths and orientations. The latter allowed for modulation of the electronic coupling in the prepared four BODIPY-DAE dyads, which were compared also to appropriate BODIPY and DAE model compounds by steady state as well as time-resolved spectroscopies. In their open isomers, all dyads show comparable luminescence behavior indicative of an unperturbed BODIPY fluorophore. In strong contrast, in the closed isomers the BODIPY emission is efficiently quenched but the deactivation mechanism depends on the nature of the linker. The most promising dyad was rendered water-soluble by means of micellar encapsulation and aqueous suspensions were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy. Our results (i) illustrate that the electronic communication between the BODIPY and DAE units can indeed be fine-tuned by the nature of the linker to achieve fluorescence modulation while maintaining photoswitchability and (ii) highlight potential applications to image and control biological processes with high spatio-temporal resolution.}, language = {en} } @article{ReschkeMebsSigfridssonClaussetal.2017, author = {Reschke, Stefan and Mebs, Stefan and Sigfridsson-Clauss, Kajsa G. V. and Kositzki, Ramona and Leimk{\"u}hler, Silke and Haumann, Michael}, title = {Protonation and Sulfido versus Oxo Ligation Changes at the Molybdenum Cofactor in Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH) Variants Studied by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy}, series = {Inorganic chemistry}, volume = {56}, journal = {Inorganic chemistry}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0020-1669}, doi = {10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6b02846}, pages = {2165 -- 2176}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Enzymes of the xanthine oxidase family are among the best characterized mononuclear molybdenum enzymes. Open questions about their mechanism of transfer of an oxygen atom to the substrate remain. The enzymes share a molybdenum cofactor (Moco) with the metal ion binding a molybdopterin (MPT) molecule via its dithiolene function and terminal sulfur and oxygen groups. For xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) from the bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus, we used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine the Mo site structure, its changes in a pH range of 5-10, and the influence of amino acids (Glu730 and Gln179) close to Moco in wild-type (WT), Q179A, and E730A variants, complemented by enzyme kinetics and quantum chemical studies. Oxidized WT and Q179A revealed a similar Mo (VI) ion with each one MPT, Mo=O, Mo-O-, and Mo=S ligand, and a weak Mo-O(E730) bond at alkaline pH. Protonation of an oxo to a hydroxo (OH) ligand (pK similar to 6.8) causes inhibition of XDH at acidic pH, whereas deprotonated xanthine (pK similar to 8.8) is an inhibitor at alkaline pH. A similar acidic pK for the WT and Q179A. variants, as well as the metrical parameters of the Mo site and density functional theory calculations, suggested protonation at the equatorial oxo group. The sulfido was replaced with an oxo ligand in the inactive E730A variant, further showing another oxo and one Mo OH ligand at Mo, which are independent of pH. Our findings suggest a reaction mechanism for XDH in which an initial oxo rather than a hydroxo group and the sulfido ligand are essential for xanthine oxidation.}, language = {en} } @article{PloetzMegowNiehausetal.2017, author = {Pl{\"o}tz, Per-Arno and Megow, J{\"o}rg and Niehaus, Thomas and K{\"u}hn, Oliver}, title = {Spectral densities for Frenkel exciton dynamics in molecular crystals}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {146}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.4976625}, pages = {10}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Effects of thermal fluctuations on the electronic excitation energies and intermonomeric Coulomb couplings are investigated for a perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimidecrystal. To this end, time dependent density functional theory based tight binding (TD-DFTB) in the linear response formulation is used in combination with electronic ground state classical molecular dynamics. As a result, a parametrized Frenkel exciton Hamiltonian is obtained, with the effect of exciton-vibrational coupling being described by spectral densities. Employing dynamically defined normal modes, these spectral densities are analyzed in great detail, thus providing insight into the effect of specific intramolecular motions on excitation energies and Coulomb couplings. This distinguishes the present method from approaches using fixed transition densities. The efficiency by which intramolecular contributions to the spectral density can be calculated is a clear advantage of this method as compared with standard TD-DFT. Published by AIP Publishing.}, language = {en} } @article{LiebeckHidalgoRothetal.2017, author = {Liebeck, Bernd Michael and Hidalgo, Natalia and Roth, Georg and Popescu, Crisan and B{\"o}ker, Alexander}, title = {Synthesis and characterization of Methyl Cellulose/Keratin Hydrolysate Composite Membranes}, series = {Polymers / Molecular Diversity Preservation International}, volume = {9}, journal = {Polymers / Molecular Diversity Preservation International}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4360}, doi = {10.3390/polym9030091}, pages = {13}, year = {2017}, abstract = {It is known that aqueous keratin hydrolysate solutions can be produced from feathers using superheated water as solvent. This method is optimized in this study by varying the time and temperature of the heat treatment in order to obtain a high solute content in the solution. With the dissolved polypeptides, films are produced using methyl cellulose as supporting material. Thereby, novel composite membranes are produced from bio-waste. It is expected that these materials exhibit both protein and polysaccharide properties. The influence of the embedded keratin hydrolysates on the methyl cellulose structure is investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Adsorption peaks of both components are present in the spectra of the membranes, while the X-ray analysis shows that the polypeptides are incorporated into the semi-crystalline methyl cellulose structure. This behavior significantly influences the mechanical properties of the composite films as is shown by tensile tests. Since further processing steps, e.g., crosslinking, may involve a heat treatment, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is applied to obtain information on the thermal stability of the composite materials.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmidtRiemer2017, author = {Schmidt, Bernd and Riemer, Martin}, title = {Microwave-Promoted Pd-Catalyzed Synthesis of Dibenzofurans from Ortho-Arylphenols}, series = {Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry}, volume = {54}, journal = {Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry}, number = {2}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0022-152X}, doi = {10.1002/jhet.2704}, pages = {1287 -- 1297}, year = {2017}, abstract = {ortho-Aryl phenols, synthesized via protecting group free Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of ortho-halophenols and arene boronic acids, undergo a cyclization to dibenzofurans via oxidative C-H activation. The reaction proceeds under microwave irradiation in short reaction times using catalytic amounts of Pd(OAc)(2) without additional ligands.}, language = {en} } @article{MeynersMertensWessigetal.2017, author = {Meyners, Christian and Mertens, Monique and Wessig, Pablo and Meyer-Almes, Franz-Josef}, title = {A Fluorescence-Lifetime-Based Binding Assay for Class IIa Histone Deacetylases}, series = {Chemistry - a European journal}, volume = {23}, journal = {Chemistry - a European journal}, number = {13}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {0947-6539}, doi = {10.1002/chem.201605140}, pages = {3107 -- 3116}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) show extremely low enzymatic activity and no commonly accepted endogenous substrate is known today. Increasing evidence suggests that these enzymes exert their effect rather through molecular recognition of acetylated proteins and recruiting other proteins like HDAC3 to the desired target location. Accordingly, class IIa HDACs like bromodomains have been suggested to act as "Readers" of acetyl marks, whereas enzymatically active HDACs of class I or IIb are called "Erasers" to highlight their capability to remove acetyl groups from acetylated histones or other proteins. Small-molecule ligands of class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) have gained tremendous attention during the last decade and have been suggested as pharmaceutical targets in several indication areas such as cancer, Huntington's disease and muscular atrophy. Up to now, only enzyme activity assays with artificial chemically activated trifluoroacetylated substrates are in use for the identification and characterization of new active compounds against class IIa HDACs. Here, we describe the first binding assay for this class of HDAC enzymes that involves a simple mix-and-measure procedure and an extraordinarily robust fluorescence lifetime readout based on [1,3]dioxolo[4,5-f]benzodioxole-based ligand probes. The principle of the assay is generic and can also be transferred to class I HDAC8.}, language = {en} } @article{MalyarTitovLomadzeetal.2017, author = {Malyar, Ivan V. and Titov, Evgenii and Lomadze, Nino and Saalfrank, Peter and Santer, Svetlana}, title = {Photoswitching of azobenzene-containing self-assembled monolayers as a tool for control over silicon surface electronic properties}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {146}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.4978225}, pages = {8}, year = {2017}, abstract = {We report on photoinduced remote control of work function and surface potential of a silicon surface modified with a photosensitive self-assembled monolayer consisting of chemisorbed azobenzene molecules (4-nitroazobenzene). Itwas found that the attachment of the organic monolayer increases the work function by hundreds of meV due to the increase in the electron affinity of silicon substrates. The change in the work function on UV light illumination is more pronounced for the azobenzene jacketed silicon substrate (ca. 250 meV) in comparison to 50 meV for the unmodified surface. Moreover, the photoisomerization of azobenzene results in complex kinetics of thework function change: immediate decrease due to light-driven processes in the silicon surface followed by slower recovery to the initial state due to azobenzene isomerization. This behavior could be of interest for electronic devices where the reaction on irradiation should be more pronounced at small time scales but the overall surface potential should stay constant over time independent of the irradiation conditions. Published by AIP Publishing.}, language = {en} } @article{SelemaniNondoMoshietal.2017, author = {Selemani, Ramadhani Selemani Omari and Nondo, Omari and Moshi, Mainen Julius and Erasto, Paul and Masimba, Pax Jessey and Machumi, Francis and Kidukuli, Abdul Waziri and Heydenreich, Matthias and Zofou, Denis}, title = {Anti-plasmodial activity of Norcaesalpin D and extracts of four medicinal plants used traditionally for treatment of malaria}, series = {BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine volume}, volume = {17}, journal = {BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine volume}, publisher = {BioMed Central}, address = {London}, issn = {1472-6882}, doi = {10.1186/s12906-017-1673-8}, pages = {8}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: Malaria is an old life-threatening parasitic disease that is still affecting many people, mainly children living in sub-Saharan Africa. Availability of effective antimalarial drugs played a significant role in the treatment and control of malaria. However, recent information on the emergence of P. falciparum parasites resistant to one of the artemisinin-based combination therapies suggests the need for discovery of new drug molecules. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of extracts, fractions and isolated compound from medicinal plants traditionally used in the treatment of malaria in Tanzania. Methods: Dry powdered plant materials were extracted by cold macerations using different solvents. Norcaesalpin D was isolated by column chromatography from dichloromethane root extract of Caesalpinia bonducella and its structure was assigned based on the spectral data. Crude extracts, fractions and isolated compound were evaluated for antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine-sensitive P. falciparum (3D7), chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum (Dd2, K1) and artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum (IPC 5202 Battambang, IPC 4912 Mondolkiri) strains using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay. Results: The results indicated that extracts of Erythrina schliebenii, Holarrhena pubescens, Dissotis melleri and C. bonducella exhibited antiplasmodial activity against Dd2 parasites. Ethanolic root extract of E. schliebenii had an IC50 of 1.87 mu g/mL while methanolic and ethanolic root extracts of H. pubescens exhibited an IC50 = 2.05 mu g/mL and IC50 = 2.43 mu g/mL, respectively. Fractions from H. pubescens and C. bonducella roots were found to be highly active against K1, Dd2 and artemisinin-resistant parasites. Norcaesalpin D from C. bonducella root extract was active with IC50 of 0.98, 1.85 and 2.13 mu g/mL against 3D7, Dd2 and IPC 4912-Mondolkiri parasites, respectively. Conclusions: Antiplasmodial activity of norcaesalpin D and extracts of E. schliebenii, H. pubescens, D. melleri and C. bonducella reported in this study requires further attention for the discovery of antimalarial lead compounds for future drug development.}, language = {en} }