@misc{BrauneLatourReinthaleretal.2019, author = {Braune, Steffen and Latour, Robert A. and Reinthaler, Markus and Landmesser, Ulf and Lendlein, Andreas and Jung, Friedrich}, title = {In Vitro Thrombogenicity Testing of Biomaterials}, series = {Advanced healthcare materials}, volume = {8}, journal = {Advanced healthcare materials}, number = {21}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {2192-2640}, doi = {10.1002/adhm.201900527}, pages = {17}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The short- and long-term thrombogenicity of implant materials is still unpredictable, which is a significant challenge for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. A knowledge-based approach for implementing biofunctions in materials requires a detailed understanding of the medical device in the biological system. In particular, the interplay between material and blood components/cells as well as standardized and commonly acknowledged in vitro test methods allowing a reproducible categorization of the material thrombogenicity requires further attention. Here, the status of in vitro thrombogenicity testing methods for biomaterials is reviewed, particularly taking in view the preparation of test materials and references, the selection and characterization of donors and blood samples, the prerequisites for reproducible approaches and applied test systems. Recent joint approaches in finding common standards for a reproducible testing are summarized and perspectives for a more disease oriented in vitro thrombogenicity testing are discussed.}, language = {en} } @misc{WolffCaprioglioStolterfohtetal.2019, author = {Wolff, Christian Michael and Caprioglio, Pietro and Stolterfoht, Martin and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Nonradiative Recombination in Perovskite Solar Cells}, series = {Advanced materials}, volume = {31}, journal = {Advanced materials}, number = {52}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {0935-9648}, doi = {10.1002/adma.201902762}, pages = {20}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Perovskite solar cells combine high carrier mobilities with long carrier lifetimes and high radiative efficiencies. Despite this, full devices suffer from significant nonradiative recombination losses, limiting their V-OC to values well below the Shockley-Queisser limit. Here, recent advances in understanding nonradiative recombination in perovskite solar cells from picoseconds to steady state are presented, with an emphasis on the interfaces between the perovskite absorber and the charge transport layers. Quantification of the quasi-Fermi level splitting in perovskite films with and without attached transport layers allows to identify the origin of nonradiative recombination, and to explain the V-OC of operational devices. These measurements prove that in state-of-the-art solar cells, nonradiative recombination at the interfaces between the perovskite and the transport layers is more important than processes in the bulk or at grain boundaries. Optical pump-probe techniques give complementary access to the interfacial recombination pathways and provide quantitative information on transfer rates and recombination velocities. Promising optimization strategies are also highlighted, in particular in view of the role of energy level alignment and the importance of surface passivation. Recent record perovskite solar cells with low nonradiative losses are presented where interfacial recombination is effectively overcome-paving the way to the thermodynamic efficiency limit.}, language = {en} } @misc{FudickarLinker2018, author = {Fudickar, Werner and Linker, Torsten}, title = {Release of Singlet Oxygen from Organic Peroxides under Mild Conditions}, series = {ChemPhotoChem}, volume = {2}, journal = {ChemPhotoChem}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {2367-0932}, doi = {10.1002/cptc.201700235}, pages = {548 -- 558}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Singlet oxygen can be released in the dark in nearly quantitative yield from endoperoxides of naphthalenes, anthracenes and pyridones as an alternative to its generation by photosensitization. Recently, new donor systems have been designed which operate at very low temperatures but which are prepared from their parent forms at acceptable rates. Enhancement of the reactivity of donors is conveniently achieved by the design of the substitution pattern or through the use of plasmonic heating of nanoparticle-bound donors. The most important aim of these donor molecules is to transfer singlet oxygen in a controlled and directed manner to a target. Low temperatures and the linking between donors and acceptors reduce the random walk of oxygen and may force an attack at the desired position. By using chiral donor systems, new stereocenters might be introduced into prochiral acceptors.}, language = {en} } @misc{BornhorstKippHaaseetal.2018, author = {Bornhorst, Julia and Kipp, Anna P. and Haase, Hajo and Meyer, Soeren and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {The crux of inept biomarkers for risks and benefits of trace elements}, series = {Trends in Analytical Chemistry}, volume = {104}, journal = {Trends in Analytical Chemistry}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0165-9936}, doi = {10.1016/j.trac.2017.11.007}, pages = {183 -- 190}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Nowadays, the role of trace elements (TE) is of growing interest because dyshomeostasis of selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) is supposed to be a risk factor for several diseases. Thereby, research focuses on identifying new biomarkers for the TE status to allow for a more reliable description of the individual TE and health status. This review mirrors a lack of well-defined, sensitive, and selective biomarkers and summarizes technical limitations to measure them. Thus, the capacity to assess the relationship between dietary TE intake, homeostasis, and health is restricted, which would otherwise provide the basis to define adequate intake levels of single TE in both healthy and diseased humans. Besides that, our knowledge is even more limited with respect to the real life situation of combined TE intake and putative interactions between single TE.}, language = {en} } @misc{MotaCoelhoLeimkuehleretal.2018, author = {Mota, Cristiano and Coelho, Catarina and Leimk{\"u}hler, Silke and Garattini, Enrico and Terao, Mineko and Santos-Silva, Teresa and Romao, Maria Joao}, title = {Critical overview on the structure and metabolism of human aldehyde oxidase and its role in pharmacokinetics}, series = {Coordination chemistry reviews}, volume = {368}, journal = {Coordination chemistry reviews}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {0010-8545}, doi = {10.1016/j.ccr.2018.04.006}, pages = {35 -- 59}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Aldehyde oxidases are molybdenum and flavin dependent enzymes characterized by a very wide substrate specificity and performing diverse reactions that include oxidations (e.g., aldehydes and azaheterocycles), hydrolysis of amide bonds, and reductions (e.g., nitro, S-oxides and N-oxides). Oxidation reactions and amide hydrolysis occur at the molybdenum site while the reductions are proposed to occur at the flavin site. AOX activity affects the metabolism of different drugs and xenobiotics, some of which designed to resist other liver metabolizing enzymes (e.g., cytochrome P450 monooxygenase isoenzymes), raising its importance in drug development. This work consists of a comprehensive overview on aldehyde oxidases, concerning the genetic evolution of AOX, its diversity among the human population, the crystal structures available, the known catalytic reactions and the consequences in pre-clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies. Analysis of the different animal models generally used for pre-clinical trials and comparison between the human (hAOX1), mouse homologs as well as the related xanthine oxidase (XOR) are extensively considered. The data reviewed also include a systematic analysis of representative classes of molecules that are hAOX1 substrates as well as of typical and well characterized hAOX1 inhibitors. The considerations made on the basis of a structural and functional analysis are correlated with reported kinetic and metabolic data for typical classes of drugs, searching for potential structural determinants that may dictate substrate and/or inhibitor specificities.}, language = {en} } @misc{YarmanKurbanogluJetzschmannetal.2018, author = {Yarman, Aysu and Kurbanoglu, Sevinc and Jetzschmann, Katharina J. and Ozkan, Sibel A. and Wollenberger, Ulla and Scheller, Frieder W.}, title = {Electrochemical MIP-Sensors for Drugs}, series = {Current Medicinal Chemistry}, volume = {25}, journal = {Current Medicinal Chemistry}, number = {33}, publisher = {Bentham Science Publishers LTD}, address = {Sharjah}, issn = {0929-8673}, doi = {10.2174/0929867324666171005103712}, pages = {4007 -- 4019}, year = {2018}, abstract = {In order to replace bio-macromolecules by stable synthetic materials in separation techniques and bioanalysis biomimetic receptors and catalysts have been developed: Functional monomers are polymerized together with the target analyte and after template removal cavities are formed in the "molecularly imprinted polymer" (MIP) which resemble the active sites of antibodies and enzymes. Starting almost 80 years ago, around 1,100 papers on MIPs were published in 2016. Electropolymerization allows to deposit MIPs directly on voltammetric electrodes or chips for quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). For the readout of MIPs for drugs amperometry, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) offer higher sensitivity as compared with QCM or SPR. Application of simple electrochemical devices allows both the reproducible preparation of MIP sensors, but also the sensitive signal generation. Electrochemical MIP-sensors for the whole arsenal of drugs, e.g. the most frequently used analgesics, antibiotics and anticancer drugs have been presented in literature and tested under laboratory conditions. These biomimetic sensors typically have measuring ranges covering the lower nano-up to millimolar concentration range and they are stable under extreme pH and in organic solvents like nonaqueous extracts.}, language = {en} } @misc{HeckMichaeliBaldetal.2018, author = {Heck, Christian and Michaeli, Yael and Bald, Ilko and Ebenstein, Yuval}, title = {Analytical epigenetics}, series = {Current Opinion in Biotechnology}, volume = {55}, journal = {Current Opinion in Biotechnology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {London}, issn = {0958-1669}, doi = {10.1016/j.copbio.2018.09.006}, pages = {151 -- 158}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The field of epigenetics describes the relationship between genotype and phenotype, by regulating gene expression without changing the canonical base sequence of DNA. It deals with molecular genomic information that is encoded by a rich repertoire of chemical modifications and molecular interactions. This regulation involves DNA, RNA and proteins that are enzymatically tagged with small molecular groups that alter their physical and chemical properties. It is now clear that epigenetic alterations are involved in development and disease, and thus, are the focus of intensive research. The ability to record epigenetic changes and quantify them in rare medical samples is critical for next generation diagnostics. Optical detection offers the ultimate single-molecule sensitivity and the potential for spectral multiplexing. Here we review recent progress in ultrasensitive optical detection of DNA and histone modifications.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchoeneRochSchulzetal.2017, author = {Sch{\"o}ne, Anne-Christin and Roch, Toralf and Schulz, Burkhard and Lendlein, Andreas}, title = {Evaluating polymeric biomaterial-environment interfaces by Langmuir monolayer techniques}, series = {Interface : journal of the Royal Society}, volume = {14}, journal = {Interface : journal of the Royal Society}, publisher = {Royal Society}, address = {London}, issn = {1742-5689}, doi = {10.1098/rsif.2016.1028}, pages = {18}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Polymeric biomaterials are of specific relevance in medical and pharmaceutical applications due to their wide range of tailorable properties and functionalities. The knowledge about interactions of biomaterials with their biological environment is of crucial importance for developing highly sophisticated medical devices. To achieve optimal in vivo performance, a description at the molecular level is required to gain better understanding about the surface of synthetic materials for tailoring their properties. This is still challenging and requires the comprehensive characterization of morphological structures, polymer chain arrangements and degradation behaviour. The review discusses selected aspects for evaluating polymeric biomaterial-environment interfaces by Langmuir monolayer methods as powerful techniques for studying interfacial properties, such as morphological and degradation processes. The combination of spectroscopic, microscopic and scattering methods with the Langmuir techniques adapted to polymers can substantially improve the understanding of their in vivo behaviour.}, language = {en} } @misc{HuZhaoZhangetal.2017, author = {Hu, Shuangyan and Zhao, Junpeng and Zhang, Guangzhao and Schlaad, Helmut}, title = {Macromolecular architectures through organocatalysis}, series = {Progress in Polymer Science}, volume = {74}, journal = {Progress in Polymer Science}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0079-6700}, doi = {10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2017.07.002}, pages = {34 -- 77}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In virtue of the rising demand for metal-free polymeric materials, organocatalytic polymerization has emerged and blossomed unprecedentedly in the past 15 years into an appealing research area and a powerful arsenal for polymer synthesis. In addition to the inherent merits as being metal-free, small molecule organocatalysts have also provided opportunities to develop alternative and, in many cases, more expedient synthetic approaches toward macromolecular architectures, that play a crucial role in shaping the properties of the obtained polymers. A majority of preliminary studies exploring for new catalysts, catalytic mechanisms and optimized polymerization conditions are extended to application of the catalytic systems on rational design and controlled synthesis of various macromolecular architectures. Such endeavors are described in this review, categorized by the architectural elements including chain structure (types, sequence and composition of monomeric units constituting the polymer chains), topological structure (the fashion different polymer chains are covalently attached to each other within the macromolecule) and functionality (position and amount of functional groups that endow the entire macromolecule with specific chemical, physico-chemical or biological properties). (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.}, language = {en} } @misc{HoogenboomSchlaad2017, author = {Hoogenboom, Richard and Schlaad, Helmut}, title = {Thermoresponsive poly(2-oxazoline)s, polypeptoids, and polypeptides}, series = {Polymer Chemistry}, volume = {8}, journal = {Polymer Chemistry}, number = {1}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1759-9954}, doi = {10.1039/c6py01320a}, pages = {24 -- 40}, year = {2017}, abstract = {This review covers the recent advances in the emerging field of thermoresponsive polyamides or polymeric amides, i.e., poly(2-oxazoline)s, polypeptoids, and polypeptides, with a specific focus on structure-thermoresponsive property relationships, self-assembly, and applications.}, language = {en} } @misc{GangloffUlbrichtLorsonetal.2016, author = {Gangloff, Niklas and Ulbricht, Juliane and Lorson, Thomas and Schlaad, Helmut and Luxenhofer, Robert}, title = {Peptoids and Polypeptoids at the Frontier of Supra- and Macromolecular Engineering}, series = {Chemical reviews}, volume = {116}, journal = {Chemical reviews}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0009-2665}, doi = {10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00201}, pages = {1753 -- 1802}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @misc{VankarLinker2015, author = {Vankar, Yashwant D. and Linker, Torsten}, title = {Recent Developments in the Synthesis of 2-C-Branched and 1,2-Annulated Carbohydrates}, series = {European journal of organic chemistry}, journal = {European journal of organic chemistry}, number = {35}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1434-193X}, doi = {10.1002/ejoc.201501176}, pages = {7633 -- 7642}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The importance of carbohydrate chemistry in biological and medicinal chemistry has led to enormous developments in the synthesis of carbohydrate mimics. In this context, the synthesis of branched sugars in general and of 2-C-branched carbohydrates in particular, as well as the synthesis of 1,2-annulated sugars, have received immense attention. They serve not only as carbohydrate mimics in the form of stand-alone molecules, but also as useful intermediates in the synthesis of many natural products, their analogues, and glycosidase inhibitors. This microreview covers the recent synthetic efforts in this area and puts the subject matter into proper perspective for future developments.}, language = {en} } @misc{Taubert2015, author = {Taubert, Andreas}, title = {Electrospinning of Ionogels: Current Status and Future Perspectives}, series = {European journal of inorganic chemistry : a journal of ChemPubSoc Europe}, journal = {European journal of inorganic chemistry : a journal of ChemPubSoc Europe}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1434-1948}, doi = {10.1002/ejic.201402490}, pages = {1148 -- 1159}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Ionogels (IGs), also termed ion gels, are functional hybrid materials based on an ionic liquid (IL) and a polymeric, hybrid, or inorganic matrix. IGs combine the properties of the matrix such as mechanical strength with IL properties like high ionic conductivity, high thermal stability, or catalytic activity. IGs are thus attractive for many applications, but the vast majority of IGs made and published so far are bulk materials or dense films. Applications like sensing or catalysis, however, would benefit from IGs with high surface areas or defined surface morphologies or architectures. In spite of this, only relatively few examples of high-surface-area IGs have been made so far; this has mostly been achieved by electrospinning, which has proven to be a promising strategy towards advanced IGs. The current review discusses first developments and outlines the future potential of electrospun ionogels, predominantly from a materials and inorganic chemistry perspective.}, language = {en} } @misc{WuGlebeBoeker2015, author = {Wu, Lei and Glebe, Ulrich and B{\"o}ker, Alexander}, title = {Surface-initiated controlled radical polymerizations from silica nanoparticles, gold nanocrystals, and bionanoparticles}, series = {Polymer Chemistry}, volume = {6}, journal = {Polymer Chemistry}, number = {29}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1759-9954}, doi = {10.1039/c5py00525f}, pages = {5143 -- 5184}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In recent years, core/shell nanohybrids containing a nanoparticle core and a distinct surrounding shell of polymer brushes have received extensive attention in nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, catalysis, nanopatterning, drug delivery, biosensing, and many others. From the large variety of existing polymerization methods on the one hand and strategies for grafting onto nanoparticle surfaces on the other hand, the combination of grafting-from with controlled radical polymerization (CRP) techniques has turned out to be the best suited for synthesizing these well-defined core/shell nanohybrids and is known as surface-initiated CRP. Most common among these are surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and surface-initiated nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP). This review highlights the state of the art of growing polymers from nanoparticles using surface-initiated CRP techniques. We focus on mechanistic aspects, synthetic procedures, and the formation of complex architectures as well as novel properties. From the vast number of examples of nanoparticle/polymer hybrids formed by surface-initiated CRP techniques, we present nanohybrid formation from the particularly important and most studied silica nanoparticles, gold nanocrystals, and proteins which can be regarded as bionanoparticles.}, language = {en} } @misc{BandraukParamonov2014, author = {Bandrauk, Andre D. and Paramonov, Guennaddi K.}, title = {Excitation of muonic molecules dd mu and dt mu by super-intense attosecond soft X-ray laser pulses: Shaped post-laser-pulse muonic oscillations and enhancement of nuclear fusion}, series = {International journal of modern physics : E, Nuclear physics}, volume = {23}, journal = {International journal of modern physics : E, Nuclear physics}, number = {9}, publisher = {World Scientific}, address = {Singapore}, issn = {0218-3013}, doi = {10.1142/S0218301314300148}, pages = {34}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The quantum dynamics of muonic molecular ions dd mu and dt mu excited by linearly polarized along the molecular (z)-axis super-intense laser pulses is studied beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation by the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation within a three-dimensional model, including the internuclear distance R and muon coordinates z and rho. The peak-intensity of the super-intense laser pulses used in our simulations is I-0 = 3.51 x 10(22) W/cm(2) and the wavelength is lambda(l) = 5nm. In both dd mu and dt mu, expectation values < z > and of muon demonstrate "post-laser-pulse" oscillations after the ends of the laser pulses. In dd mu post-laser-pulse z-oscillations appear as shaped nonoverlapping "echo-pulses". In dt mu post-laser-pulse muonic z-oscillations appear as comparatively slow large-amplitude oscillations modulated with small-amplitude pulsations. The post-laser-pulse rho-oscillations in both dd mu and dt mu appear, for the most part, as overlapping "echo-pulses". The post-laser-pulse oscillations do not occur if the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is employed. Power spectra generated due to muonic motion along both optically active z and optically passive rho degrees of freedom are calculated. The fusion probability in dt mu can be increased by more than 11 times by making use of three sequential super-intense laser pulses. The energy released from the dt fusion in dt mu can by more than 20 GeV exceed the energy required to produce a usable muon and the energy of the laser pulses used to enhance the fusion. The possibility of power production from the laser-enhanced muon-catalyzed fusion is discussed.}, language = {en} } @misc{KoerzdoerferBredas2014, author = {K{\"o}rzd{\"o}rfer, Thomas and Bredas, Jean-Luc}, title = {Organic electronic materials: recent advances in the DFT description of the ground and excited states using tuned range-separated hybrid functionals}, series = {Accounts of chemical research}, volume = {47}, journal = {Accounts of chemical research}, number = {11}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0001-4842}, doi = {10.1021/ar500021t}, pages = {3284 -- 3291}, year = {2014}, abstract = {CONSPECTUS: Density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent extension (TD-DFT) are powerful tools enabling the theoretical prediction of the ground- and excited-state properties of organic electronic materials with reasonable accuracy at affordable computational costs. Due to their excellent accuracy-to-numerical-costs ratio, semilocal and global hybrid functionals such as B3LYP have become the workhorse for geometry optimizations and the prediction of vibrational spectra in modern theoretical organic chemistry. Despite the overwhelming success of these out-of-the-box functionals for such applications, the computational treatment of electronic and structural properties that are of particular interest in organic electronic materials sometimes reveals severe and qualitative failures of such functionals. Important examples include the overestimation of conjugation, torsional barriers, and electronic coupling as well as the underestimation of bond-length alternations or excited-state energies in low-band-gap polymers. In this Account, we highlight how these failures can be traced back to the delocalization error inherent to semilocal and global hybrid functionals, which leads to the spurious delocalization of electron densities and an overestimation of conjugation. The delocalization error for systems and functionals of interest can be quantified by allowing for fractional occupation of the highest occupied molecular orbital. It can be minimized by using long-range corrected hybrid functionals and a nonempirical tuning procedure for the range-separation parameter. We then review the benefits and drawbacks of using tuned long-range corrected hybrid functionals for the description of the ground and excited states of pi-conjugated systems. In particular, we show that this approach provides for robust and efficient means of characterizing the electronic couplings in organic mixed-valence systems, for the calculation of accurate torsional barriers at the polymer limit, and for the reliable prediction of the optical absorption spectrum of low-band-gap polymers. We also explain why the use of standard, out-of-the-box range-separation parameters is not recommended for the DFT and/or TD-DFT description of the ground and excited states of extended, pi-conjugated systems. Finally, we highlight a severe drawback of tuned range-separated hybrid functionals by discussing the example of the calculation of bond-length alternation in polyacetylene, which leads us to point out the challenges for future developments in this field.}, language = {en} } @misc{Kleinpeter2014, author = {Kleinpeter, Erich}, title = {Quantification and visualization of the anisotropy effect in NMR spectroscopy by through-space NMR shieldings}, series = {Annual reports on NMR spectroscopy}, volume = {82}, journal = {Annual reports on NMR spectroscopy}, editor = {Webb, GA}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {San Diego}, isbn = {978-0-12-800184-4}, issn = {0066-4103}, doi = {10.1016/B978-0-12-800184-4.00003-5}, pages = {115 -- 166}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The anisotropy effect of functional groups (respectively the ring-current effect of aryl moieties) in H-1 NMR spectra has been computed as spatial NICS (through-space NMR chemical shieldings) and visualized by iso-chemical-shielding surfaces of various size and low(high) field direction. Hereby, the anisotropy/ring-current effect, which proves to be the molecular response property of spatial NICS, can be quantified and can be readily employed for assignment purposes in proton NMR spectroscopy-characteristic examples of stereochemistry and position assignments (the latter in supramolecular structures) will be given. In addition, anisotropy/ring-current effects in H-1 NMR spectra can be quantitatively separated from the second dominant structural effect in proton NMR spectra, the steric compression effect, pointing into the reverse direction, and the ring-current effect, by far the strongest anisotropy effect, can be impressively employed to visualize and quantify (anti) aromaticity and to clear up standing physical-organic phenomena as are pseudo-, spherical, captodative, homo-and chelatoaromaticity, to characterize the pi-electronic structure of, for example, fulvenes, fulvalenes, annulenes or fullerenes and to differentiate aromatic and quinonoid structures.}, language = {en} } @misc{Laschewsky2014, author = {Laschewsky, Andr{\´e}}, title = {Structures and synthesis of zwitterionic polymers}, series = {Polymers}, volume = {6}, journal = {Polymers}, number = {5}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4360}, doi = {10.3390/polym6051544}, pages = {1544 -- 1601}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The structures and synthesis of polyzwitterions ("polybetaines") are reviewed, emphasizing the literature of the past decade. Particular attention is given to the general challenges faced, and to successful strategies to obtain polymers with a true balance of permanent cationic and anionic groups, thus resulting in an overall zero charge. Also, the progress due to applying new methodologies from general polymer synthesis, such as controlled polymerization methods or the use of "click" chemical reactions is presented. Furthermore, the emerging topic of responsive ("smart") polyzwitterions is addressed. The considerations and critical discussions are illustrated by typical examples.}, language = {en} } @misc{BaldKeller2014, author = {Bald, Ilko and Keller, Adrian}, title = {Molecular processes studied at a single-molecule level using DNA origami nanostructures and atomic force microscopy}, series = {Molecules}, volume = {19}, journal = {Molecules}, number = {9}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1420-3049}, doi = {10.3390/molecules190913803}, pages = {13803 -- 13823}, year = {2014}, abstract = {DNA origami nanostructures allow for the arrangement of different functionalities such as proteins, specific DNA structures, nanoparticles, and various chemical modifications with unprecedented precision. The arranged functional entities can be visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) which enables the study of molecular processes at a single-molecular level. Examples comprise the investigation of chemical reactions, electron-induced bond breaking, enzymatic binding and cleavage events, and conformational transitions in DNA. In this paper, we provide an overview of the advances achieved in the field of single-molecule investigations by applying atomic force microscopy to functionalized DNA origami substrates.}, language = {en} } @misc{UnuabonahTaubert2014, author = {Unuabonah, Emmanuel I. and Taubert, Andreas}, title = {Clay-polymer nanocomposites (CPNs): Adsorbents of the future for water treatment}, series = {Applied clay science : an international journal on the application and technology of clays and clay minerals}, volume = {99}, journal = {Applied clay science : an international journal on the application and technology of clays and clay minerals}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0169-1317}, doi = {10.1016/j.clay.2014.06.016}, pages = {83 -- 92}, year = {2014}, abstract = {A class of adsorbents currently receiving growing attention is the clay-polymer nanocomposite (CPN) adsorbents. CPNs effectively treat water by adsorption and flocculation of both inorganic and organic micropollutants from aqueous solutions. Some of these CPNs - when modified with biocides - also have the ability to efficiently remove microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans from water. CPNs are far more easily recovered from aqueous media than neat clay. They also exhibit far better treatment times than either polymer or clay adsorbents. They have higher adsorption capacity and better life cycles compared with clay alone. CPNs therefore show an excellent potential as highly efficient water and waste treatment agents. This article reviews the various CPNs that have been prepared recently and used as adsorbents in the removal of micropollutants (inorganic, organic and biological) from aqueous solutions. A special focus is placed on CPNs that are not only interesting from an academic point of view but also effectively reduce the concentration of micropollutants in water to safe limits and also on new developments bordering on CPN use as water treatment agent that have not yet realized their full potential. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} }