TY - JOUR A1 - Quast, Helmut A1 - Gescheidt, Georg A1 - Spichty, Martin T1 - Topological dynamics of a radical ion pair: Experimental and computational assessment at the relevant nanosecond timescale JF - Chemistry N2 - Chemical processes mostly happen in fluid environments where reaction partners encounter via diffusion. The bimolecular encounters take place at a nanosecond time scale. The chemical environment (e.g., solvent molecules, (counter)ions) has a decisive influence on the reactivity as it determines the contact time between two molecules and affects the energetics. For understanding reactivity at an atomic level and at the appropriate dynamic time scale, it is crucial to combine matching experimental and theoretical data. Here, we have utilized all-atom molecular-dynamics simulations for accessing the key time scale (nanoseconds) using a QM/MM-Hamiltonian. Ion pairs consisting of a radical ion and its counterion are ideal systems to assess the theoretical predictions because they reflect dynamics at an appropriate time scale when studied by temperature-dependent EPR spectroscopy. We have investigated a diketone radical anion with its tetra-ethylammonium counterion. We have established a funnel-like transition path connecting two (equivalent) complexation sites. The agreement between the molecular-dynamics simulation and the experimental data presents a new paradigm for ion–ion interactions. This study exemplarily demonstrates the impact of the molecular environment on the topological states of reaction intermediates and how these states can be consistently elucidated through the combination of theory and experiment. We anticipate that our findings will contribute to the prediction of bimolecular transformations in the condensed phase with relevance to chemical synthesis, polymers, and biological activity. KW - ion pairing KW - radical anion KW - kinetics KW - thermodynamics KW - molecular dynamics KW - QM/MM KW - EPR Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285195 SN - 2624-8549 VL - 2 IS - 2 SP - 219 EP - 230 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Menekse, Kaan A1 - Renner, Rebecca A1 - Mahlmeister, Bernhard A1 - Stolte, Matthias A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Bowl-shaped naphthalimide-annulated corannulene as nonfullerene acceptor in organic solar cells JF - Organic Materials N2 - An electron-poor bowl-shaped naphthalimide-annulated corannulene with branched alkyl residues in the imide position was synthesized by a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling annulation sequence. This dipolar compound exhibits strong absorption in the visible range along with a low-lying LUMO level at –3.85 eV, enabling n-type charge transport in organic thin-film transistors. Furthermore, we processed inverted bulk-heterojunction solar cells in combination with the two donor polymers PCE–10 and PM6 to achieve open-circuit voltages up to 1.04 V. By using a blend of the self-assembled naphthalimide-annulated corannulene and PCE–10, we were able to obtain a power conversion efficiency of up to 2.1%, which is to the best of our knowledge the highest reported value for a corannulene-based organic solar cell to date. KW - Chemie KW - corannulene KW - nonfullerene acceptors KW - curved π-systems KW - bulk-heterojunction solar cells KW - aggregation Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-299095 UR - https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-0040-1714283 SN - 2625-1825 VL - 2 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rieth, Thorsten A1 - Tober, Natalie A1 - Limbach, Daniel A1 - Haspel, Tobias A1 - Sperner, Marcel A1 - Schupp, Niklas A1 - Wicker, Philipp A1 - Glang, Stefan A1 - Lehmann, Matthias A1 - Detert, Heiner T1 - Impact of substitution pattern and chain length on the thermotropic properties of alkoxy-substituted triphenyl-tristriazolotriazines JF - Molecules N2 - Tristriazolotriazines (TTTs) with a threefold alkoxyphenyl substitution were prepared and studied by DSC, polarized optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray scattering. Six pentyloxy chains are sufficient to induce liquid-crystalline behavior in these star-shaped compounds. Thermotropic properties of TTTs with varying substitution patterns and a periphery of linear chains of different lengths, branching in the chain and swallow-tails, are compared. Generally, these disks display broad and stable thermotropic mesophases, with the tangential TTT being superior to the radial isomer. The structure–property relationships of the number of alkyl chains, their position, length and structure were studied. KW - star-shaped compounds KW - discotic liquid crystals KW - X-ray diffraction KW - differential scanning calorimetry KW - polarizing optical microscopy KW - swallow-tail KW - heterocycles KW - structure–property relation Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-220019 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 25 IS - 23 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abdelhameed, Reda F. A. A1 - Habib, Eman S. A1 - Eltahawy, Nermeen A. A1 - Hassanean, Hashim A. A1 - Ibrahim, Amany K. A1 - Mohammed, Anber F. A1 - Fayez, Shaimaa A1 - Hayallah, Alaa M. A1 - Yamada, Koji A1 - Behery, Fathy A. A1 - Al-Sanea, Mohammad M. A1 - Alzarea, Sami I. A1 - Bringmann, Gerhard A1 - Ahmed, Safwat A. A1 - Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan T1 - New cytotoxic natural products from the Red Sea sponge Stylissa carteri JF - Marine Drugs N2 - Bioactivity-guided isolation supported by LC-HRESIMS metabolic profiling led to the isolation of two new compounds, a ceramide, stylissamide A (1), and a cerebroside, stylissoside A (2), from the methanol extract of the Red Sea sponge Stylissa carteri. Structure elucidation was achieved using spectroscopic techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR and HRMS. The bioactive extract’s metabolomic profiling showed the existence of various secondary metabolites, mainly oleanane-type saponins, phenolic diterpenes, and lupane triterpenes. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of the isolated compounds was tested against two human cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and HepG2. Both compounds, 1 and 2, displayed strong cytotoxicity against the MCF-7 cell line, with IC\(_{50}\) values at 21.1 ± 0.17 µM and 27.5 ± 0.18 µM, respectively. They likewise showed a promising activity against HepG2 with IC\(_{50}\) at 36.8 ± 0.16 µM for 1 and IC\(_{50}\) 30.5 ± 0.23 µM for 2 compared to the standard drug cisplatin. Molecular docking experiments showed that 1 and 2 displayed high affinity to the SET protein and to inhibitor 2 of protein phosphatase 2A (I2PP2A), which could be a possible mechanism for their cytotoxic activity. This paper spreads light on the role of these metabolites in holding fouling organisms away from the outer surface of the sponge, and the potential use of these defensive molecules in the production of novel anticancer agents. KW - LC-HRESIMS KW - Stylissa carteri KW - ceramide KW - cerebroside KW - docking KW - cytotoxic activity Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-205795 SN - 1660-3397 VL - 18 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hecht, Markus A1 - Leowanawat, Pawaret A1 - Gerlach, Tabea A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Stolte, Matthias A1 - Lehmann, Matthias A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Self‐Sorting Supramolecular Polymerization: Helical and Lamellar Aggregates of Tetra‐Bay‐Acyloxy Perylene Bisimide JF - Angewandte Chemie International Edition N2 - A new perylene bisimide (PBI), with a fluorescence quantum yield up to unity, self‐assembles into two polymorphic supramolecular polymers. This PBI bears four solubilizing acyloxy substituents at the bay positions and is unsubstituted at the imide position, thereby allowing hydrogen‐bond‐directed self‐assembly in nonpolar solvents. The formation of the polymorphs is controlled by the cooling rate of hot monomer solutions. They show distinctive absorption profiles and morphologies and can be isolated in different polymorphic liquid‐crystalline states. The interchromophoric arrangement causing the spectral features was elucidated, revealing the formation of columnar and lamellar phases, which are formed by either homo‐ or heterochiral self‐assembly, respectively, of the atropoenantiomeric PBIs. Kinetic studies reveal a narcissistic self‐sorting process upon fast cooling, and that the transformation into the heterochiral (racemic) sheetlike self‐assemblies proceeds by dissociation via the monomeric state. KW - liquid crystals KW - noncovalent interactions KW - self-assembly KW - structure elucidation KW - supramolecular chemistry Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-224586 VL - 59 IS - 39 SP - 17084 EP - 17090 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehmann, Matthias A1 - Dechant, Moritz A1 - Weh, Dominik A1 - Freytag, Emely T1 - Metal Phthalocyanine−Fullerene Dyads: Promising Lamellar Columnar Donor−Acceptor Liquid Crystal Phases JF - ChemPlusChem N2 - Liquid crystal (LC) shape‐amphiphiles with a disc tethered to a fullerene have been intensely studied for the application in photovoltaics, and helical nanosegregation of C\(_{60}\) has been claimed around the π‐stacking disks based on X‐ray results. The most promising materials reported to date have been resynthesized and studied comprehensively by XRS, density measurements, modelling, and electron density reconstruction. In contrast to previous reports, the results indicate that metal phthalocyanine−fullerene mesogens pack in lamellar columnar phases with p2gm symmetry. Fullerenes assemble in layers and are flanked by phthalocyanine columns, thus explaining the balanced charge carrier mobility of electrons and holes. Such variable donor−acceptor structures are promising for organic electronic applications. KW - Donor−acceptor dyads KW - fullerenes KW - liquid crystals KW - nanosegregation KW - shape-amphiphiles Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218531 VL - 85 IS - 8 SP - 1934 EP - 1938 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mahl, Magnus A1 - Shoyama, Kazutaka A1 - Krause, Ana‐Maria A1 - Schmidt, David A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Base‐Assisted Imidization: A Synthetic Method for the Introduction of Bulky Imide Substituents to Control Packing and Optical Properties of Naphthalene and Perylene Imides JF - Angewandte Chemie International Edition N2 - We report the direct imidization of naphthalene and perylene dicarboxylic anhydrides/esters with bulky ortho,ortho‐diaryl‐ and ortho,ortho‐dialkynylaniline derivatives. This imidization method uses n‐butyllithium as a strong base to increase the reactivity of bulky amine derivatives, proceeds under mild reaction conditions, requires only stoichiometric amounts of reactants and gives straightforward access to new sterically crowded rylene dicarboximides. Mechanistic investigations suggest an isoimide as intermediary product, which was converted to the corresponding imide upon addition of an aqueous base. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analyses reveal dimeric packing motifs for monoimides, while two‐side shielded bisimides crystallize in isolated molecules without close π–π‐interactions. Spectroscopic investigations disclose the influence of the bulky substituents on the optical properties in the solid state. KW - dyes KW - fluorescence KW - imidization KW - perylene imide KW - solid-state emitters Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218246 VL - 59 IS - 32 SP - 13401 EP - 13405 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stolte, Matthias A1 - Hecht, Reinhard A1 - Xie, Zengqi A1 - Liu, Linlin A1 - Kaufmann, Christina A1 - Kudzus, Astrid A1 - Schmidt, David A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Crystal Engineering of 1D Exciton Systems Composed of Single‐ and Double‐Stranded Perylene Bisimide J‐Aggregates JF - Advanced Optical Materials N2 - Single crystals of three at bay area tetraphenoxy‐substituted perylene bisimide dyes are grown by vacuum sublimation. X‐ray analysis reveals the self‐assembly of these highly twisted perylene bisimides (PBIs) in the solid state via imide–imide hydrogen bonding into hydrogen‐bonded PBI chains. The crystallographic insights disclose that the conformation and sterical congestion imparted by the phenoxy substituents can be controlled by ortho‐substituents. Accordingly, whilst sterically less demanding methyl and isopropyl substituents afford double‐stranded PBI chains of complementary P and M atropo‐enantiomers, single hydrogen‐bonded chains of homochiral PBIs are observed for the sterically more demanding ortho‐phenyl substituents. Investigation of the absorption and fluorescence properties of microcrystals and thin films of these PBIs allow for an unambiguous interpretation of these exciton systems. Thus, the J‐aggregates of the double‐stranded crystals exhibit a much larger (negative) exciton coupling than the single‐stranded one, which in contrast has the higher solid‐state fluorescence quantum yield. KW - fluorescence KW - J‐aggregates KW - perylene bisimides KW - reabsorption KW - single crystal structure Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218221 VL - 8 IS - 18 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Syamala, Pradeep P. N. A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Modulation of the Self‐Assembly of π‐Amphiphiles in Water from Enthalpy‐ to Entropy‐Driven by Enwrapping Substituents JF - Chemistry – A European Journal N2 - Depending on the connectivity of solubilizing oligoethylene glycol (OEG) side chains to the π‐cores of amphiphilic naphthalene and perylene bisimide dyes, self‐assembly in water occurs either upon heating or cooling. Herein, we show that this effect originates from differences in the enwrapping capability of the π‐cores by the OEG chains. Rylene bisimides bearing phenyl substituents with three OEG chains attached directly to the hydrophobic π‐cores are strongly sequestered by the OEG chains. These molecules self‐assemble at elevated temperatures in an entropy‐driven process according to temperature‐ and concentration‐dependent UV/Vis spectroscopy and calorimetric dilution studies. In contrast, for rylene bisimides in which phenyl substituents with three OEG chains are attached via a methylene spacer, leading to much weaker sequestration, self‐assembly originates upon cooling in an enthalpy‐driven process. Our explanation for this controversial behavior is that the aggregation in the latter case is dictated by the release of “high energy water” from the hydrophobic π‐surfaces as well as dispersion interactions between the π‐scaffolds which drive the self‐assembly in an enthalpically driven process. In contrast, for the former case we suggest that in addition to the conventional explanation of a dehydration of hydrogen‐bonded water molecules from OEG units it is in particular the increase in conformational entropy of back‐folded OEG side chains upon aggregation that provides the pronounced gain in entropy that drives the aggregation process. Thus, our studies revealed that a subtle change in the attachment of solubilizing substituents can switch the thermodynamic signature for the self‐assembly of amphiphilic dyes in water from enthalpy‐ to entropy‐driven. KW - amphiphilic dyes KW - self-assembly KW - thermodynamics KW - OEG chains KW - π-conjugated systems Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218107 VL - 26 IS - 38 SP - 8426 EP - 8434 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lambov, Martin A1 - Hensiek, Nicola A1 - Pöppler, Ann‐Christin A1 - Lehmann, Matthias T1 - Columnar Liquid Crystals from Star‐Shaped Conjugated Mesogens as Nano‐Reservoirs for Small Acceptors JF - ChemPlusChem N2 - Shape‐persistent conjugated mesogens with oligothiophene arms of different lengths have been synthesized. Such mesogens possess free intrinsic space between their conjugated arms. They form columnar liquid‐crystalline phases, in which the void is filled by dense helical packing in the neat phase similar to an oligo(phenylene vinylene) derivative of equal size. The void can also be compensated by the inclusion of the small acceptor molecule 2,4,7‐trinitrofluorenone. In solution, the acceptor interacts with the core as the largest π‐surface, while in the solid material, it is incorporated between the arms and sandwiched by the star‐shaped neighbours along the columnar assemblies. The TNF acceptors are not nanosegregated from the star‐shaped donors, thus the liquid crystal structure converts to a nano‐reservoir for TNF (endo‐receptor). These host–guest arrangements are confirmed by comprehensive X‐ray scattering experiments and solid‐state NMR spectroscopy. This results in ordered columnar hexagonal phases at high temperatures, which change to helical columnar mesophases or to columnar soft crystals at room temperature. KW - donor-acceptor interactions KW - host-guest systems KW - intrinsic free space KW - liquid crystals KW - mesogens Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218014 VL - 85 IS - 10 SP - 2219 EP - 2229 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Merz, Julia A1 - Dietrich, Lena A1 - Nitsch, Jörn A1 - Krummenacher, Ivo A1 - Braunschweig, Holger A1 - Moos, Michael A1 - Mims, David A1 - Lambert, Christoph A1 - Marder, Todd B. T1 - Synthesis, Photophysical and Electronic Properties of Mono‐, Di‐, and Tri‐Amino‐Substituted Ortho‐Perylenes, and Comparison to the Tetra‐Substituted Derivative JF - Chemistry – A European Journal N2 - We synthesized a series of new mono‐, di‐, tri‐ and tetra‐substituted perylene derivatives with strong bis(para‐methoxyphenyl)amine (DPA) donors at the uncommon 2,5,8,11‐positions. The properties of our new donor‐substituted perylenes were studied in detail to establish a structure‐property relationship. Interesting trends and unusual properties are observed for this series of new perylene derivatives, such as a decreasing charge transfer (CT) character with increasing number of DPA moieties and individual reversible oxidations for each DPA moiety. Thus, (DPA)‐Per possesses one reversible oxidation while (DPA)\(_{4}\)‐Per has four. The mono‐ and di‐substituted derivatives display unusually large Stokes shifts not previously reported for perylenes. Furthermore, transient absorption measurements of the new derivatives reveal an excited state with lifetimes of several hundred microseconds, which sensitizes singlet oxygen with quantum yields of up to 0.83. KW - borylation KW - intersystem crossing KW - luminescence KW - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon KW - triarylamine Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-217835 VL - 26 IS - 52 SP - 12050 EP - 12059 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann, Julian A1 - Fayez, Shaimaa A1 - Scheiner, Matthias A1 - Hoffmann, Matthias A1 - Oerter, Sabrina A1 - Appelt‐Menzel, Antje A1 - Maher, Pamela A1 - Maurice, Tangui A1 - Bringmann, Gerhard A1 - Decker, Michael T1 - Sterubin: Enantioresolution and Configurational Stability, Enantiomeric Purity in Nature, and Neuroprotective Activity in Vitro and in Vivo JF - Chemistry – A European Journal N2 - Alzheimer′s disease (AD) is a neurological disorder with still no preventive or curative treatment. Flavonoids are phytochemicals with potential therapeutic value. Previous studies described the flavanone sterubin isolated from the Californian plant Eriodictyon californicum as a potent neuroprotectant in several in vitro assays. Herein, the resolution of synthetic racemic sterubin (1) into its two enantiomers, (R)‐1 and (S)‐1, is described, which has been performed on a chiral chromatographic phase, and their stereochemical assignment online by HPLC‐ECD coupling. (R)‐1 and (S)‐1 showed comparable neuroprotection in vitro with no significant differences. While the pure stereoisomers were configurationally stable in methanol, fast racemization was observed in the presence of culture medium. We also established the occurrence of extracted sterubin as its pure (S)‐enantiomer. Moreover, the activity of sterubin (1) was investigated for the first time in vivo, in an AD mouse model. Sterubin (1) showed a significant positive impact on short‐ and long‐term memory at low dosages. KW - Alzheimer′s disease KW - chiral resolution KW - circular dichroism KW - Eriodictyon californicum KW - flavonoids KW - sterubin Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-215993 VL - 26 IS - 32 SP - 7299 EP - 7308 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abdelhameed, Reda F. A. A1 - Habib, Eman S. A1 - Goda, Marwa S. A1 - Fahim, John Refaat A1 - Hassanean, Hashem A. A1 - Eltamany, Enas E. A1 - Ibrahim, Amany K. A1 - AboulMagd, Asmaa M. A1 - Fayez, Shaimaa A1 - Abd El-kader, Adel M. A1 - Al-Warhi, Tarfah A1 - Bringmann, Gerhard A1 - Ahmed, Safwat A. A1 - Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan T1 - Thalassosterol, a New Cytotoxic Aromatase Inhibitor Ergosterol Derivative from the Red Sea Seagrass Thalassodendron ciliatum JF - Marine Drugs N2 - Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forssk.) Den Hartog is a seagrass belonging to the plant family Cymodoceaceae with ubiquitous phytoconstituents and important pharmacological potential, including antioxidant, antiviral, and cytotoxic activities. In this work, a new ergosterol derivative named thalassosterol (1) was isolated from the methanolic extract of T. ciliatum growing in the Red Sea, along with two known first-reported sterols, namely ergosterol (2) and stigmasterol (3), using different chromatographic techniques. The structure of the new compound was established based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) and by comparison with the literature data. The new ergosterol derivative showed significant in vitro antiproliferative potential against the human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines, with IC\(_{50}\) values of 8.12 and 14.24 µM, respectively. In addition, docking studies on the new sterol 1 explained the possible binding interactions with an aromatase enzyme; this inhibition is beneficial in both cervical and breast cancer therapy. A metabolic analysis of the crude extract of T. ciliatum using liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HR-MS) revealed the presence of an array of phenolic compounds, sterols and ceramides, as well as di- and triglycerides. KW - cytotoxic activity KW - ergosterol derivative KW - metabolic analysis KW - docking studies KW - seagrass KW - Thalassodendron ciliatum Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236085 VL - 18 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abdelhameed, Reda F. A. A1 - Eltamany, Enas E. A1 - Hal, Dina M. A1 - Ibrahim, Amany K. A1 - AboulMagd, Asmaa M. A1 - Al-Warhi, Tarfah A1 - Youssif, Khayrya A. A1 - Abd El-kader, Adel M. A1 - Hassanean, Hashim A. A1 - Fayez, Shaimaa A1 - Bringmann, Gerhard A1 - Ahmed, Safwat A. A1 - Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan T1 - New cytotoxic cerebrosides from the Red Sea cucumber Holothuria spinifera supported by in-silico studies JF - Marine Drugs N2 - Bioactivity-guided fractionation of a methanolic extract of the Red Sea cucumber Holothuria spinifera and LC-HRESIMS-assisted dereplication resulted in the isolation of four compounds, three new cerebrosides, spiniferosides A (1), B (2), and C (3), and cholesterol sulfate (4). The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were established on the basis of their 1D NMR and HRMS spectral data. Metabolic profiling of the H. spinifera extract indicated the presence of diverse secondary metabolites, mostly hydroxy fatty acids, diterpenes, triterpenes, and cerebrosides. The isolated compounds were tested for their in vitro cytotoxicities against the breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line. Compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 displayed promising cytotoxic activities against MCF-7 cells, with IC\(_{50}\) values of 13.83, 8.13, 8.27, and 35.56 µM, respectively, compared to that of the standard drug doxorubicin (IC\(_{50}\) 8.64 µM). Additionally, docking studies were performed for compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 to elucidate their binding interactions with the active site of the SET protein, an inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), which could explain their cytotoxic activity. This study highlights the important role of these metabolites in the defense mechanism of the sea cucumber against fouling organisms and the potential uses of these active molecules in the design of new anticancer agents. KW - LC-HRESIMS KW - Holothuria spinifera KW - cerebrosides KW - molecular docking KW - cytotoxicity Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-211089 SN - 1660-3397 VL - 18 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Götz, Ralph A1 - Kunz, Tobias C. A1 - Fink, Julian A1 - Solger, Franziska A1 - Schlegel, Jan A1 - Seibel, Jürgen A1 - Kozjak-Pavlovic, Vera A1 - Rudel, Thomas A1 - Sauer, Markus T1 - Nanoscale imaging of bacterial infections by sphingolipid expansion microscopy JF - Nature Communications N2 - Expansion microscopy (ExM) enables super-resolution imaging of proteins and nucleic acids on conventional microscopes. However, imaging of details of the organization of lipid bilayers by light microscopy remains challenging. We introduce an unnatural short-chain azide- and amino-modified sphingolipid ceramide, which upon incorporation into membranes can be labeled by click chemistry and linked into hydrogels, followed by 4x to 10x expansion. Confocal and structured illumination microscopy (SIM) enable imaging of sphingolipids and their interactions with proteins in the plasma membrane and membrane of intracellular organelles with a spatial resolution of 10-20nm. As our functionalized sphingolipids accumulate efficiently in pathogens, we use sphingolipid ExM to investigate bacterial infections of human HeLa229 cells by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Simkania negevensis with a resolution so far only provided by electron microscopy. In particular, sphingolipid ExM allows us to visualize the inner and outer membrane of intracellular bacteria and determine their distance to 27.6 +/- 7.7nm. Imaging of lipid bilayers using light microscopy is challenging. Here the authors label cells using a short chain click-compatible ceramide to visualize mammalian and bacterial membranes with expansion microscopy. KW - nanoscale imaging KW - bacterial infection KW - sphingolipid expansion microscopy Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231248 VL - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wehner, Marius A1 - Röhr, Merle Insa Silja A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Control of self-assembly pathways toward conglomerate and racemic supramolecular polymers JF - Nature Communications N2 - Homo- and heterochiral aggregation during crystallization of organic molecules has significance both for fundamental questions related to the origin of life as well as for the separation of homochiral compounds from their racemates in industrial processes. Herein, we analyse these phenomena at the lowest level of hierarchy - that is the self-assembly of a racemic mixture of (R,R)- and (S,S)-PBI into 1D supramolecular polymers. By a combination of UV/vis and NMR spectroscopy as well as atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate that homochiral aggregation of the racemic mixture leads to the formation of two types of supramolecular conglomerates under kinetic control, while under thermodynamic control heterochiral aggregation is preferred, affording a racemic supramolecular polymer. FT-IR spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations reveal unique packing arrangements and hydrogen-bonding patterns within these supramolecular polymers. Time-, concentration- and temperature-dependent UV/vis experiments provide further insights into the kinetic and thermodynamic control of the conglomerate and racemic supramolecular polymer formation. Homo- and heterochiral aggregation is a process of interest to prebiotic and chiral separation chemistry. Here, the authors analyze the self-assembly of a racemic mixture into 1D supramolecular polymers and find homochiral aggregation into conglomerates under kinetic control, while under thermodynamic control a racemic polymer is formed. KW - perylene bismide dye KW - nucleation-elongation KW - PI stacking KW - polymerization KW - complexity KW - mechanism KW - crystals KW - kinetics KW - growth Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230580 VL - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Binas, Oliver A1 - Bessi, Irene A1 - Schwalbe, Harald T1 - Structure Validation of G‐Rich RNAs in Noncoding Regions of the Human Genome JF - ChemBioChem N2 - We present the rapid biophysical characterization of six previously reported putative G‐quadruplex‐forming RNAs from the 5′‐untranslated region (5′‐UTR) of silvestrol‐sensitive transcripts for investigation of their secondary structures. By NMR and CD spectroscopic analysis, we found that only a single sequence—[AGG]\(_{2}\)[CGG]\(_{2}\)C—folds into a single well‐defined G‐quadruplex structure. Sequences with longer poly‐G strands form unspecific aggregates, whereas CGG‐repeat‐containing sequences exhibit a temperature‐dependent equilibrium between a hairpin and a G‐quadruplex structure. The applied experimental strategy is fast and provides robust readout for G‐quadruplex‐forming capacities of RNA oligomers. KW - biophysical investigation KW - circular dichroism KW - G-quadruplexes KW - NMR spectroscopy KW - RNA Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214892 VL - 21 IS - 11 SP - 1656 EP - 1663 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlosser, Julika A1 - Cibulka, Radek A1 - Groß, Philipp A1 - Ihmels, Heiko A1 - Mohrschladt, Christian J. T1 - Visible‐Light‐Induced Di‐\(\pi\)‐Methane Rearrangement of Dibenzobarrelene Derivatives JF - ChemPhotoChem N2 - It is demonstrated that the di‐\(\pi\)‐methane (DPM) rearrangement of carbonyl‐substituted dibenzobarrelene (9,10‐dihydro‐9,10‐ethenoanthracene) derivatives is induced by visible‐light‐induced triplet photosensitization with Ir(ppy)\(_{3}\), Ir(dFppy)\(_{3}\) or 1‐butyl‐7,8‐dimethoxy‐3‐methylalloxazine as catalysts, whereas derivatives that lack carbonyl substituents are photoinert under these conditions. Notably, the products are formed almost quantitatively. KW - dibenzosemibullvalenes KW - di-\(\pi\)-methane rearrangement KW - ethenoanthracenes KW - photocatalysis KW - photosensitization Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-212633 VL - 4 IS - 2 SP - 132 EP - 137 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zahran, Eman Maher A1 - Albohy, Amgad A1 - Khalil, Amira A1 - Ibrahim, Alyaa Hatem A1 - Ahmed, Heba Ali A1 - El-Hossary, Ebaa M. A1 - Bringmann, Gerhard A1 - Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan T1 - Bioactivity Potential of Marine Natural Products from Scleractinia-Associated Microbes and In Silico Anti-SARS-COV-2 Evaluation JF - Marine Drugs N2 - Marine organisms and their associated microbes are rich in diverse chemical leads. With the development of marine biotechnology, a considerable number of research activities are focused on marine bacteria and fungi-derived bioactive compounds. Marine bacteria and fungi are ranked on the top of the hierarchy of all organisms, as they are responsible for producing a wide range of bioactive secondary metabolites with possible pharmaceutical applications. Thus, they have the potential to provide future drugs against challenging diseases, such as cancer, a range of viral diseases, malaria, and inflammation. This review aims at describing the literature on secondary metabolites that have been obtained from Scleractinian-associated organisms including bacteria, fungi, and zooxanthellae, with full coverage of the period from 1982 to 2020, as well as illustrating their biological activities and structure activity relationship (SAR). Moreover, all these compounds were filtered based on ADME analysis to determine their physicochemical properties, and 15 compounds were selected. The selected compounds were virtually investigated for potential inhibition for SARS-CoV-2 targets using molecular docking studies. Promising potential results against SARS-CoV-2 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and methyltransferase (nsp16) are presented. KW - Scleractinia KW - marine bacteria KW - marine fungi KW - zooxanthellae KW - marine natural products KW - ADME analysis KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - molecular docking KW - RNA-dependent RNA polymerase KW - methyltransferase Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-220041 SN - 1660-3397 VL - 18 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schindler, Dorothee A1 - Gil‐Sepulcre, Marcos A1 - Lindner, Joachim O. A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Moonshiram, Dooshaye A1 - Llobet, Antoni A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Efficient Electrochemical Water Oxidation by a Trinuclear Ru(bda) Macrocycle Immobilized on Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Electrodes JF - Advanced Energy Materials N2 - Catalytic water splitting is a viable process for the generation of renewable fuels. Here it is reported for the first time that a trinuclear supramolecular Ru(bda) (bda: 2,2′‐bipyridine‐6,6′‐dicarboxylate) catalyst, anchored on multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and subsequently immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes, shows outstanding performance in heterogeneous water oxidation. Activation of the catalyst on anodes by repetitive cyclic voltammetry (CV) scans results in a catalytic current density of 186 mA cm\(^{−2}\) at a potential of 1.45 V versus NHE. The activated catalyst performs water oxidation at an onset overpotential of 330 mV. The remarkably high stability of the hybrid anode is demonstrated by X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and electrochemically, revealing the absence of any degradation after 1.8 million turnovers. Foot of the wave analysis of CV data of activated electrodes with different concentrations of catalyst indicates a monomolecular water nucleophilic attack mechanism with an apparent rate constant of TOFmax (turnover frequency) of 3200 s\(^{−1}\). KW - electrocatalysis KW - heterogeneous catalysis KW - renewable fuels KW - ruthenium bda complexes KW - water splitting Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218381 VL - 10 IS - 43 ER -