Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie
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- Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie (46)
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- Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany (1)
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- SKZ – Das Kunststoff-Zentrum (1)
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- 646737 (1)
Aim of this thesis was to combine the versatility of sulfur-chemistry, regarding redox-sensitivity as well as chemo- and site-specific conjugation, with multifunctionality of poly(glycidol)s as an alternative to poly(ethylene glycol).
First the homo- and copolymerizations of EEGE and AGE were performed with respect to molar-mass distribution and reaction kinetics. A detailed study was given, varying the polymerization parameters such as DP, counter ion, solvent and monomer influence. It can be concluded that in general the rates for all polymerizations are higher using K+, in contrast to Cs+, as counter ion for the active alkoxide species. Unfortunately, K+ as counter ion commonly leads to a reduced control over polymer dispersity. In this thesis it was shown that the broad molar-mass distributions might be reduced by adding the monomer in a step-wise manner. In experiments with a syringe pump, for continuously adding the monomer, a significant reduction of the dispersities could be found using K+ as counter ion.
In analogy to the oxyanionic polymerization of epoxides, the polymerization of episulfides via a thioanionic mechanism with various DPs was successful with thiols/DBU as initiator. In most experiments bimodality could be observed due to the dimerization, caused by oxidation processes by introduced oxygen during synthesis. Reducing this was successful by modifying the degassing procedure, e.g. repeated degassing cycles after each step, i.e. initiation, monomer addition and quenching. Unfortunately, it was not always possible to completely avoid the dimerization due to oxidation. Thiophenol, butanethiol, mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol were used as thiol initiators, all being capable to initiate the polymerization. With the prediction and the narrow molar-mass distributions, the living character of the polymerization is therefore indicated.
Homo- and copolymers of poly(glycidol) were used to functionalize these polymers with side-chains bearing amines, thiols, carboxylic acids and cysteines. The cysteine side-chains were obtained using a newly synthesized thiol-functional thiazolidine. For this, cysteine was protected using a condensation reaction with acetone yielding a dimethyl-substituted thiazolidine. Protection of the ring-amine was obtained via a mixed-anhydride route using formic acid and acetic anhydride. The carboxylic acid of 2,2-dimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid was activated with CDI and cysteamine attached. The obtained crystalline mercaptothiazolidine was subjected to thiol-ene click chemistry with allyl-functional poly(glycidol). A systematic comparison of thermal- versus photo-initiation showed a much higher yield and reaction rate for the UV-light mediated thiol-ene synthesis with DMPA as photo-initiator. Hydrolysis of the protected thiazolidine-functionalities was obtained upon heating the samples for 5 d at 70 °C in 0.1 M HCl. Dialysis against acetic acid lead to cysteine-functional poly(glycidol)s, storable as the acetate salt even under non-inert atmosphere. An oxidative TNBSA assay was developed to quantify the cysteine-content without the influence of the thiol-functionality. A cooperation partner coupled C-terminal thioester peptides with the cysteine-functional poly(glycidol)s and showed the good accessibility and reactivity of the cysteines along the backbone. SDS-PAGE, HPLC and MALDI-ToF measurements confirmed the successful coupling.
This work brings forward successful implementations of ultrafast chirality-sensitive spectroscopic techniques by probing circular dichroism (CD) or optical rotation dispersion (ORD). Furthermore, also first steps towards chiral quantum control, i.e., the selective variation of the chiral properties of molecules with the help of coherent light, are presented.
In the case of CD probing, a setup capable of mirroring an arbitrary polarization state of an ultrashort laser pulse was developed. Hence, by passing a left-circularly polarized laser pulse through this setup a right-circularly polarized laser pulse is generated. These two pulse enantiomers can be utilized as probe pulses in a pump--probe CD experiment. Besides CD spectroscopy, it can be utilized for anisotropy or ellipsometry spectroscopy also. Within this thesis, the approach is used to elucidate the photochemistry of hemoglobin, the oxygen transporting protein in mammalian blood. The oxygen loss can be triggered with laser pulses as well, and the results of the time-resolved CD experiment suggest a cascade-like relaxation, probably through different spin states, of the metallo-porphyrins in hemoglobin.
The ORD probing was realized via the combination of common-path optical heterodyne interferometric polarimetry and accumulative femtosecond spectroscopy. Within this setup, on the one hand the applicability of this approach for ultrafast studies was demonstrated explicitly. On the other hand, the discrimination between an achiral and a racemic solution without prior spatial separation was realized. This was achieved by inducing an enantiomeric excess via polarized femtosecond laser pulses and following its evolution with the developed polarimeter. Hence, chiral selectivity was already achieved with this method which can be turned into chiral control if the polarized laser pulses are optimized to steer an enhancement of the enantiomeric excess.
Furthermore, within this thesis, theoretical prerequisites for anisotropy-free pump--probe experiments with arbitrary polarized laser pulses were derived. Due to the small magnitude of optical chirality-sensitve signals, these results are important for any pump--probe chiral spectroscopy, like the CD probing presented in this thesis. Moreover, since for chiral quantum control the variation of the molecular structure is necessary, the knowledge about rearrangement reactions triggered by photons is necessary. Hence, within this thesis the ultrafast Wolff rearrangement of an α-diazocarbonyl was investigated via ultrafast photofragment ion spectroscopy in the gas phase. Though the compound is not chiral, the knowledge about the exact reaction mechanism is beneficial for future studies of chiral compounds.
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Synthese, Charakterisierung und Untersuchung von Foldameren und ihren Untereinheiten im Rahmen des FOLDAPPI-Projekts (Foldamers against Protein-Protein Interaction). Des Weiteren wurden neuartig substituierte Chinoline dargestellt, um sie im Rahmen des SFB 630 auf ihre Hemmwirkung gegen Leishmanien und Trypanosomen zu untersuchen.
Im ersten Projekt wurde ein neuartiges Monomer entwickelt, welches die Wasserlöslichkeit der Foldamere verbessern sollte. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine zusätzliche, hoch polare Seitenkette in den Chinolingrundkörper eingeführt. Dieses modifizierte Monomer konnte erfolgreich synthetisiert werden. Um die Verbesserung der Wasserlöslichkeit gegenüber dem zuvor verwendeten Monomer zu testen, wurde erfolgreich ein Tetramer daraus aufgebaut. Das entschützte Tetramer konnte jedoch aufgrund seiner hohen Polarität nicht ausreichend gereinigt werden, um die abschließenden Löslichkeitsuntersuchungen durchzuführen. Um dieses Problem zu umgehen, wurde von der Umsetzung in Lösung auf Reaktionen an der Festphase gewechselt, was die Reinigung der Produkte wesentlich erleichtern sollte. Dabei wurde eine vom Arbeitskreis von I. Huc neu entwickelte mikrowellengestützte Methode verwendet. Das Referenzmolekül mit den bisher verwendeten Seitenketten konnte so ohne Probleme synthetisiert und seine Löslichkeit in Wasser bestimmt werden. Beim neu entwickelten Monomer kam es allerdings beim Aufbau des Tetrameres zu einer Zersetzungsreaktion, weshalb das abschließende Ziel nicht erreicht werden konnte.
Im zweiten Projekt wurden zwei Ziele angestrebt: Zunächst sollte ein Weg gefunden werden, die Einführung der Seitenketten an den Chinolinen erst an der festen Phase vorzunehmen, wodurch viele Syntheseschritte bei der Vorbereitung der Monomere gespart werden könnten. Zusätzlich sollte eine neue Kupplungsreaktion entwickelt werden, wodurch der Entschützungsschritt des zu kuppelnden Amins an der Festphase eingespart werden kann. Dadurch würde vor allem bei großen Foldameren das Harz geschont und die Gefahr einer Degenerierung wesentlich verringert. Für die Kupplungsreaktion vorgesehen war ein azidfunktionalisiertes Monomer, das mittels Staudinger-Reaktion verknüpft werden sollte. Das entsprechende Monomer konnte erfolgreich synthetisiert werden. Auch das erste Ziel, die Einführung der Seitenkette an der Festphase, konnte erfolgreich durchgeführt werden. Leider war die Verwirklichung beider Ziele über die gleiche Syntheseroute nicht ohne weiteres möglich. Da das Monomer ohne die Seitenkette deutlich hydrophiler wurde, wäre eine Trocknungsmethode bei erhöhter Temperatur von Vorteil gewesen, um gebundenes Wasser vollständig zu entfernen. Da das Monomer allerdings auch eine Azidfunktion trägt und sich bei 130 °C explosionsartig zersetzt, war dies nicht möglich. Allerdings genügen bereits geringe Spuren von Feuchtigkeit, um die Staudinger-Reaktion zu beeinträchtigten. Deshalb konnte das zweite Projektziel nicht verwirklicht werden.
Im dritten Projekt wurde die Herstellung einer großen Foldamer-Bibliothek für die Untersuchung der Bindungsaffinität gegenüber IL-4 angestrebt. Sie sollte aus 48 Hexameren bestehen, wobei an drei Monomeren die Seitenketten variiert werden sollten, um ein breites Spektum an verschiedenen Kombinationen von Wechselwirkungen abzudecken. Dazu wurden zunächst vier verschiedene Monomere synthetisiert, welche eine aromatisch, eine unpolare, eine anionische bzw. eine kationische Seitenkette enthielten. Für die Kupplung der Foldamere wurde eine an die Synthese von Aminosäuresequenzen angelehnte Methode entwickelt und erfolgreich angewandt. So konnten alle 48 Foldamere erfolgreich synthetisiert und 46 von ihnen in ausreichenden Mengen für die Untersuchung an IL-4 gereinigt werden. Leider liegen für diese Bibliothek bisher keine abschließenden Ergebnisse über die Inhibitionseigenschaften gegenüber IL-4 vor. Strukturell sehr ähnliche Foldamere zeigten jedoch in ersten Experimenten eine Inhibition von IL-4 was eine Wirksamkeit der neu erstellten Bibliothek vermuten lässt.
Das vierte Projekt wurde im Rahmen des SFB 630 durchgeführt. Hierzu wurden einige der ursprünglich für andere Projekte hergestellten Foldamere ausgewählt, teilweise entschützt bzw. an der Nitrogruppe reduziert und anschließend auf Ihre Aktivität gegen Leishmanien und Trypanosomen getestet. Es zeigte sich, dass das verwendete Substitutionsmuster, in den gestesteten Konzentrationen nicht gegen Leishmanien und Trypanosomen wirksam ist. Es eignet sich also nicht für die Erstellung einer neuen Leitstruktur gegen diese beiden Erreger. Allerdings trat im untersuchten Konzentrationsbereich auch keine Zytotoxizität auf, was eine interessante Information für die Verwendung der Foldamere und ihrer Bausteine in biologischen Systemen darstellt.
The propagation of the genetic information into proteins is mediated by messenger- RNA (mRNA) intermediates. In eukaryotes mRNAs are synthesized by RNA- Polymerase II and subjected to translation after various processing steps. Earlier it was suspected that the regulation of gene expression occurs primarily on the level of transcription. In the meantime it became evident that the contribution of post- transcriptional events is at least equally important. Apart from non-coding RNAs and metabolites, this process is in particular controlled by RNA-binding proteins, which assemble on mRNAs in various combinations to establish the so-called “mRNP- code”.
In this thesis a so far unknown component of the mRNP-code was identified and characterized. It constitutes a hetero-trimeric complex composed of the Tudor domain-containing protein 3 (TDRD3), the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) and the Topoisomerase III beta (TOP3β) and was termed TTF (TOP3β-TDRD3-FMRP) -complex according to its composition.
The presented results also demonstrate that all components of the TTF-complex shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, but are predominantly located in the latter compartment under steady state conditions. Apart from that, an association of the TTF-complex with fully processed mRNAs, not yet engaged in productive translation, was detected. Hence, the TTF-complex is a component of „early“ mRNPs.
The defined recruitment of the TTF-complex to these mRNPs is not based on binding to distinct mRNA sequence-elements in cis, but rather on an interaction with the so-called exon junction complex (EJC), which is loaded onto the mRNA during the process of pre-mRNA splicing. In this context TDRD3 functions as an adapter, linking EJC, FMRP and TOP3β on the mRNP. Moreover, preliminary results suggest that epigenetic marks within gene promoter regions predetermine the transfer of the TTF-complex onto its target mRNAs.
Besides, the observation that TOP3β is able to catalytically convert RNA-substrates disclosed potential activities of the TTF-complex in mRNA metabolism. In combination with the already known functions of FMRP, this finding primarily suggests that the TTF-complex controls the translation of bound mRNAs.
In addition to its role in mRNA metabolism, the TTF-complex is interesting from a human genetics perspective as well. It was demonstrated in collaboration with researchers from Finland and the US that apart from FMRP, which was previously linked to neurocognitive diseases, also TOP3β is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Understanding the function of the TTF-complex in mRNA metabolism might hence provide important insight into the etiology of these diseases.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Synthese von linearen und verzweigten funktionalisierten siliciumhaltigen Synthesebausteinen unter Verwendung der 2,4,6-Trimethoxyphenyl-Schutzgruppe sowie die Synthese cyclischer siliciumhaltiger Synthese-bausteine unter Verwendung eines Donor-stabilisierten Silylens. Diese Forschungsarbeit leistet daher sowohl einen Beitrag zur Schutzgruppenchemie des Siliciums als auch zur Chemie des nieder- bzw. höhervalenten Siliciums. Alle Zielverbindungen sowie die entsprechenden isolierten Vorstufen wurden durch NMR-Spektroskopie in Lösung (1H-, 13C- und 29Si-NMR) und Elementaranalysen (C, H, N; außer 15 und 16) charakterisiert. Die Verbindungen 34, 36, 41, 42, 45, 48, 52, 54 und 55 wurden zusätzlich durch NMR-Spektroskopie im Festkörper (13C-, 15N- und 29Si-VACP/MAS-NMR) untersucht, und die Verbindungen 1–6, 9, 18, 25, 29, 34, 36, 41, 42, 45, 48, 52, 54 und 55 wurden außerdem durch Einkristall-Röntgenstrukturanalyse charakterisiert.
Assessing particle deposition in a representative in vitro model of the rat respiratory tract
(2014)
The aim of this thesis was to develop an in vitro model (IVR) of the rat lung for the purpose of investigating the deposition of drug particles in the rat airways. The model attempted to account for the affect of drug product characteristics and physiological parameters on deposition in the lungs. In addition, the model outputs were compared with in vivo lung deposition results from live rats and in silico predictions using published computer model of lung deposition in pre-clinical species.
Initial work focussed on developing an aerosol exposure system capable of dosing small rodent to a range of airborne test materials. The system consists of two main parts; a fluidised bed aerosol generator and connection of the generator output to a nose only exposure chamber capable of accommodating 12 small animals in a single layer. In addition, an aerodynamic particle spectrometer (APS) was installed for continuously measuring the size distribution and airborne concentration of aerosol particles generated in the exposure chamber. System validation showed acceptable degree of variation of the test material tested, Fluorescent Microspheres (FMS) throughout the exposure chamber (CV < 15.0%). Particle size (MMAD ± GSD) using the APS was shown to be stable throughout the exposure periods.
The IVR model developed in this project was based on a number of euthanased (n=7), female Sprague-Dawley rats (weight: 372 ± 56 g), which underwent high-resolution micro-CT scans. The physical model consisted of five sub sections; Extra-Thoracic region containing the snout and nasophyarynx, trachea-bronchial region containing the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. All sections of the model were attached to one another in numerical order and housed within a containment unit. At the rear end of the cast, a flexible diaphragm was attached in order to collect the fraction of inhaled particles exiting the TB section and possibly reaching the lung, referred to as the Post-TB section.
A study was conducted to assess the influence of inhalation parameters such as the breathing frequency and tidal volume on total and regional dose distribution using FMS as test material. The major finding of this study was the demonstration of the model sensitivity to changes in breathing parameters especially respiratory frequency, where the data showed increased deposition in the peripheral regions of the model with decreased respiratory frequency. Other studies assessed the effect of particle characteristics on deposition on the IVR model, such as particle size, dose increase and formulation changes.
The results assessing particle size effect showed a slightly higher deposition levels for the 4µm sized particles versus 2µm sized particles in the head region; 90.8 ± 3.6% and 88.2 ± 6.6%. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance (P> 0.05) probably due to the polydispersity of aerosolised FMS particles. In addition, the regional deposition analysis showed an increased lung peripheral deposition with the smaller particles. In addition, the model was shown to be sensitive to changes in formulation composition mediated by inclusion of MgSt.
The next stage of work was to validate the model in terms of comparison with lung deposition for in vivo rats. For lung deposition comparison, the absolute amount deposited in the IVR lung model (expressed as µg/kg) was shown to have a reasonably strong correlation with in vivo lung concentration measures (µg/kg); R2= 0.66, P < 0.05. Compounds were predicted well and within 2-folds of the measured lung deposition values. However, knowing the variability in biological systems and the multiple components required to estimate lung doses, predictions within 2-fold of the measured values would seem reasonable
In terms of comparison with in silico model predictions using MPPD, similar deposition levels were noted between the two models, particularly when the data was expressed as percentage of total particles inhaled. The data showed the highest deposition levels were noted in the head region (> 80%) and less than 5.0% deposition for the peripheral lung fractions.
With regards to using the IVR model to assess the relationship between dose, particle size and efficacy, an in vivo study using FP with different particle sizes (2.0 and 4.0 µm) but same doses ( 100 and 1000 µg/kg). This study demonstrated that exposure of rat to FP powder resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of neutrophils in BAL fluids. However, a clear difference in neutrophils suppression was demonstrated for equivalent doses but different particle sizes of FP, where the smaller FP particles (2.0 µm) induced a greater level of neutrophils suppression in comparison with larger FP particles (4.0 µm). In addition, a reasonably good correlation for the relationship between lung deposition in the IVR model and a neutrophils suppression level was demonstrated. Furthermore this data support the hypothesis that regional deposition is an important determinant in efficacy. Therefore, this suggests that the IVR model may be a useful as a tool to describe in vivo efficacy with in vitro data. However, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the validity of this model and relationship.
The IVR model has a number of important limitations. First, the model is based on scans up to generation four of the rat respiratory tract as this represented the limits of the micro-CT scanning technology at the time of this study. Therefore deposition in the deeper region of the lung may not be reflected precisely in the IVR model. Second, the regional deposition data generated using the model tended to show an overestimation of deposition in head region and an underestimation of deposition in the peripheral regions of the lung, in comparison with in vivo lung deposition data. Third, the current model does not take into account lung clearance. However, the amount of the drug present in the in vivo lungs is dependent on numerous physiological processes such as dissolution, passive or active absorption into the systemic circulation, binding to lung tissue and mucociliary clearance. Consequently, the results generated using this IVR model for drug molecules with high lung clearance rate should be treated with some caution.
Future work extending this research could go in a number of directions. In this research, a representative model of the rat respiratory tract was constructed from analysis of imaging data from a number of euthanised Sprague-Dawley rats. This model represented the “average respiratory tract” in terms of dimensions of Sprague-Dawley rats. However, there is considerable variability in the airway dimensions between rats. This variability encompasses a number of factors such as the strains of rats, sex and age, and disease state. Thus, it may be possible to produce a small number of airway models to represent small and large rats and scaled to represent the extrathoracic and peripheral regions based on literature reports of their dimensions in different rat populations. This approach will then enable the effect of intersubject airway dimensions for different rat populations on aerosol deposition to be thoroughly examined.
In addition, due to the limitation of the micro-CT technology used to construct the physical IVR model, detailed morphology only up to generation 4 were captured. However, recent advances in MRI technology, such as the use of in situ-MRI based scanning technology have enabled rat airway morphometry to be extended to 16 airway generation. This coupled with improvements in the resolutions of rapid-prototyping process means it may be possible to construct a rat model that reflects the in vivo lung morphology more accurately, and thus enable greater understanding of the link between aerosol deposition and airway geometry.
In conclusion, a model cast of the rat lung was developed and validated to allow the deposition of inhaled particles in the rat lung to be investigated. The model may be used to estimate the lung concentration in vivo rats in preference to exposure concentration measurements based on filter samples which have been shown to be a poor indicator of the lung concentration immediately after exposure. In addition, the model has the potential to be used along with live rats in an inhalation rig in pulmonary pharmaceutics research and may facilitate in development of inhaled formulations to target specific regions within the lung as well as screening of inhaled drugs in preclinical setting.
Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt einen Beitrag zur Chemie des höherkoordinierten Siliciums dar. Im Vordergrund standen die Synthese und Charakterisierung neuer neutraler penta- und hexakoordinierter Silicium(IV)-Komplexe sowie die Synthese, Charakterisierung und Untersuchung der Reaktivität eines neuartigen Donor-stabilisierten Silylens.
In this work the synthesis of dendritic macromolecules and small redox cascades was reported and studies of their energy and electron transfer properties discussed.
The chromophores in the dendrimers and the redox cascades are linked via triazoles, which were built up by CuAAC. Thereby, a synthetic concept based on building blocks was implemented, which allowed the exchange of all basic components. Resulting structures include dendrimers composed exclusively of TAAs (G1–G3), dendrimers with an incorporated spirobifluorene core (spiro-G1 and spiro-G2) and the donor-acceptor dendrimer D-A-G1, in which the terminal groups are exchanged by NDIs.
Furthermore, a series of model compounds was synthesised in order to achieve a better understanding of the photophysical processes in the dendrimers.
A modification of the synthetic concept for dendrimers enabled the synthesis of a series of donor-acceptor triads (T-Me, T-Cl and T-CN) consisting of two TAA donors and one NDI acceptor unit. The intermediate TAA chromophore ensured a downhill redox gradient from the NDI to the terminal TAA, which was proved by cyclic voltammetry measurements. The redox potential of the intermediate TAA was adjusted by different redox determining substituents in the “free” p-position of the TAA. Additionally, two dyads (Da and Db) were synthesised which differ in the junction of the triazole to the TAA or the NDI, respectively. In these cascades a nodal-plane along the N-N-axes in the NDI and a large twist angle between the NDI and the N-aryl substituent guaranteed a small electronic coupling.
The photophysical investigations of the dendrimers focused on the homo-energy transfer properties in the TAA dendrimers G1–G3. Steady-state emission spectroscopy revealed that the emission takes place from a charge transfer state. The polar excited state resulted in a strong Stokes shift of the emission, which in turn led to a small spectral overlap integral between the absorption of the acceptor and the emission of the donor in the solvent relaxed state. According to the Förster theory, the overlap integral strongly determines the energy transfer rate. Fluorescence up-conversion measurements showed a strong and rapid initial fluorescence anisotropy decay and a much slower decrease on the longer time scale. The experiment revealed a fast energy transfer in the first 2 ps followed by a much slower energy hopping. Time resolved emission spectra (TRES) of the model compound M indicated a solvent relaxation on the same time scale as the fast energy transfer.
The Förster estimation of energy transfer rates in G1 explains fast energy transfer in the vibrotionally relaxed state before solvent relaxation starts. Thereby, the emission spectrum of G1 in cyclohexane served as the time zero spectrum. Thus, solvent relaxation and fast energy transfer compete in the first two ps after excitation and it is crucial to discriminate between energy transfer in the Franck-Condon and in the solvent relaxed state. Furthermore, this finding demonstrates that fast energy transfer occurs even in charge transfer systems where a large Stokes shift prevents an effective spectral overlap integral if there is a sufficient overlap integral in before solvent relaxation.
Energy transfer upon excitation was also observed in the spiro dendrimers spiro-G1 and spiro-G2 and identified by steady-state emission anisotropy measurements. It was assumed that the energy in spiro-G1 is completely distributed over the entire molecule while the energy in spiro-G2 is probably distributed over only one individual branch. This finding was based on a more polarised emission of spiro-G2 compared to spiro-G1. This issue has to be ascertained by e.g. time resolved emission anisotropy measurements in further energy transfer studies.
Concerning the electron transfer properties of TAA-triazole systems the radical cations of G1–G2, spiro-G1 and spiro-G2 and of the model compound M were investigated by steady-state absorption spectroscopy. Experiments showed that the triazole bridge exhibits small electronic communication between the adjacent chromophores but still possesses sufficient electronic coupling to allow an effective electron transfer from one chromophore to the other.
Due to the high density of chromophores, their D-A-D structure and their superficial centrosymmetry, the presented dendrimers are prospective candidates for two-photon absorption applications.
The dyads, triads and the donor-acceptor dendrimer D-A-G1 were investigated regarding their photoinduced electron transfer properties and the effects that dominate charge separation and charge recombination in these systems.
The steady-state absorption spectra of all cascades elucidated a superposition of the absorption characteristics of the individual subunits and spectra indicated that the chromophores do not interact in the electronic ground state.
Time resolved transient absorption spectroscopy of the cascades was performed in the fs- and ns-time regime in MeCN and toluene as solvent. Measurements revealed that upon with 28200 cm-1 (355) nm and 26300 cm-1 (380 nm), respectively, an electron is transferred from the TAA towards the NDI unit yielding a CS state. In the triads at first a CS1 state is populated, in which the NDI is reduced and the intermediate TAA1 is oxidised. Subsequently, an additional electron transfer from the terminal TAA2 to TAA1 led to the fully CS2 state. Fully CS states of the dyads and triads exhibit lifetimes in the ns-time regime. In contrast for Db in MeCN, a lifetime of 43 ps was observed for the CS state together with the population of a 3NDI state. The signals of the other CS states decay biexponentially, which is a result of the presence of the 1CS and the 3CS states. While magnetic field dependent measurements of Db did not show an effect due to the large singlet-triplet splitting, T-CN exhibited a strong magnetic field dependence which is an evidence for the 1CS/3CS assignment. Further analysis of the singlet-triplet dynamics are required and are currently in progress.
Charge recombination occurred in the Marcus inverted region for compounds solved in toluene and in the Marcus normal region for MeCN as solvent. However, a significant inverted region effect was observed only for Db. Triads are probably characterised by charge recombination rates in the inverted and in the normal region near to the vertex of the Marcus parabola. Hence the inverted region effect is not pronounced and the rate charge recombination rates are all in the same magnitude. However, compared to the charge recombination rate of Db the enlarged spatial distance between the terminal TAA and the NDI in the fully CS2 states in the triads resulted in reduced charge recombination rates by ca. one order of magnitude.
More important than a small charge recombination rate is an overall lifetime of the CS states and this lifetime can significantly be enhanced by the population of the 3CS state. The reported results reveal that a larger singlet-triplet splitting in the dyads led to a CS state lifetime in the us time regime while a lifetime in the ns-time regime was observed in cases of the triads. Moreover, the singlet-triplet splitting was found to be solvent dependent in the triads, which is a promising starting point for further investigations concerning singlet-triplet splitting.
The donor-acceptor dendrimer D-A-G1 showed similar characteristics to the dyads. The generation of a CS state is assumed due to a clear NDI radical anion band in the transient absorption spectrum. Noteworthy, the typical transient absorption band of the TAA radical cation is absent for D A-G1 in toluene. Bixon-Jortner analysis yielded a similar electronic coupling in D-A-G1 compared to the dyads. However, the charge recombination rate is smaller than of Db due to a more energetic CS state, which in the inverted region slows down charge recombination. In combination a singlet-triplet splitting similar to the dyads prolongs the CS state lifetime up to 14 us in diluted solution. Both effects result in an even better performance of D-A-G1 concerning energy conversion. D A-G1 is therefore a promising key structure for further studies on light harvesting applications. In a prospective study a second generation donor-acceptor dendrimer D-A-G2 might be an attractive structure accessible by “click reaction” of 13 and 8. D-A-G2 is expected to exhibit a downhill oriented gradient of CS states as assumed from the CV studies on G1–G3.
In this work the synthesis, the spectroscopic and electrochemical investigation as well as some applications of a broad diversity of indolenine squaraine dyes were presented. This diversity was based on two parent squaraine dyes, one standard trans-configured compound (M1) and one in which one central oxygen atom was replaced by a dicyanomethylene moiety (M2), which increased the acceptor strength and induced a cis-configuration. The variety of synthesised dyes included functionalised squaraine monomers, donor- and acceptor-substituted monomeric model squaraines, donor- and acceptor-squaraine copolymers, pure squaraine homopolymers, a squaraine-squaraine copolymer, as well as some conjugated cyclic oligomers.
In order to be able to synthesise all these different kinds of dyes, several bromine and boronic ester derivatives were synthesised, which enabled the use of the Suzuki cross coupling reaction, to generate model dyes and copolymers. In addition, the bromine derivatives were used to carry out the Yamamoto homocoupling reaction to the respective homopolymers and macrocycles.
The absorption maximum of unsubstituted reference dye M1 was found at ~ 15500 cm–1, while that of M2 was red-shifted to ~ 14300 cm–1 due to the increased acceptor strength of the central unit. The extinction coefficients were in the order of ~ 300000 M–1 cm–1 and ~ 200000 M–1 cm–1, respectively. It was found that the implementation of functional groups (M3–M9), additional electron donors (M10–M19) or acceptors (M20–M22) at the periphery lead to bathochromic shifts of the absorption depending on the strength of either - and/or -donating properties of the substituents.
For the bis- and triarylamine substituted dyes M10–M13 and the dibrominated dyes M5 and M7 the electronic structure of the mono- and diradical (di)cations was explored using the interplay of cyclic voltammetry, spectroelectrochemistry, and DFT calculations. It was demonstrated that the monoradical cations still show a cyanine-like character and are delocalised Robin-Day class III species due to the low redox potential of the squaraine bridge between the additional amine redox centres. To the best of my knowledge, this made M13+∙, with an N-N-distance of 26 bonds between the additional redox centres to the longest bis(triarylamine) radical cation that is completely delocalised. For the diradical dications, the situation was of larger complexity. The computed most stable energetic state of the dianisylamine-substituted dyes turned out to be a broken-symmetry state with almost equal contributions of an open-shell singlet and triplet state. In addition, it was shown that the HOMO–1→HOMO transition dominated the absorption spectra of the diradical dications where the trans-/cis-configuration of the squaraines had a direct impact due to symmetry reasons.
Based on the donor–squaraine model compounds M10–M19, a series of donor–squaraine copolymers was synthesised (P7–P12) in order to further red shift and broaden the low energy absorption band. However, these effects were only of marginal extent. Both the optical and the electrochemical derived band gaps were barely lowered compared to the respective monomeric model dyes. This was assigned to an increased squaraine-squaraine distance and resulting lower exciton coupling between the squaraine chromophores due to the bridging units. In addition, according to semiempirical calculations the bridges were twisted out of the squaraine plane what reduced conjugational effects between the chromophores. To sum up, the idea to insert additional electron rich bridging units in order to create copolymers with broad and red-shifted absorption did not fully work out for the presented systems.
The addition of strong electron accepting NDI units at the periphery resulted in M21, the most unique monomeric model squaraine in this work. The common picture of a sharp low energy squaraine absorption completely altered due to the addition of the NDIs and a rather broad and solvent dependent low energy absorption was found. Spectroelectrochemical experiments and semiempirical calculations showed that this band is a superposition of the common squaraine HOMO→LUMO transition and a partial squaraine→NDI charge transfer transition. The latter was lost upon oxidation of the squaraine and the absorption spectrum of the monocation of M21 was found to be nearly a 1:1 image of a pure squaraine monocation. Both the monomeric model M21 and the respective copolymer P13 showed low electrochemically obtained band gaps of 1.05–1.20 eV, which were the lowest of all squaraines in this work. For both dyes, transient absorption measurements in the fs-time regime revealed the ultrafast formation of a CS state via an intermediate CT state within a few ps. Besides, charge recombination to the ground state also occured within a few ps. In the polymer, there was barely any further energy or charge transfer within the excited state lifetime and therefore the CS state was confined on adjacent squaraine-NDI pairs and did not further travel along the polymer strand.
The Ni-mediated Yamamoto homocoupling reaction was applied for the synthesis of the homopolymers (P1–P5). In contrast to the donor–squaraine copolymers, those polymers revealed strongly red-shifted and broad absorption in the red to NIR region in addition to a sharp fluorescence. These features could be explained to originate mainly from the exciton coupling of localised excited states and the presence of different superstructures in solution. For the polymers P1 and P2, an elongated J-type polymer chain caused the strong lowest energy absorption band whereas a zig-zag type arrangement of the single chromophores lead to transitions into both low and high energy excited states of the excitonic manifold. For the polymers P3 and P4, several polymer fractions of different size were investigated. Here, also an elongated chain with J-type character induced the lowest energy absorption band whereas a helical H-type arrangement caused transitions to higher energies of the excitonic manifold. The fractions to which these structures were formed depended on the chain length and the solvent. In thin film measurements, it was shown that the initially in solution formed superstructures were partly retained in the thin film but could be altered by annealing procedures. A control of the superstructures should enable the controlled tuning of the optical properties. Despite the strong interaction of the chromophores in the excited state, the redox potentials of the homopolymers barely differed to those of the respective reference dyes, indicating negligible electronic interaction in the ground state.
In addition squaraine-squaraine copolymer P6, consisting of alternating parent dyes M1 and M2, was synthesised. Likewise to the homopolymers, a broad and red-shifted absorption was observed. This was explained by exciton coupling theory, which was extended to also suit alternating copolymers. In toluene, an extraordinary narrow and intense lowest energy absorption band was observed. This exchange narrowing might be a result of a highly ordered J-type structure of the polymer especially in this solvent because it was not found in others. The features of the polymer may be compared to typical J-aggregates formed from monomeric cyanine molecules for example and the polymer used as model for excitonic interactions in an alternating copolymer. Transient absorption measurements revealed a strong energy dependence of the decay traces of the copolymer, most strikingly at early decay times. This was assigned to the occurrence of multiple excitations of one polymer strand (due to the large extinction coefficients of the polymer) and resulting exciton-exciton annihilation. Due to the large exciton diffusion constants that were estimated, the static exciton-exciton annihilation was the rate limiting process of the decay, in contrast to other conjugated polymers, where in thin film measurements the decay was diffusion controlled.
To sum up, for the polymers consisting of exclusively squaraine chromophores, it was shown that the exciton coupling of single chromophores with strong transition dipole moments was a fruitful way to tune the absorption spectra.
As a side product of some of the polycondensation reactions, unprecedented cyclic conjugated oligomers such as the triarylamine-bridged dimer Dim1, the cyclic homotrimers Tri1–Tri3, and the tetramer Tet1 were obtained by recycling GPC in low yields. Especially the cyclic trimers showed unusual absorption and even more extraordinary fluorescence properties. They showed multiple fluorescence bands in the NIR that covered a range from ~ 8000–12500 cm–1 (800–1250 nm). First hints from theoretical calculations indicated that the trimer was not fully planar but comprised a mixture of both planar and bent single squaraine chromophores. However, final results of the calculations were still missing at the time of writing.
In the last part of this work, the application of some monomeric and polymeric squaraines in binary and ternary bulk heterojunction solar cells was demonstrated. Also the utilisation as a dopant in a polymer matrix in an OLED device was shown. The homopolymers P1–P4 were tested in the binary BHJ solar cells revealing poor performances and especially very low short circuit currents. The utilisation of the polymers P3 and P4 that carried the dicyanomethylene group resulted in higher open circuit voltages due to the lower LUMO energy levels but still an overall poor performance. Neither for the different alkyl chains nor for the size of the polymers was a trend observed. In the ternary BHJ solar cells, small amounts of either monomer M14 or polymers P1A, P4–1 or P13 were added to a P3HT/PCBM system in order to generate an additional pathway for charge or energy transfer that should result in a better device performance. However, for none of the tested squaraines, improved solar cells could be built. In similarity to the binary solar cells, the short circuit currents were lower compared to a P3HT/PCBM reference device. These low short circuit currents indicated that the morphology of the squaraine dyes was the major limitation in those devices. It is possible that the dimethyl groups at the indolenine hindered a favoured alignment of the compounds that would allow decent charge transport. In the squaraine doped OLED the squaraine M6 worked rather well as an NIR emitter. Already at low dye loads the fluorescence of the host polymer SY-PPV was completely quenchend and emission from the squaraine was observed. For electroluminescence measurements, a lower dye load (0.5 wt.%) compared to the photoluminescence measurements was sufficient, indicating that apart from FRET additional quenching mechanisms were at work in the electrically driven devices such as charge carrier dynamics.
Over the last decades, lithium-ion batteries have grown more important and substituted other energy storage systems. Due to advantages such as high energy density and low self-discharge, the lithium-ion battery has taken its part in the rechargeable energy storage market, and it is now found in most laptops, cameras and mobile phones. With the increasing demands for electrical vehicles and stationary energy storage systems, there is a necessity for improved lithium-ion battery materials.
In this thesis several alternative electrode materials have been examined with a main focus on the electrochemical characterisation. As an alternative to the commercial cathode LiCoO2, the LiMn2O4 cathode has been suggested due to its reduced toxicity, material abundance, reduced costs and increased specific capacity. On the anode side, several Sn-containing anodes have been investigated and steps to overcome the main challenge, the great volume expansion upon cycling, have been taken. In addition, a novel anode material group was synthesised at the University of Marburg and two substances of the lithium chalcogenidometalate networks were successfully characterised.
The cathode material, LiMn2O4, was synthesised via the sol-gel technique and several coating methods such as dip-coating, electrophoretics and infiltration were investigated. The LiMn2O4 material was initially coated on a porous metal foam as a current collector, thus providing new possibilities as the porosity of the substrate increased, mechanical stability and adhesion improved and a 3-dimensional network was obtained. In order to compare the results of the LiMn2O4 cathode material on the novel current collector, the material was also coated on a standard metallic foil and characterised. The analysis followed via X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, thermogravimetrical analysis and several electrochemical techniques.
Tin containing anode materials were chosen due to the doubling of the theoretical capacity compared with the commercially used graphite. However, a great challenge lies with using tin or tin-containing anode materials. Upon lithiation of Sn, the material can expand up to 300 %, therefore a stabilising effect is necessary to avoid a collapse of the material. This work shows several new concepts and attempts to overcome this challenge, including SnO2 nanowires deposited via chemical vapour deposition on both metallic foam and standard current collectors. A new improvement consisted of the tin - carbon nanofibers where the nanofibers form a
stabilising matrix that can partially buffer the volume change of the Sn particles. The synthesis of the Sn-containing anodes took place at the University of Cologne, while characterisation, cell preparation and optimising the electrode system were features of this thesis.
In addition, a lithium chalcogenidometalate network proved to be an interesting, new anode material group. Both Li4MnSn2Se7 and Li4MnGe2S7 (synthesised at Philipps-Universität Marburg) were electrochemically examined to better understand the lithiation processes. Both materials obtained very high specific capacities and were found to be possible alternatives to the state-of-the art anodes. All the examined electrode materials were found to have some advantage over the commercially used LiCoO2 and graphite electrodes, and a thorough characterization of the materials was performed to understand the processes that took place.