- Synthesis and characterization of fluorescent poly(aromatic amide) dendrimers
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(Chemical Equation Presented). The synthesis of a series of poly(aromatic amide) dendrimers up to the second generation is described herein. The AB 2 building block used throughout the synthesis of the dendrimers was the allyl ester of 3,5-diaminocinnamic acid, which has been synthesized from 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid in good yield with use of a four-step procedure. Dendron synthesis was achieved via a convergent approach with use of a sequence of deprotection/coupling steps. Two commercially available alcohols, L-menthol and citronellol, were coupled to the AB2 monomer by using an alkyl diacid spacer and two core units; 1,7-diaminoheptane and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine have been used to produce the final dendrimers. Characterization was carried out by NMK and IR spectroscopies, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, GPC, and DSC. The novel monomer and dendritic derivatives exhibited a strong fluorescence emission in the visible region (λ ≈ 500 nm) of the spectrum and a weak emission in the near-infrared (λ ≈ 850 nm) upon excitation in the near-UV region. The fluorescence emission characteristics were found to be solvent and dendrimer generation dependent.
- Aulenta, Francesca,Drew, Michael G. B.,Foster, Alison,Hayes, Wayne,Rannard, Steven,Thornthwaite, David W.,Worrall, David R.,Youngs, Tristan G. A.
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- Fragrance release from the surface of branched poly(amide)s
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Enzymes are powerful tools in organic synthesis that are able to catalyse a wide variety of selective chemical transformations under mild and environmentally friendly conditions. Enzymes such as the lipases have also found applications in the synthesis and degradation of polymeric materials. However, the use of these natural catalysts in the synthesis and the post-synthetic modification of dendrimers and hyperbranched molecules is an application of chemistry yet to be explored extensively. In this study the use of two hydrolytic enzymes, a lipase from Candida cylindracea and a cutinase from Fusarium solani pisii, were investigated in the selective cleavage of ester groups situated on the peripheral layer of two families of branched polyamides. These branched polyamides were conjugated to simple fragrances citronellol and L-menthol via ester linkages. Hydrolysis of the ester linkage between the fragrances and the branched polyamide support was carried out in aqueous buffered systems at slightly basic pH values under the optimum operative conditions for the enzymes used. These preliminary qualitative investigations revealed that partial cleavage of the ester functionalities from the branched polyamide support had occurred. However, the ability of the enzymes to interact with the substrates decreased considerably as the branching density, the rigidity of the structure and the bulkiness of the polyamide-fragrance conjugates increased.
- Aulenta, Francesca,Drew, Michael G.B.,Foster, Alison,Hayes, Wayne,Rannard, Steven,Thornthwaite, David W.,Youngs, Tristan G.A.
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