ChemMend: A Card Game To Introduce and Explore the Periodic Table while Engaging Students’ Interest

The deeply knowledge of the periodic table is one of the most important keys to understand the basic principles of Chemistry. Memorizing the elements of the groups and periods is one of the most commonly used strategies to learn the position of each element in the periodic table; nevertheless it is a hard task for most students. The use of card games can represent a useful alternative to teach some chemical aspects. Here, we present ChemMend, a new Chemical card game which will allow chemistry students to obtain a good ability in the periodic table. This game attracts the attention of the students, and it allows them to review mentally the period and group while playing; being the learning a consequence of the game. The ChemMend game will introduce and explore the periodic table in the classroom

Pseudopeptidic Compounds for Biocompatible Gels: A Review

Simple pseudopeptides derived from natural amino acids can be designed and prepared as efficient gelators for a variety of solvents, and with a high potential for biocompatibility. The appropriate selection of structural components, reviewed herein, shows how to produce gels with tailored properties, including high thermal stability

Solvent Molding of Organic Morphologies Made of Supramolecular Chiral Polymers

12sihe self-assembly and self-organization behavior of uracil-conjugated enantiopure (R)- or (S)-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diol (BINOL) and a hydrophobic oligo(p-phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) chromophore exposing 2,6-di(acetylamino)pyridine termini are reported. Systematic spectroscopic (UVvis, CD, fluorescence, NMR, and SAXS) and microscopic studies (TEM and AFM) showed that BINOL and OPE compounds undergo triple H-bonding recognition, generating different organic nanostructures in solution. Depending on the solvophobic properties of the liquid media (toluene, CHCl3, CHCl3/CHX, and CHX/THF), spherical, rod-like, fibrous, and helical morphologies were obtained, with the latter being the only nanostructures expressing chirality at the microscopic level. SAXS analysis combined with molecular modeling simulations showed that the helical superstructures are composed of dimeric double-cable tape-like structures that, in turn, are supercoiled at the microscale. This behavior is interpreted as a consequence of an interplay among the degree of association of the H-bonded recognition, the vapor pressure of the solvent, and the solvophobic/solvophilic character of the supramolecular adducts in the different solutions under static and dynamic conditions, namely solvent evaporation conditions at room temperature.partially_openopenĐorđević, Luka; Marangoni, Tomas; Miletić, Tanja; Rubio-Magnieto, Jenifer; Mohanraj, John; Amenitsch, Heinz; Pasini, Dario; Liaros, Nikos; Couris, Stelios; Armaroli, Nicola; Surin, Mathieu; Bonifazi, DavideĐorđević, Luka; Marangoni, Tomas; Miletic, Tanja; Rubio Magnieto, Jenifer; Mohanraj, John; Amenitsch, Heinz; Pasini, Dario; Liaros, Nikos; Couris, Stelios; Armaroli, Nicola; Surin, Mathieu; Bonifazi, David

A minimalistic catalytically-active cell mimetic made of a supra-molecular hydrogel encapsulated into a polymersome

A minimalistic multicomponent cell mimetic is described consisting of a fibrillar network formed by the self-assembly of a low molecular weight compound (cytoskeleton-like) that is entrapped into a polymersome (membrane-like), namely a jelly-polymersome. A simple imidazole-appended hydrogelator is used in order to obtain a catalytic nanoreactor able to hydrolyze an ester within the compartment in its self-assembled state

Self-assembled hybrid hydrogels based on an amphipathic low molecular weight peptide derivative and a water-soluble poly(para-phenylene vinylene)

The self-assembly of an amphipathic low molecular weight peptide and a water-soluble p-conjugated polyelectrolyte is studied in order to form hybrid hydrogel materials with synergistic properties. The self-assembly of the complex yields a network of one-dimensional fibrils, with enhanced fluorescence of the p-conjugated polyelectrolyte in the hydrogel form. These hybrid hydrogels are also tested to study the kinetics of release of a molecular dye.The authors thank the Cost Action CM 1304 (Emergence and Evolution of Complex Chemical Systems) for a Short Term Scientic Missions (STSM) of M. T.-S. in Mons. Research in Mons is supported by the Science Policy Office of the Belgian Federal Government (BELSPO – PAI 7/05). This work was also supported by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientique – FNRS under the under the grants n 1.B333.15F (CHIRNATES) and n F.4532.16 (MIS-SHERPA). J. R.-M. is FNRS post-doctoral researcher and M. S. is FNRS research associate. This work was also supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (Grant CTQ2012-37735) and Universitat Jaume I (Grant P1-1B2013-57). M. T.-S. thanks the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain for an FPU fellowship

Supramolecular Assemblies of DNA-Pi Conjugated Polymers

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Stimulus responsive self-assembly of Gemini Amphiphilic Pseudopeptides

Amphiphilic amino acid derived compounds are very interesting for the design of building blocks able to self-assemble into highly ordered nanostructures, in a hierarchical and controlled fashion. With this aim, the modular synthesis and the full characterization of simple Gemini Amphiphilic Pseudopeptides (GAPs) have been carried out. These compounds were designed to establish intermolecular interactions in a hierarchical way to finally render supramolecular assemblies into well-ordered nanostructures, such as fibers, tubes, tapes or spherical vesicles. Different structural variables have been implemented, such as the amino acid side chain, the length of the central spacer and the nature of the hydrophobic tails. Besides, the effect of the environment was systematically checked, by performing the studies in solvents of different polarities (chloroform, methanol or aqueous methanol) and at different pHs (neutral, basic and acidic). The non-covalent self-assembling abilities and the structural features of the GAPs have been studied in the solid (SEM, TEM and FT-IR) and in the solution states (NMR, UV, CD, FT-IR and fluorescence spectroscopy). Moreover, the connection between the solution and the solid states has been established by monitoring the slow evaporation of the solvent by ATR FT-IR. This study has allowed the establishment of a relationship between the chemical structures of the GAPs and their abilities to form nanostructures. In some optimal cases (especially for the valine derivatives with medium-length spacers and two decyloxybenzyl hydrophobic tails), they behaved as stimulus responsive self-assembling nano-structures, which form amorphous materials from non-polar solvents, nano-fibers from polar environments at neutral or basic pH and vesicles when become protonated at acidic pH values. A reasonable structural model to explain the experimental observations can be proposed through the combination of the results from the different techniques

Synthesis and organogelating ability of bis-urea pseudopeptidic compounds

A large family of amphiphilic pseudopeptidic derivatives in which the aliphatic tails are connected to the pseudopeptidic moiety through urea functionalities have been prepared with excellent yields. The synthetic procedure is simple and very efficient and allows a modular variation of a large number of structural parameters. The self-assembling properties of the resulting compounds has been studied under different conditions and using different media. Very interestingly, many of the compounds obtained have revealed to act as very efficient organogelators at low concentrations. The resulting gels provide some unusual properties. Of particular relevance are the broad scope of organic solvents that can be gelated and the high thermal stability of the resulting gels. Gels that are stable up to temperatures close to 100 °C can be obtained in some instances