In chemical synthesis, rapid intramolecular rearrangements often foil attempts at site-selective bimolecular functionalization. We developed a microfluidic technique that outpaces the very rapid anionic Fries rearrangement to chemoselectively functionalize iodophenyl carbamates at the ortho position. Central to the technique is a chip microreactor of our design, which can deliver a reaction time in the submillisecond range even at cryogenic temperatures. The microreactor was applied to the synthesis of afesal, a bioactive molecule exhibiting anthelmintic activity, to demonstrate its potential for practical synthesis and production.

Can't smell this: An integrated continuous-flow microfluidic setup enables in situ generation, extraction, separation, and reaction of foul-smelling isocyanides with little exposure to the surroundings. Isocyanides were generated by dehydration of the corresponding N-substituted formamides, and several representative isocyanide-based organic reactions were successfully performed. DIPEA = N,N-diisopropylethylamine.

Along with the expansion of microfluidics into many areas of applications such as sensors, microreactors and analytical tools, many other materials besides poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) have been suggested such as poly(imide) (PI) or poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). However, the sealing methods for these materials are not reliable in that many of the methods are specific to the substrate materials. Here, we report a novel robust doubly cross-linked nano-adhesive (DCNA) for bonding of various heterogeneous substrates. By depositing 200 nm of epoxy-containing polymer, poly(glycidyl methacrylate), via initiated chemical vapour deposition (iCVD) onto various substrates and cross-linking them with ethylenediamine, a strong adhesion was obtained between the substrates. This adhesive system was not only able to bond various difficult-to-bond substrates, such as PET or PI, but it could also preserve the complicated morphology of the surfaces owing to the thin nature of the DCNA system. The DCNA allowed fabrication of microfluidic devices using both rigid substrates, such as silicon wafer and glass, and flexible substrates, such as PDMS, PET and PI. The burst pressure of the devices sealed with DCNA exceeded 2.5 MPa, with a maximum burst pressure of 11.7 MPa. Furthermore, the adhesive system demonstrated an exceptional chemical and thermal resistance. The adhesion strength of the adhesive sandwiched between glass substrates remained the same even after a 10 day exposure to strong organic solvents such as toluene, acetone, and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Also, exposure to 200 °C for 15 h was not able to damage the adhesion strength. Using the high adhesive strength and flexibility of DCNA, flexible microfluidic devices that can be completely folded or rolled without any delamination during the operation were fabricated. The DCNA bonding is highly versatile in the sealing of microfluidic systems, and is compatible with a wide selection of materials, including flexible and foldable substrates, even upon sealing few-μm-sized channels.

We present covalently self-assembled peptide hollow nanocapsule and peptide lamella. These biomimetic dityrosine peptide nanostructures are synthesized by one-step photopolymerization of a tyrosine-rich short peptide without the aid of a template. This simple approach offers direct synthesis of fluorescent peptide nanocages and free-standing thin films. The simple crosslinked peptide lamella films provide robust mechanical properties with an elastic modulus of approximately 30 GPa and a hardness of 740 MPa. These nanostructures also allow for the design of peptidosomes. The approach taken here represents a rare example of covalent self-assembly of short peptides into nano-objects, which may be useful as microcompartments and separation membranes.

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