Gold nanoparticles provide a template for preparing supported lipid layers with well-defined curvature. Here, we utilize the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of gold nanoparticles as a sensor for monitoring the preparation of lipid layers on nanoparticles. The LSPR is very sensitive to the immediate surroundings of the nanoparticle surface and it is used to monitor the coating of lipids and subsequent conversion of a supported bilayer to a hybrid membrane with an outer lipid leaflet and an inner leaflet containing hydrophobic alkanethiol. We demonstrate that both decanethiol and propanethiol are able to form hybrid membranes and that the membrane created over the shorter thiol can be stripped from the gold along with the lipid leaflet using β-mercaptoethanol. The sensitivity of the nanoparticle LSPR to the refractive index (RI) of its surroundings is greater when the shorter thiol is used (37.8 ± 1.5 nm per RI unit) than when the longer thiol is used (27.5 ± 0.5 nm per RI unit). Finally, C-reactive protein binding to the membrane is measured using this sensor allowing observation of both protein-membrane and nanoparticle-nanoparticle interactions without chemical labeling of protein or lipids.
This report documents the synthesis, characterization, and computational evaluation of two isomeric borepin-containing polycyclic aromatics. The syntheses of these two isomers involved symmetrical disubstituted alkynes that were reduced to Z-olefins followed by borepin formation either through an isolable stannocycle intermediate or directly from the alkene via the trapping of a transient dilithio intermediate. Comparisons of their magnetic, crystallographic, and computational characterization to literature compounds gave valuable insights about the aromaticity of these symmetrically fused [b,f]borepins. The fusion of benzo[b]thiophene units to the central borepin cores forced a high degree of local aromaticity within the borepin moieties relative to other known borepin-based polycyclic aromatics. Each isomer had unique electronic responses in the presence of fluoride anions. The experimental data demonstrate that the local borepin rings in these two compounds have a relatively high amount of aromatic character. Results from quantum chemical calculations provide a more comprehensive understanding of local and global aromatic characters of various rings in fused ring systems built upon boron heterocycles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.