Liquid crystalline hexabenzocoronenes as organic molecular materials - synthesis, characterization and application

Die vorliegende Arbeit 'Liquid Crystalline Hexabenzocoronenes as Organic Molecular Materials - Synthesis, Characterization and Application' war durch drei Schwerpunkte definiert:1. Verbesserung der Synthese von Hexabenzocoronen Derivaten mit sechsfacher Alkyl-Substitution,2. Entwicklung von molekularen Materialien mit verbesserten Eigenschaften wie zum Beispiel Löslichkeit und Verarbeitbarkeit,3. Einsatz der entwickelten Moleküle in optoelektronischen Bauteilen wie zum Beispiel organischen Solarzellen und Feld-Effekt-Transistoren.Mit Hilfe einer neuen Syntheseroute ist es gelungen Aryl-Aryl und Aryl-Alkyl Kupplungen sehr spät in der Reaktionssequenz von Hexabenzocoronenen einzusetzen. Dies führte zu einer Vielzahl substituierter HBC Derivate. Die Einführung eines Phenyl Spacers zwischen den HBC Kern und die äußeren Alkylketten, wie zum Beispiel in HBC-PhC12, hatte eine Vielzahl positiver Effekte wie dramatisch verbesserte Löslichkeit und Flüssigkristallinität bei Raumtemperatur zur Folge. Die Kombination dieser Phänomene ermöglichte die Bildung hochgeordneter Filme, welche sehr wichtig für den Einsatz in organischen Bauelementen sind. Mit Hilfe von STM Techniken an der Fest-Flüssig Phasengrenze wurden hochgeordnete 2-D Strukturen der HBC Moleküle gefunden. Die Kombination von extrem hoher kolumnarer Ordnung, bestimmt mit Hilfe der Festkörper NMR Spektroskopie, mit einer konstant hohen Ladungsträgerbeweglichkeit, führte zu dem sehr erfolgreichen Einsatz von HBC-PhC12 in organischen Solarzellen.

Boron determination in biological samples - Intercomparison of three analytical methods to assist development of a treatment protocol for neoplastic diseases of the liver with Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

Die Bor-Neuroneneinfang-Therapie (engl.: Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, BNCT) ist eine indirekte Strahlentherapie, welche durch die gezielte Freisetzung von dicht ionisierender Strahlung Tumorzellen zerstört. Die freigesetzten Ionen sind Spaltfragmente einer Kernreaktion, bei welcher das Isotop 10B ein niederenergetisches (thermisches) Neutron einfängt. Das 10B wird durch ein spezielles Borpräparat in den Tumorzellen angereichert, welches selbst nicht radioaktiv ist. rnAn der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz wurde die Forschung für die Anwendung eines klinischen Behandlungsprotokolls durch zwei Heilversuche bei Patienten mit kolorektalen Lebermetastasen an der Universität Pavia, Italien, angeregt, bei denen die Leber außerhalb des Körpers in einem Forschungsreaktor bestrahlt wurde. Als erster Schritt wurde in Kooperation verschiedener universitärer Institute eine klinische Studie zur Bestimmung klinisch relevanter Parameter wie der Borverteilung in verschiedenen Geweben und dem pharmakokinetischen Aufnahmeverhalten des Borpräparates initiiert.rnDie Borkonzentration in den Gewebeproben wurde hinsichtlich ihrer räumlichen Verteilung in verschiedenen Zellarealen bestimmt, um mehr über das Aufnahmeverhalten der Zellen für das BPA im Hinblick auf ihre biologischen Charakteristika zu erfahren. Die Borbestimung wurde per Quantitative Neutron Capture Radiography, Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis und Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy parallel zur histologischen Analyse des Gewebes durchgeführt. Es war möglich zu zeigen, dass in Proben aus Tumorgewebe und aus tumorfreiem Gewebe mit unterschiedlichen morphologischen Eigenschaften eine sehr heterogene Borverteilung vorliegt. Die Ergebnisse der Blutproben werden für die Erstellung eines pharmakokinetischen Modells verwendet und sind in Übereinstimmung mit existierenden pharmakokinetische Modellen. Zusätzlich wurden die Methoden zur Borbestimmung über speziell hergestellte Referenzstandards untereinander verglichen. Dabei wurde eine gute Übereinstimmung der Ergebnisse festgestellt, ferner wurde für alle biologischen Proben Standardanalyseprotokolle erstellt.rnDie bisher erhaltenen Ergebnisse der klinischen Studie sind vielversprechend, lassen aber noch keine endgültigen Schlussfolgerungen hinsichtlich der Wirksamkeit von BNCT für maligne Lebererkrankungen zu. rn

A new class of bragg stacks and its principle application

This work is focused on the development of high quality nanoporous 1D photonic crystals –so called Bragg stacks – made by spin-coating of approximately 25 nm large SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles bearing interparticle voids large enough to infiltrate reactive species. Therefore, the first part of this work describes the synthesis of well-dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles in this size range (the corresponding SiO2 nanoparticles are commercially available). In the second part, a protocol was developed to prepare nanoporous Bragg stacks of up to 12 bilayers with high quality and precision. Tailor-made Bragg stacks were prepared for different applications such as (i) a surface emitting feedback laser with a FWHM of only 6 nm and (ii) an electrochromic device with absorption reversibly switchable by an external electrical bias independently of the Bragg reflection. In the last chapter, the approach to 1D photonic crystals is transferred to 1D phononic crystals. Contrast in the modulus is achieved by spin-coating SiO2 and PMMA as high and low moduli material. This system showed a band gap of fg = 12.6 GHz with a width of Dfg/fg = 4.5 GHz.

Chemical exfoliation of graphene and its application in organic electronics and energy storage devices

Graphene, the thinnest two-dimensional material possible, is considered as a realistic candidate for the numerous applications in electronic, energy storage and conversion devices due to its unique properties, such as high optical transmittance, high conductivity, excellent chemical and thermal stability. However, the electronic and chemical properties of graphene are highly dependent on their preparation methods. Therefore, the development of novel chemical exfoliation process which aims at high yield synthesis of high quality graphene while maintaining good solution processability is of great concern. This thesis focuses on the solution production of high-quality graphene by wet-chemical exfoliation methods and addresses the applications of the chemically exfoliated graphene in organic electronics and energy storage devices.rnPlatinum is the most commonly used catalysts for fuel cells but they suffered from sluggish electron transfer kinetics. On the other hand, heteroatom doped graphene is known to enhance not only electrical conductivity but also long term operation stability. In this regard, a simple synthetic method is developed for the nitrogen doped graphene (NG) preparation. Moreover, iron (Fe) can be incorporated into the synthetic process. As-prepared NG with and without Fe shows excellent catalytic activity and stability compared to that of Pt based catalysts.rnHigh electrical conductivity is one of the most important requirements for the application of graphene in electronic devices. Therefore, for the fabrication of electrically conductive graphene films, a novel methane plasma assisted reduction of GO is developed. The high electrical conductivity of plasma reduced GO films revealed an excellent electrochemical performance in terms of high power and energy densities when used as an electrode in the micro-supercapacitors.rnAlthough, GO can be prepared in bulk scale, large amount of defect density and low electrical conductivity are major drawbacks. To overcome the intrinsic limitation of poor quality of GO and/or reduced GO, a novel protocol is extablished for mass production of high-quality graphene by means of electrochemical exfoliation of graphite. The prepared graphene shows high electrical conductivity, low defect density and good solution processability. Furthermore, when used as electrodes in organic field-effect transistors and/or in supercapacitors, the electrochemically exfoliated graphene shows excellent device performances. The low cost and environment friendly production of such high-quality graphene is of great importance for future generation electronics and energy storage devices. rn

Synthesis, properties and application of polyphenylene phosphonium salts

The central objective of this work was to generate weakly coordinating cations of unprecedented molecular size providing an inherently stable hydrophobic shell around a central charge. It was hypothesized that divergent dendritic growth by means of thermal [4+2] Diels-Alder cycloaddition might represent a feasible synthetic method to circumvent steric constraints and enable a drastic increase in cation size.rnThis initial proposition could be verified: applying the divergent dendrimer synthesis to an ethynyl-functionalized tetraphenylphosphonium derivative afforded monodisperse cations with precisely nanoscopic dimensions for the first time. Furthermore, the versatile nature of the applied cascade reactions enabled a throughout flexible design and structural tuning of the desired target cations. The specific surface functionalization as well as the implementation of triazolyl-moieties within the dendrimer scaffold could be addressed by sophisticated variation of the employed building block units (see chapter 3). rnDue to the steric screening provided by their large, hydrophobic and shape-persistent polyphenylene shells, rigidly dendronized cations proved more weakly coordinating compared to their non-dendronized analogues. This hypothesis has been experimentally confirmed by means of dielectric spectroscopy (see chapter 4). It was demonstrated for a series of dendronized borate salts that the degree of ion dissociation increased with the size of the cations. The utilization of the very large phosphonium cations developed within this work almost achieved to separate the charge carriers about the Bjerrum length in solvents of low polarity, which was reflected by approaching near quantitative ion dissociation even at room temperature. In addition to effect the electrolyte behavior in solution, the steric enlargement of ions could be visualized by means of several crystal structure analyses. Thus an insight into lattice packing under the effect of extraordinary large cations could be gathered. rnAn essential theme of this work focused on the application of benzylphosphonium salts in the classical Wittig reaction, where the concept of dendronization served as synthetic means to introduce an exceptionally large polyphenylene substituent at the -position. The straightforward influence of this unprecedented bulky group on the Wittig stereochemistry was investigated by NMR-analysis of the resulting alkenes. Based on the obtained data a valuable explanation for the origin of the observed selectivity was brought in line with the up-to-date operating [2+2] cycloaddition mechanism. Furthermore, a reliable synthesis protocol for unsymmetrically substituted polyphenylene alkenes and stilbenes was established by the design of custom-built polyphenylene precursors (see chapter 5).rnFinally, fundamental experiments to functionalize a polymer chain with sterically shielded ionic groups either in the pending or internal position were outlined within this work. Thus, inherently hydrophobic polysalts shall be formed so that future research can invesigate their physical properties with regard to counter ion condensation and charge carrier mobility.rnIn summary, this work demonstrates how the principles of dendrimer chemistry can be applied to modify and specifically tailor the properties of salts. The numerously synthesized dendrimer-ions shown herein represent a versatile interface between classic organic and inorganic electrolytes, and defined macromolecular structures in the nanometer-scale. Furthermore the particular value of polyphenylene dendrimers in terms of a broad applicability was illustrated. This work accomplished in an interdisciplinary manner to give answer to various questions such as structural modification of ions, the resulting influence on the electrolyte behavior, as well as the stereochemical control of organic syntheses via polyphenylene phosphonium salts. rn

First contact imaging of nanoparticular siRNA – From synthesis to application of a prodye concept

Delivery of therapeutic nucleic acid based drugs is still very demanding and difficult to manage and monitor. For this reason, a precise method for the monitoring of RNAi pathways is necessary. This thesis explores a new approach for sensing of potentially therapeutic nucleic acids, using the interaction of so called prodyes with intracellular enzymes in a prodrug manner. To realize this concept, some non-fluorescent, fluorescein based asymmetric dyes were synthesized and their spectroscopic characteristics were studied. Azide-alkyne Click chemistry was applied for conjugation purposes, using a new protocol at weak acidic pH to get intact prodye constructs. Both, an electrophoretic mobility shift assay with polyacrylamide gels and in-cuvette experiments showed remarkable OFF-to-ON behavior of these new siRNA constructs under physiological conditions. After salt-free purification, subsequent hybridization to double-stranded ribonucleic acids and nanoformulation to lipoplexes, the prodye conjugated siRNA was examined in cellular uptake studies for First Contact Imaging. The investigated siRNA-prodye conjugates showed strong sensitivity to esterases, being hydrolyzed at the biolabile function and developing a strong fluorescence which was verified in bulk. As an optimization, a new profluorescent molecule system was designed and synthesized, which has a carbonate as biolabile 6’ protecting group and a highly water soluble 3’ clickable linker. This new non-fluorescent but colored prodye showed 12 - 320 times increased fluorescence intensities between OFF- and ON- states, depending to the deprotection method. This is the first reported molecule model of an asymmetric profluorescent fluorescein, having the very favorable 3’ & 6’ functions.