Molecule

Summary

A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and biochemistry, the distinction from ions is dropped and molecule is often used when referring to polyatomic ions. A molecule may be homonuclear, that is, it consists of atoms of one chemical element, e.g. two atoms in the oxygen molecule (O2); or it may be heteronuclear, a chemical compound composed of more than one element, e.g. water (two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom; H2O). In the kinetic theory of gases, the term molecule is often used for any gaseous particle regardless of its composition. This relaxes the requirement that a molecule contains two or more atoms, since the noble gases are individual atoms. Atoms and complexes connected by non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds or ionic bonds, are typically not considered single mole

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule

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Preparation and characterization of Poly(Ethylene Glycol)/gamma-CD Polyrotaxanes using beta-CD derivatives as a capping reagent

Blaise Tardy

As living systems understanding got better, as life could be modeled in a batch, using immortalized cells, researches in fundamental sciences found startling applications of advanced techniques on living systems. As the biomaterial field developed various molecules were found to have very interesting applications on living systems. Polyrotaxane is one of these particularly interesting molecules. It is a non covalently bonded molecular necklace produced by the threading of cyclic molecules onto a linear polymer in order to form a pseudopolyrotaxane, the capping of this pseudopolyrotaxane to avoid de-threading of the cyclic compounds forms a polyrotaxane. This compound has already proven its versatility through various application including drug delivery systems, DNA delivery agent, molecular machine, hydrogel building block, resin stabilizer and a lot more. Cyclodextrins (CDs) and Polyester are known to form a pseudopolyrotaxane. CDs are composed of 6 to 8 glucopyranose forming a toroid shaped molecule that can contain different molecules depending on the solvent, experimental conditions and the number of sugar subunits. In this project an attempt has been made to synthesize a special type of polyrotaxane that would allow the whole complex to bare a higher degree of freedom compared to the ones currently documented. In order to do so the widest CD has been used (Gamma-CD, GCD), the chosen host has been poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains of varying molecular weight and the capping reagent used was beta-CD derivatives. Furthermore since current literature hasn't documented it so well and its properties are essential to this study, some more characterization of the PEG/GCD pseudopolyrotaxane has been made. The Macromolecules have been characterized by maldi tof mass spectroscopy(MALDI-T-MS), electro spray ionization (ESI) mass detection, X-ray diffraction(XRD), gel phase chromatography (GPC) and liquid Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The beta CD and poly(ethylene glycol) derivatives have been characterized using Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), NMR, MALDI-Toff MS, ESI and thin layer Chromatography (TLC)

2009

Structure determination techniques are an essential tool to investigate and understand molecules, especially in biology, where functionality crucially depends on structure. The dominant high-resolution methods, such as transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, rely on ensemble averaging, making them unsuitable for evidencing structural variations of flexible molecules. Common single-molecule imaging techniques like scanning probe microscopy achieve high resolution but lack access to 3D objects. A possible way to overcome these limitations is offered by low-energy electron holography (LEEH). So far, LEEH achieved molecular imaging at resolutions in the range of 7-8 Å on the single-molecule level. A resolution in the range of a few Å, which would give access to atomic details of molecular structures, is in theory attainable. Obtaining a resolution near the theoretical limit requires a fully optimized LEEH setup and workflow, for which in particular sample and emitter preparation are crucial. Here, I present a novel LEEH microscope with a unique experimental workflow, which is capable of resolving molecular substructures with an unprecedented resolution for LEEH experiments. The newly constructed LEEH microscope takes advantage of an efficient vibration isolation system and is remote-controlled to minimize external perturbations. The setup is capable of low-temperature (50 K) measurements, which enhances the stability of the system. A reliable way for preparing highly coherent electron emitters constituted by sharp tungsten tips is presented along with different methods for improving their performance via functionalization and UHV treatments. I show an optimized and reliable substrate preparation protocol resulting in ultra-clean free-standing single-layer graphene (SLG) samples. Native electrospray ion beam deposition (ES-IBD) allows for the transfer of non-volatile molecules from solution into gas phase and onto the substrate. By employing a quadrupole mass selection, highly pure molecular ion beams are obtained, which are soft-landed onto the SLG substrate in a controlled and reproducible manner while retaining an intact structure. This versatile preparation method allows us to study a great variety of molecules by LEEH. Data on proteins with masses ranging from 12-820 kDa reveal molecular shapes consistent with model structures. Locally, structural details as small as 5 Å were identified, thus we are approaching our goal of a resolution in the range of a few Å. The application of our methodology to flexible proteins, exemplified by antibodies, allowed for the imaging of their conformational variability and for determining the influence of the sample preparation on their structure. This gave us the possibility to directly image gas-phase related conformations. Data of compact molecular systems with masses below 3 kDa reveal that our LEEH microscope is able to investigate small molecules, such as porphyrines, at high imaging contrast. The presented results indicate that an optimized LEEH setup and workflow in combination with ES-IBD is a versatile microscopy method, which is filling the gap between high-resolution and single-molecule techniques by elucidating structural details of various molecular species.

EPFL2022

Encapsulation techniques open up new possibilities to control the kinetics and location of the release of active ingredients. Despite the progresses achieved to obtain a better control over the dimensions and composition of the capsules, the encapsulation of volatile substances is still challenging, even though it is of high relevance especially for the cosmetic industries. One way of encapsulating volatile substances is by kinetically arresting these molecules in a matrix which has a low permeability. A group of materials that likely is well-suited to generate such matrices is composed of small molecules capable of forming crystals.In this thesis, we will investigate the influence of the processing of composites containing small biocompatible organic molecules that serve as matrices with volatile active ingredients on the structure and permeability of the resulting particles. In particular, we will investigate the possibility to use organic salt crystals as matrix materials. Particles of well-defined sizes and compositions will be produced in double emulsions where the influence of the formation kinetics and confinements on the structure and permeability of the particles will be investigated. In addition, we will produce amorphous particles by kinetically suppressing the crystallization reaction using a microfluidic spray-drier. This will be achieved by co-spray-drying the active ingredient with the matrix material. We will investigate the effect of the drying speed and reactant composition on the structure and composition of the resulting particles and relate that to the release kinetics of the active ingredient. In addition, we will crystallize the amorphous composite particles and investigate the influence of the structure on the distribution of the actives within the matrix and its permeability. This project is done in collaboration with Firmenich who has all the infrastructure to quantify the release kinetics of volatile active ingredients.

EPFL2022

Preparation and characterization of Poly(Ethylene Glycol)/gamma-CD Polyrotaxanes using beta-CD derivatives as a capping reagent

Blaise Tardy

2009