Synthesis of functional 1,2-dithiolanes from 1,3-bis-tert-butyl thioethers

Strain-Stiffening Hydrogels with Dynamic, Secondary Cross-Linking

Hydrogels are water-swollen, typically soft networks useful as biomaterials and in other fields of biotechnology. Hydrogel networks capable of sensing and responding to external perturbations, such as light, temperature, pH, or force, are useful across a wide range of applications requiring on-demand cross-linking or dynamic changes. Thus far, although mechanophores have been described as strain-sensitive reactive groups, embedding this type of force-responsiveness into hydrogels is unproven. Here, we synthesized multifunctional polymers that combine a hydrophilic zwitterion with permanently cross-linking alkenes, and dynamically cross-linking disulfides. From these polymers, we created hydrogels that contain irreversible and strong thiol-ene cross-links and reversible disulfide cross-links, and they stiffened in response to strain, increasing hundreds of kPa in modulus under compression. We examined variations in polymer composition and used a constitutive model to determine how to balance the number of thiol-ene vs disulfide cross-links to create maximally force-responsive networks. These strain-stiffening hydrogels represent potential biomaterials that benefit from the mechanoresponsive behavior needed for emerging applications in areas such as tissue engineering.

Photoinduced Dithiolane Crosslinking for Multiresponsive Dynamic Hydrogels

While many hydrogels are elastic networks crosslinked by covalent bonds, viscoelastic hydrogels with adaptable crosslinks are increasingly being developed to better recapitulate time and position-dependent processes found in many tissues. In this work, 1,2-dithiolanes are presented as dynamic covalent photocrosslinkers of hydrogels, resulting in disulfide bonds throughout the hydrogel that respond to multiple stimuli. Using lipoic acid as a model dithiolane, disulfide crosslinks are formed under physiological conditions, enabling cell encapsulation via an initiator-free light-induced dithiolane ring-opening photopolymerization. The resulting hydrogels allow for multiple photoinduced dynamic responses including stress relaxation, stiffening, softening, and network functionalization using a single chemistry, which can be supplemented by permanent reaction with alkenes to further control network properties and connectivity using irreversible thioether crosslinks. Moreover, complementary photochemical approaches are used to achieve rapid and complete sample degradation via radical scission and post-gelation network stiffening when irradiated in the presence of reactive gel precursor. The results herein demonstrate the versatility of this material chemistry to study and direct 2D and 3D cell-material interactions. This work highlights dithiolane-based hydrogel photocrosslinking as a robust method for generating adaptable hydrogels with a range of biologically relevant mechanical and chemical properties that are varied on demand.

Modular Routes to 1,3-Dithian-2-ones and 1,2-Dithiolanes

Convergent routes to 1,3-dithian-2-ones based on the radical addition of xanthates to alkenes possessing a suitably located (latent) leaving group are described. These can be converted into 1,2-dithiolanes by base-mediated hydrolysis and oxidation. A broad variety of functional groups can be introduced, and the process is modular, uses inexpensive starting materials and reagents, and is atom economical, because both sulfur atoms of the xanthate end up in the products.

Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-(2R,4'R,8'R)-α-tocopherol enabled by enzymatic desymmetrization

A new and highly stereoselective synthesis of chiral diol (S)-14, the common synthetic intermediate to (+)-(2R,4'R,8'R)-α-tocopherol (1), was accomplished in seven steps with 13.8% overall yield. This developed route featured a lipase-catalyzed desymmetric hydrolysis of prochiral diester 39a, which was prepared through a challenging Heck coupling, to chiral quaternary carbon-containing monoester (R)-37a of the correct configuration in 81% yield and 96.7% ee, to the best of our knowledge, leading to the most efficient enzymatic desymmetric synthesis of the chiral chroman skeleton of vitamin E members reported to date. Coupled with the modified preparation of the phytol-derived side chain, the chemoenzymatic total synthesis of 1 was completed in 15 longest linear steps with 3.1% overall yield.

Disulfide-Mediated Reversible Polymerization toward Intrinsically Dynamic Smart Materials

The development of a dynamic chemistry toolbox to endow materials dynamic behavior has been key to the rational design of future smart materials. The rise of supramolecular and dynamic covalent chemistry offers many approaches to the construction of dynamic polymers and materials that can adapt, respond, repair, and recycle. Within this toolbox, the building blocks based on 1,2-dithiolanes have become an important scaffold, featuring their reversible polymerization mediated by dynamic covalent disulfide bonds, which enables a unique class of dynamic materials at the intersection of supramolecular polymers and adaptable covalent networks. This Perspective aims to explore the dynamic chemistry of 1,2-dithiolanes as a versatile structural unit for the design of smart materials by summarizing the state of the art as well as providing an overview of the fundamental challenges involved in this research area and its potential future directions.

Renewable and recyclable covalent adaptable networks based on bio-derived lipoic acid

The modern materials economy is inefficient since most products are principally derived from non-renewable feedstocks and largely single-use in nature. Conventional thermoset materials are often inherently unreprocessable due to their irreversible covalent crosslinks and hence are challenging to recycle and/or reprocess. Covalent adaptable networks (CAN)s, which incorporate reversible or dynamic covalent bonding, have emerged as an efficient means to afford reprocessable crosslinked materials and increasing the feedstock sustainability of CANs is a developing aim. In this study, the biomass-derived lipoic acid, which possesses a dynamic cyclic disulfide moiety, was transformed into a series of bifunctional monomers via a one-step esterification or amidation reaction and reacted with a commercially available multi-valent thiol in the presence of an organobase catalyst to afford dynamically crosslinked networks. Large differences in material properties, such as storage modulus and glass transition temperature, were observed when the ratio of the lipoic acid-based monomer to thiol (from 1 : 1 to 16 : 1) and the composition of the monomer were changed to modify the network architecture. The thermomechanical properties of an optimised formulation were investigated more thoroughly to reveal a moderately strong rubber (ultimate tensile strength = 1.8 ± 0.4 MPa) possessing a large rubbery plateau (from 0 to 150 °C) which provides an adaptable material with a wide operational temperature range. Finally, the chemical recycling, or depolymerisation, of the optimised network was also demonstrated by simply solvating the material in the presence of an organobase catalyst.