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Biomedical subjects

Jacky W Y Lam

Publications and source records attributed to Jacky W Y Lam.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Functional disubstituted polyacetylenes: Synthesis, liquid crystallinity, light emission, and fluorescent photopatterning of biphenyl-containing poly(1-phenyl-octyne)s with different functional bridges.

Biphenyl (Biph)-containing 1-phenyl-1-octynes and their polymers are synthesized, and the effects of functional bridge groups on the mesomorphic and optical properties of the polymers are studied. The nonmesomorphic disubstituted acetylene monomers (C6H13)C[triple bond]C(C6H4)O(CH2)12O-Biph-OC7H15 (1), (C6H13)C[triple bond]C(C6H4)O(CH2)11OOC-Biph-OC7H15 (2), and (C6H13)C[triple bond]C(C6H4)CO2(CH2)12OOC-Biph-OC7H15 (3) are prepared by multistep reaction routes and converted into their corresponding polymers P1-P3 by a WCl6-Ph4Sn catalyst. The structures and properties of the polymers are characterized and evaluated by NMR, TGA, DSC, POM, XRD, UV, and PL analyses. The mesogenic pendants have endowed the polymers with high thermal stability (> or =400 degrees C). While P1 exhibits no liquid crystallinity, P2 and P3 form enantiotropic S(A) phase with a monolayer structure. Upon photoexcitation, the polymers emit blue and blue-green lights of 460 and 480 nm, respectively, in THF with quantum efficiencies larger than 30%. UV irradiation of a thin film of P2 through a mask oxidizes and quenches the light emission of the exposed regions, generating a two-dimensional luminescent photoimage.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Synthesis, helicity, and chromism of optically active poly(phenylacetylene)s carrying different amino acid moieties and pendant terminal groups.

Functional phenylacetylene derivatives containing l-alanine and l-leucine moieties with chiral menthyl and achiral n-octyl terminal groups {HC[triple bond]C-C6H4-p-CONHCH(R)CO2R': R = CH3, R'= (-)-(1R,2S,5R)-menthyl [1(-)]; R = CH2CH(CH2)3, R' = (-)-(1R,2S,5R)-menthyl [2(-)]; R'= CH2CH(CH2)3, R' = (+)-(1S,2R,5S)-menthyl [2(+)]; R'= CH2CH(CH2)3, R' = (CH2)7CH3 (2o)} are synthesized. Polymerizations of the acetylene monomers are effected by organorhodium catalysts, giving corresponding polymers P1(-), P2(-), P2(+), and P2o of high molecular weights (Mw up to 1.2 x 10(6)) in high yields (up to 89%). The polymers are thermally stable (Td >or= 300 degrees C) and soluble in common organic solvents. The polymer structures are characterized by IR, NMR, UV, and CD spectroscopies. Intense CD signals are observed in the visible spectral region, indicating that the polymer chains are taking a helical conformation with an excess of preferred handedness. The backbone conjugation and chain helicity of the polymers can be tuned by changing their molecular structures [(a)chiral pendant groups] and by applying external stimuli (solvent and pH). Addition of trifluoroacetic acid to the polymer solutions decreases their molar ellipticities and enhances their backbone conjugations, inducing a halochromism with a continuous and reversible color change (yellow <==> red).

Acetylene↗
PubMed2006

Synthesis of, light emission from, and optical power limiting in soluble single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized by disubstituted polyacetylenes.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are covalently functionalized by conjugated polyacetylenes through their cyclization reactions with poly(1-phenyl-1-alkyne) and poly(diphenylacetylene) derivatives carrying azido functional groups at the ends of their alkyl pendants. The resultant polyene nanotube addends are soluble in common solvents, emit intense visible lights and strongly attenuate the power of harsh laser pulses.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Frustrated molecular packing in highly ordered smectic phase of side-chain liquid crystalline polymer with rigid polyacetylene backbone.

Using poly(5-{[(4'-heptoxy-4-biphenylyl)carbonyl]oxy}-1-pentyne) as an example, we demonstrate the incorporative accommodation of the rigid polyacetylene backbones and the mesogenic pendants, which leads to a highly ordered smectic (Sm) phase with a frustrated structure. The polymer exhibits a recognizable sheetlike molecular shape due to its rigid backbone and relatively short spacer (three methylene units), and the building block of the liquid crystalline (LC) phase is the whole molecule. In the LC phase, five layers of the molecules stack as a smectic A (SmA) block, and adjacent SmA blocks glide halfway of the molecular width from one to another. In scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments, the STM tip scrape is found to generate a regular nanopattern with periodic electron conductivity, of which the spacing is determined by the side-chain length.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Structural control of the photoluminescence of silole regioisomers and their utility as sensitive regiodiscriminating chemosensors and efficient electroluminescent materials.

We synthesized a group of silole regioisomers 1(x,y), whose photoluminescence varied dramatically with its regiostructure. By internally hindering the intramolecular rotation, we succeeded in creating a novel silole (1(3,4)) that is strongly luminescent in solutions and whose fluorescence quantum yield in acetone is as high as 83%. We revealed that 1(3,4) was a sensitive chemosensor capable of optically discriminating nitroaromatic regioisomers of p-, o-, and m-nitroanilines. Against general belief, crystal formation of 1(2,4) blue-shifted its emission color and boosted its emission efficiency. The light-emitting diode based on the crystal of 1(2,4) emitted a strong blue light (464 nm) in a high current efficiency (5.86 cd/A).

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Enhanced emission efficiency and excited state lifetime due to restricted intramolecular motion in silole aggregates.

The aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties of 1,1,2,3,4,5-hexaphenylsilole (HPS) and poly{11-[(1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylsilolyl)oxy]-1-phenyl-1-undecyne} (PS9PA) were studied by time-resolved fluorescence technique. The enhanced fluorescence and long fluorescent lifetime were obtained for the sample in an aggregate state as compared to the sample in solution. The time-decay of fluorescence of HPS and PS9PA in high viscosity solvents and low-temperature glasses has also been measured in detail to further investigate the possible mechanism for AIE. Enhanced light emission and long fluorescence lifetime were detected for both HPS and PS9PA in the solution-thickening and -cooling experiments. These results provided direct evidence that the enhanced photoluminescence (PL) efficiency is due to restricted intramolecular motion, which ascribes AIE to the deactivation of nonradiative decay caused by restricted torsional motions of the molecules in the solid state or aggregate form.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Functional polyacetylenes.

Polyacetylene (PA) is a Nobel Prize-winning macromolecule. In this work, PA is molecularly functionalized, which endows it with an array of new functional properties. The molecular functionalization is realized by attachment of functional pendants to the polyene backbone. Our efforts in the catalyst exploration and reaction optimization have led to the syntheses of a large number of PA derivatives carrying functional groups. Polymer reactions are exploited as an alternative route to the functional PAs that are difficult or impossible to access by direct polymerizations of their monomers. The new PAs with appropriate backbone-pendant combinations show various functional properties such as liquid crystallinity, photoconductivity, light emission, ionic susceptibility, photoresistance, chromism, helical chirality, optical nonlinearity, self-assembly, cytocompatibility, and bioactivity. The properties of the PAs are tuned internally and manipulated externally: the former is achieved by changing their molecular structures, especially their functional pendants, while the latter is accomplished by applying thermal, mechanical, electrical, photonic, and chemical stimuli.

Acetylene↗