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Convenient strategies for the deconstruction and reprocessing of thermosets could improve the circularity of these materials, but most approaches developed to date do not involve established, high-performance engineering materials. Here, we show that bifunctional silyl ether, i.e., R′O–SiR2–OR′′, (BSE)-based comonomers generate covalent adaptable network analogues of the industrial thermoset polydicyclopentadiene (pDCPD) through a novel BSE exchange process facilitated by the low-cost food-safe catalyst octanoic acid. Experimental studies and density functional theory calculations suggest an exchange mechanism involving silyl ester intermediates with formation rates that strongly depend on the Si–R2 substituents. As a result, pDCPD thermosets manufactured with BSE comonomers display temperature- and time-dependent stress relaxation as a function of their substituents. Moreover, bulk remolding of pDCPD thermosets is enabled for the first time. Altogether, this work presents a new approach toward the installation of exchangeable bonds into commercial thermosets and establishes acid-catalyzed BSE exchange as a versatile addition to the toolbox of dynamic covalent chemistry. 

Thermoset polymers and fiber-reinforced polymer composites possess the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties necessary for energy-efficient vehicles and structures, but their energy-inefficient manufacturing and the lack of end-of-life management strategies render these materials unsustainable. Here, we demonstrate end-of-life deconstruction and upcycling of high-performance poly(dicyclopentadiene) (pDCPD) thermosets with a concurrent reduction in the energy demand for curing via frontal copolymerization. Triggered material deconstruction is achieved through cleavage of cyclic silyl ethers and acetals incorporated into pDCPD thermosets. Both solution-state and bulk experiments reveal that seven- and eight-membered cyclic silyl ethers and eight-membered cyclic acetals are incorporated efficiently with norbornene-derived monomers, permitting deconstruction at low comonomer loadings. Frontal copolymerization of DCPD with these tailored cleavable comonomers enables energy-efficient manufacturing of sustainable, high-performance thermosets with glass transition temperatures of >100 °C and elastic moduli of >1 GPa. The polymers are fully deconstructed, yielding hydroxyl-terminated oligomers that are upcycled to polyurethane-containing thermosets having a higher glass transition temperatures than that of the original polymer upon reaction with diisocyanates. This approach is extended to frontally polymerized fiber-reinforced composites, where large-fiber volume fraction composites (Vf = 65%) containing a cleavable comonomer are deconstructed and the reclaimed fibers are used to regenerate composites via frontal polymerization that display properties nearly identical to those of the original. This work demonstrates that the use of cleavable monomers, in combination with frontal manufacturing, provides a promising strategy to address sustainability challenges for high-performance materials at multiple stages of their lifecycle. 

Recurrence and drug resistance are major challenges in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that spur efforts to identify new clinical targets and active agents. STAT3 has emerged as a potential target in resistant AML, but inhibiting STAT3 function has proven challenging. This paper describes synthetic studies and biological assays for a naphthalene sulfonamide inhibitor class of molecules that inhibit G-CSF-induced STAT3 phosphorylation in cellulo and induce apoptosis in AML cells. We describe two different approaches to inhibitor design: first, variation of substituents on the naphthalene sulfonamide core allows improvements in anti-STAT activity and creates a more thorough understanding of anti-STAT SAR. Second, a novel approach involving hybrid sulfonamide–rhodium( ii ) conjugates tests our ability to use cooperative organic–inorganic binding for drug development, and to use SAR studies to inform metal conjugate design. Both approaches have produced compounds with improved binding potency. In vivo and in cellulo experiments further demonstrate that these approaches can also lead to improved activity in living cells, and that compound 3aa slows disease progression in a xenograft model of AML. 

Abstract In Fall 2020, universities saw extensive transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among their populations, threatening health of the university and surrounding communities, and viability of in-person instruction. Here we report a case study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where a multimodal “SHIELD: Target, Test, and Tell” program, with other non-pharmaceutical interventions, was employed to keep classrooms and laboratories open. The program included epidemiological modeling and surveillance, fast/frequent testing using a novel low-cost and scalable saliva-based RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 that bypasses RNA extraction, called covidSHIELD, and digital tools for communication and compliance. In Fall 2020, we performed >1,000,000 covidSHIELD tests, positivity rates remained low, we had zero COVID-19-related hospitalizations or deaths amongst our university community, and mortality in the surrounding Champaign County was reduced more than 4-fold relative to expected. This case study shows that fast/frequent testing and other interventions mitigated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at a large public university.