Physically functional materials

A compound having a physical functionality which may be influenced by external stimulation, said compound having the general formula G0

• wherein B is a chain consisting of groups selected from CHR2 and C═O, wherein R2 is selected from side chains of α-amino acids;
• C1-6-alkyl;
• hydroxy;
• optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxy;
• halogen;
• cyano;
• amino;
• mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)amino;
• mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)amino-C1-6-alkyl;
• (optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)carbonylamino;
• (optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)-carbonylamino-C1-6-alkyl;
• aminocarbonyl;
• aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl;
• mono- or di-(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl;
• mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl;
• optionally substituted C1-6-acyl;
• optionally substituted C1-6-acyloxy;
• carboxy;
• and (optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxy)carbonyl;
• said chain B optionally being interrupted, initiated, or terminated by one or more groups selected from —O—, and —NR3—, wherein R3 is selected from hydrogen;
• C1-6-alkyl;
• mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)anino-C1-6-alkyl;
• (optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)carbonylamino-C1-6-alkyl;
• aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl;
• mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl;
• mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6alkyl)aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl;
• (optionally substituted aryl)-C1-6-alkoxycarbonyl;
• optionally substituted C1-6-acyl;
• and optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxycarbonyl;
• and wherein
• 1) the backbone chain —A—B— has a total of 4-7 consecutive covalent bonds between the radical positions and:
• (i) contains an amide function, or
• (ii) contains a part of an amide function, the remainder of which is contained in the corresponding linking group Y or in adjacent group(s) from any neighbouring segment;
• and
• 2) when the linking group Y has a total of at least 3 consecutive covalent bonds,
• (i) the linking group Y contains an amide function bound directly to the corresponding moiety A;
• or
• (ii) A constitutes the nitrogen atom of an amide function,
• Y0 is a linking group selected from —O—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —O—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —O—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —O—(CH2)p—NH—, —(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —(CH2)p—NH—, —OOC—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —OOC—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —OOC—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —OOC—(CH2)p—NH—, —NH—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —NH—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —NH—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—C(—O)—, —NH—(CH2)p—NH—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—NH—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—, and —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—, wherein p is 0-5;
• wherein L0 is an azobenzene which is optionally substituted with one or more substituent(s) each independently selected from deuterium, hydroxy, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine, linear or branched optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl, optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxy, cyano, nitro, amino, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)amino, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)amino-C1-6-alkyl, (optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)carbonylamino, (optionally substituted C1-6alkyl)carbonylamino-C1-6-alkyl, aminocarbonyl, aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl, optionally substituted C1-6-acyl, optionally substituted C1-6-acyloxy, carboxy, —COSH, (optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxy)carbonyl, thiolo, C1-6-alkylthio, optionally substituted C1-6-alkylthio-C1-6-alkyl, guanidino, isocyano, isothiocyano, and thiocyano;
• wherein the group Q is selected from hydrogen, carboxy, aminocarbonyl, mono- or di(C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl, N-(a chain of 1-3 amino acid(s))-carboxy, carboxy-C1-3-alkyl, aminocarbonyl-C1-3-alkyl, mono- di(C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl-C1-3-alkyl, and (N-a chain of 1-3 amino acid(s))-carbonyl-C1-3-alkyl, where any methylene unit(s) of the alkyl group(s) is/are optionally substituted with groups selected from side chains of α-amino acids;
• when A0 is C—R, the group Z0 is selected from amino, carboxy, C-(a chain of 1-5 amino acid(s))-amino, N-(a chain of 1-5 amino acid(s))-carbonyl, side chains of α-amino acids, hydrogen, deuterium, methyl, cyanomethyl, ethyl, 1-propyl, 2-propyl, 2-methyl-1-propyl, 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-propyl, 1-butyl, 2-butyl, methylthioethyl, benzyl, p-amino-benzyl, p-iodo-benzyl, p-fluoro-benzyl, p-bromo-benzyl, p-chloro-benzyl, p-nitro-benzyl, 3-pyridylmethyl, 3,5-diiodo-4hydroxy-benzyl, 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxy-benzyl, 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxy-benzyl, 3,5-difluoro-4-hydroxy-benzyl, 4-methoxy-benzyl, 2-naphtylmethyl, 1-naphtylmethyl, 3-indolylmethyl, hydroxymethyl, 1-hydroxyethyl, mercaptomethyl, 2-mercapto-2-propyl, 4-hydroxybenzyl, aminocarbonylmethyl, 2-aminocarbonylethyl, carboxymethyl, 2-carboxyethyl, aminomethyl, 2-aminoethyl, 3-amino-propyl, 4-amino-1-butyl, 3-guanidino-1-propyl, and 4-imidazolylmethyl, and 1,3-propylene, 2-hydroxy-1,3-propylene, or 1,4-butylene forming a pyrrolidine ring, a 3-hydroxy-pyrrolidine ring, or a piperidine ring, respectively, involving A and a nitrogen atom of Y adjacent to A;
• and, when A is N, the group Z is selected from C1-4-alkyl, C1-4-acyl, C1-4-alkyl-carbonylamino-C1-4-alkyl, and a chain of 1-5 amino acid.

A material which allows for introduction of optical anisotropy, said material comprising an organic compound, said compound comprising at least one domain comprising 2-25 segments of the following formula G

• wherein the backbone moiety —A—B— together with at least a part of the linking group Y is derived from one or more amino acid(s);
• and
• L is an azobenzene which is optionally substituted with one or more substituent(s) each independently selected from deuterium, hydroxy, halogen linear or branched optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl, optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxy, cyano, nitro, amino, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)amino, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)amino-C1-6-alkyl, (optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)carbonylamino, (optionally substituted C1-6alkyl)carbonylamino-C1-6alkyl, aminocarbonyl, aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl, mono- or di(optionally substituted C1-6-alkyl)aminocarbonyl-C1-6-alkyl, optionally substituted C1-6-acyl, optionally substituted C1-6-acyloxy, carboxy, —COSH, (optionally substituted C1-6-alkoxy)carbonyl, thiolo, C1-6-alkylthio, optionally substituted C1-6-alkythio-C1-6-alkyl, guanidino, isocyano, isothiocyano, and thiocyano;
• wherein Y is a linking group selected from —O—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —O—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —O—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —O—(CH2)p—NH—, —(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —(CH2)p—NH—, —OOC—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —OOC—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —OOC—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —OOC—(CH2)p—NH—, —NH—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —NH—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —NH—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —NH—(CH2)p—NH—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-(CH2)p—NH—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—NH—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—C(═O)—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—C(═O)—, —NH—C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—, and —N(C1-6-alkyl)-C(═O)—(CH2)p—NH—, wherein p is 0-5;
• A is selected from a nitrogen atom and a group C—H;
• and
• B is a chain consisting of groups selected from CHR2 and C═O, wherein R2 is selected from hydrogen and side chains of α-amino acids;
• said chain B optionally being interrupted, initiated, or terminated by one or more groups selected from O and —NR3, wherein R3 is selected from hydrogen, C1-6-alkyl, C1-6-acyl, and amino protecting groups;
• and wherein
• 1) the backbone chain —A—B— has a total of 4-7 consecutive covalent bonds between the radical positions and:
• (i) contains an amide function, or
• (ii) contains a part of an amide function, the remainder of which is contained in the corresponding linking group Y or in adjacent group(s) from any neighbouring segment;
• and
• 2) when the linking group Y has a total of at least 3 consecutive covalent bonds,
• (i) the linking group Y contains an amide function bound directly to the corresponding moiety A;
• or
• (ii) A constitutes the nitrogen atom of an amide function.