Photoactive amino acid derivatives with long alkyl chains

Introduction
Alkylation of terminal alkynes with primary alkyl halides in the presence of a strong base like sodium amide is one of the common methods for the synthesis of longer carbon-chain alkynes. For example, treatment of 1-propyne with sodium amide followed by reaction with ethyl bromide yields 2-pentyne.

Carboxylic acid derivatives are formed by replacing the hydroxyl group of carboxylic acids with a different functional group. The most common carboxylic acid derivatives are:

Amino acids are the monomers that comprise proteins. Each amino acid has the same fundamental structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, or the alpha (α) carbon, bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and to a hydrogen atom. Every amino acid also has another atom or group of atoms bonded to the central atom known as the R group. There are 20 common amino acids present in proteins, each with a different R group. Variation in the amino acid sequence is responsible...

The conversion of alkenes to macromolecules called polymers is a reaction of high commercial importance. The structure of the polymer is defined by a repeating unit, while the terminal groups are considered insignificant. The average degree of polymerization represents the number of repeating units in the polymer molecule and is denoted by the subscript n.

Various carboxylic acid derivatives (such as acid chlorides, esters, and anhydrides) can be used for the acylation of amines to yield amides. The reaction requires two equivalents of amines. The first amine molecule functions as a nucleophile and attacks the carbonyl carbon to produce a tetrahedral intermediate. This is followed by the loss of the leaving group and restoration of the C=O bond.
Next, the second equivalent of amine serves as a Brønsted base and deprotonates the quaternary...

Alkylation is one of the methods used to prepare amines. Direct alkylation of ammonia or a primary amine with an alkyl halide gives polyalkylated amines along with a quaternary ammonium salt through successive SN2 reactions. This process of making the quaternary salt through the direct alkylation method is called exhaustive alkylation.
Each alkylation step makes the nitrogen center more nucleophilic, which triggers successive alkylations until a quaternary ammonium salt is formed. Considering...