Directional alignment of functional molecules has important implications in various areas. Here, films of well-aligned linear diacetylenic acid, 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid, were prepared by the solution-shearing method and photopolymerized to give well-aligned poly­(ene-yne) films. Depending on the polarity of the solvent used in the shearing process, the direction of molecular alignment and the resultant polymer chains varied as a function of the polarity of the solvent used so that they oriented mainly parallel to the shearing direction when a nonpolar solvent was used and mainly perpendicular to the shearing direction when a polar solvent was used. The presence of H-bonded cyclic carboxyl dimers or solvated acid monomers in the solution is suggested to contribute to the different behaviors. Highly anisotropic field-effect mobilities were measured for transistors based on these films as conducting channels, with the highest mobility of 1.63 cm2 V–1 s–1 obtained for films prepared from hexane solution.

Luteolin (LUT), a plant-derived flavone, exhibits various bioactivities; however, the poor aqueous solubility hampers its applications. Here, we revealed bioconversion of LUT by Bacillus subtilis BCRC 80517, yielding three water-soluble phosphate conjugates. These derivatives were identified as luteolin 4′-O-phosphate (L4′P), luteolin 3′-O-phosphate (L3′P), and luteolin 7-O-phosphate (L7P) by LC-ESI-MS/MS and NMR. Besides, we found that Bacillus subtilis BCRC 80517 was able to convert different levels of LUT but showed a limited conversion rate. By observing bacterial morphology with transmission electron microscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy, we found that LUT disrupted the bacterial membrane integrity, which explained the incomplete conversion. Additionally, we revealed a spontaneous intramolecular transesterification of L4′P to L3′P, the thermodynamically more stable form, under acidic conditions and proposed the possible mechanism involving a cyclic phosphate as the intermediate. This study provides insight into development of a potent structural modification strategy to enhance the solubility of LUT through biophosphorylation.