Analytical chemistry articles within Nature Chemistry

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• Article | 02 May 2010

  Direct detection of CH/π interactions in proteins

  Weakly polar XH/π interactions are thought to be capable of influencing both the structure and function of proteins, but such interactions are usually identified from three-dimensional structural models. Now, using NMR spectroscopy and isotopic labelling, it has been shown that individual methyl/π interactions can be detected directly in proteins by measuring weak scalar couplings between the nuclei involved.

  • Michael J. Plevin
  • , David L. Bryce
  •  & Jérôme Boisbouvier

• Article | 04 April 2010

  Catalyst selection based on intermediate stability measured by mass spectrometry

  Identifying the best catalyst for a particular reaction traditionally involves testing a wide variety of metal and ligand combinations in standard reactions. Here, the best catalyst is found by using mass spectrometry to identify the least stable — and thus most reactive — intermediate in a dynamic mixture of complexes.

  • Jeroen Wassenaar
  • , Eveline Jansen
  •  & Joost N. H. Reek

• Article | 28 February 2010

  Quantum-induced symmetry breaking explains infrared spectra of CH₅⁺ isotopologues

  Stepwise deuteration of protonated methane CH₅⁺ — a fluxional structure that undergoes ‘hydrogen scrambling’ — leads to dramatic changes in the infrared spectra of the isotopologues. The spectra can be assigned using ab initio quantum simulations that account for the non-classical occupation — by H and D atoms — of topologically different sites within the molecule.

  • Sergei D. Ivanov
  • , Oskar Asvany
  •  & Stephan Schlemmer

• Article | 07 February 2010

  Anisotropic oxygen diffusion at low temperature in perovskite-structure iron oxides

  The movement of oxygen ions through materials is important in electrolytes and separation membranes, but is rare at lower temperatures. Two different low-temperature diffusion pathways are revealed during the reduction process of CaFeO_2.5 to CaFeO₂. The two pathways are significantly different, resulting in anisotropy.

  • Satoru Inoue
  • , Masanori Kawai
  •  & Yuichi Shimakawa

• News & Views | 01 February 2010

  Visualizing fullerene chemistry

  Chemical reactions of fullerenes and metallofullerenes lined up inside single-walled carbon nanotubes can be monitored at the atomic scale inside an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope.

  • Mauricio Terrones

• Article | 17 January 2010

  Solution structure of a DNA double helix with consecutive metal-mediated base pairs

  The incorporation of non-natural base pairs into double-stranded DNA, especially those mediated by metal–ligand interactions, offers new opportunities for synthetic DNA materials. The structural implications of such modifications will help guide developments in this area, and a solution structure of a B-type DNA duplex containing consecutive metal-mediated base pairs has now been elucidated.

  • Silke Johannsen
  • , Nicole Megger
  •  & Jens Müller

• Research Highlights | 15 January 2010

  Brains in 3D

  Specific molecules in the brain can be imaged and used to make a three-dimensional model of the organ.

  • Neil Withers