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A better understanding of electron transfer through molecules could provide the basis for many technological breakthroughs. Now, the rate of electron transfer has been enhanced in a family of molecules by making them more rigid, and this phenomenon may be explained by the loss of electronic energy to vibrations.
Self-assembled cylinders can generally be extended only from their ends — growth that is considered to be 'one-dimensional'. Now, platelet-like structures with controlled size and composition have been constructed by growth in two dimensions of self-assembled structures, starting from crystallite seed micelles.
Bicyclic peptides that are cell-permeable and can inhibit an intracellular target have been developed. These peptides consist of two rings: one enables the peptide to pass through the membrane, the other can inhibit the target.
Jeffrey Bode from ETH Zürich talks with Nature Chemistry about his group's work on synthetic fermentation, and how he hopes it could bring the power of chemical synthesis into the hands of citizen scientists.
A synthetic compound that transports chloride across membranes can kill both normal cells and cancer cells in vitro. The transporter works together with sodium channels to move NaCl into the cells, which triggers cell death.
The generation of chemical libraries for screening is a key part of the drug discovery process. Now, two studies describe attempts to combine features of natural product biosynthesis into the creation of libraries with the aim of mimicking nature's success at the production of bioactive molecules.
Adam Nelson and Stuart Warriner, from the University of Leeds, talk with Nature Chemistry about their work to develop viable synthetic strategies for preparing new chemical structures in parallel with the identification of desirable biological activity.
A critical overview and analysis of contemporary screening approaches toward the discovery of new reactivity is provided. A breakdown of each approach in terms of strategy, practicality and utility from the perspective of a synthetic chemist is also given, as well as considerations on the future of high-throughput screening in reaction discovery.
Interwoven supramolecular structures are often held up as examples of beauty in chemistry, but these assemblies can be fragile depending on the environments they are exposed to. Post-assembly covalent modification can, however, trap them in robust molecular form, and a triply entwined [2]catenane is one of the most sophisticated examples so far.
The Star of David topology is an iconic symbol that has been used in religious and cultural contexts for thousands of years. Now it is assembled in molecular form through a hexameric circular helicate generated by six tris(bipyridine) ligands entwined about six iron(II) cations. The structure of the two triply-entwined 114-membered rings is revealed by X-ray crystallography.
Reduction of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (hmC) levels in DNA often occurs in cancers. Using isotope tracing experiments, this epigenetic DNA modification, which was thought to be an intermediate of demethylation, is now shown to be stable. A delay in the generation of hmC on newly synthesized DNA is responsible for the reduction of hmC levels in cancers.
Non-haem iron(III)-peroxo complexes that bind redox-inactive metal ions are synthesized to investigate the role of the Ca2+ ion in the oxidation of water to dioxygen in photosystem II. The electrochemical properties and reactions of these compounds with an electron donor and an acceptor are found to be markedly dependent on the Lewis acidity of redox-inactive metal ions.
Constructing molecular architectures using dynamic covalent chemistry combines the robustness of covalent bonds with the reversibility of supramolecular chemistry. Now, a surface-mediated approach has been used to control the thermodynamic and kinetic features of dynamic processes at a surface, leading to constituent selection and selective pattern formation.
Self-assembly is commonly used to construct complex nanostructures from soft matter. Now, using the living crystallization-driven self-assembly approach, controlled nanostructure growth in both one and two dimensions has been achieved. Uniform lenticular multiblock platelets, as well as hierarchical structures analogous to nanoscale single- and double-headed arrows and spears have been prepared with controlled sizes in two dimensions.
