Reviews & Analysis

Traditional wisdom suggests that excited electrons will move towards positively charged parts of a molecule. Advanced time-domain calculations show that the conventional picture breaks down in the ultrafast regime, providing key insights into photo-activated, attosecond processes.

Helical coordination compounds that show promising antibiotic activity in aqueous media have been assembled directly in their optically pure form, without the need for a resolution step.

The most complex non-DNA synthetic molecular knot so far has been made in a single step by combining a number of reversible chemical interactions, including metal-directed self-assembly, anion templation and imine bond formation.

A new type of protein–polymer conjugate provides improved stability without detrimentally affecting bioactivity, and thus offers great potential for the development of new peptide-based drugs.

The classic organometallic compound ferrocene has been combined with a unique diiron unit in the latest synthetic analogue of an enzyme active site, achieving the three functionalities needed for a working model of diiron hydrogenase, itself of ancient origin.

Thermodynamic measurements show that the most stable structural form of a number of proteins under cellular conditions is fibrillar, implying that their functional states may only be metastable.

Mutating RNA one nucleotide at a time and measuring the impact of this on its chemical reactivity provides a strategy for determining its three-dimensional structure, and from there, hopefully, its function.

Cross-coupling between a racemic secondary alkyl halide and an alkyl borane to produce an enantioenriched alkyl–alkyl product is one of the final substrate combinations to succumb to the synthetically powerful Suzuki–Miyaura methodology.

Autonomous propulsion of microparticles using catalytic olefin polymerization, and directional rotation of a molecule on a metal surface using electrons from the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope.

The scope of dynamic combinatorial chemistry is somewhat limited by the small number of predictably reversible reactions. Now, secondary alcohols are shown to quickly and reversibly react with iminium ions to form hemiaminal ethers, opening up opportunites for their use in the construction of complex — and functional — dynamic architectures.

Contemporary macromolecular chemistry and physics offer interesting options for making, characterizing and manipulating single polymer chains. Although it is not yet possible to emulate the structural control and functional ability of biopolymers, recent advances have opened up interesting avenues for applications of these synthetic systems in microelectronics, photovoltaics, catalysis and biotechnology.

Conformational control can be used to transmit information in the form of chirality over relatively long molecular distances and could be the key to the preparation of minimalistic synthetic mimics of biological systems.

Catalyst particles for fluid catalytic cracking are vital for the oil-refinery industry, but their activity is hard to diagnose because of their inter- and intra-particle structural inhomogeneity. With fluorescence confocal microscopy and selective staining, one can now pinpoint the catalytic activity within single catalyst particles from an industrial reactor.

Activating caged reactive sites in proteins using mechanical force provides a powerful approach in the study of chemical reactions, and provides greater insight into which reactions are possible and their rates.

Proton migration on membranes is a crucial step in the bioenergetics of the cell. It has typically been regarded as slow successive proton transfers between ionizable moieties within the membrane, but recent measurements suggest fast lateral diffusion in the membrane's hydration layer.

A tetra-intercalator compound that threads through a DNA double-helix to form a remarkably stable complex exhibits an unusual combination of sequence specificity and rapid association yet slow dissociation.

Topological insulators — insulators or semiconductors with metallic states present at their boundaries — are the 'rising stars' of condensed-matter physics. This Perspective introduces these materials and their properties, and looks at the challenges and opportunities the community faces.

The self-reproduction of a giant lipid vesicle has been linked to the replication of encapsulated DNA — a promising combination for the construction of a minimalistic synthetic cell.

Solid-state science and technology in the twentieth century was defined by the transistor and the integrated circuit. Will the quest for a quantum spin liquid, which is inspired by theoretical and experimental advances, spawn the information technology of tomorrow?

A (hydroxo)oxoiron(V) oxidant has been implicated in cis-dihydroxylation reactions catalysed by Rieske dioxygenases and biomimetic non-haem iron complexes, but with only indirect proof of its existence. Variable-temperature mass spectrometry now provides persuasive evidence for just such a reactive intermediate in a synthetic system.