Structure elucidation articles from across Nature Portfolio

Fenestranes, in which four rings share one carbon atom, have garnered much attention because of their flattened quaternary carbon centers. Here, the authors report one-step syntheses of diaza-dioxa-fenestranes via the sequential (3 + 2) cycloadditions.

Structurally diverse natural products are a promising source of antibiotics. Here, the authors report the collective asymmetric total synthesis of polycyclic xanthene myrtucommulone D and five related congeners and discover a compound active against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Hypervalent iodine(III) reagents show promising properties in organic synthesis, however, the application of nitrooxyl (O2NO)-containing I(III) reagents remains underexplored. Here, the authors report the synthesis of a benziodazole-type O2NO-I(III) reagent, which can be applied to the synthesis of furazan heterocycles as a nitrating agent, by reaction with β-monosubstituted enamines via a copper-catalyzed radical nitration/cyclization/dehydration cascade.

Peptide-like foldamers are known to be controlled by amide backbone hydrogen bonding, however, the influence of functional groups forming individual hydrogen-bond networks remains underexplored. Here, the authors report peptide-like α-γ heterofoldamers consisting of alternating α,β,γ-triamino acids, forming ordered secondary structures and folding in both organic and aqueous environments.

A diazapentadienyl radical featuring a disubstituted carbon centre is discovered allowing the isolation and structural characterization of a stable secondary carbon radical.

Open-shell organic molecules with properties that can be modulated by external stimuli are of interest for spintronics applications. Now, an overcrowded alkene with open-shell tetraradical character has been synthesized in which the interaction between the π-conjugated subunits depends on the charge and spin state.

NMR spectroscopic data can now be fed to algorithms capable of deconvoluting the peaks in the search for its structure. Feeding the software with experimental and modelled data means that accurate fits can be produced in little time.

Claire Murray ponders on the attraction benzene — a small, seemingly simple molecule — has long exerted on scientists, some of the insights gained through its exploration, and the varied applications found for this hexagonal ring and its derivatives.

It is extremely difficult to design a broad-spectrum inhibitor for metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) due to the diversity in the active site. Now, indole-2-carboxylates have been developed as broad-spectrum inhibitors for MBLs. These inhibitors take advantage of key elements of both MBL substrates and products and work by locking a hydroxide.