N2 coordination
Michael D. Fryzuk
Chem. Commun., 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC42001A
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Microring resonators are pretty amazing things, offering label-free biosensing by coupling with light and then circulating the photons inside the cavity of the ring, enhancing the interaction between the light and the analytes.
However, I like to think of traditional microring resonators as tents: difficult to construct. They require a submicrometer gap between the input waveguide and the resonator ring structure to allow the coupling of light and before you can even get to that stage, you need to make the microring resonator, which requires a series of complex fabrication steps (FIG 1a). In this Communication, which is part of ChemComm’s Microfluidics themed web collection, Professor Jonathan Cooper and his colleagues at Glasgow University and at the International Islamic University Malaysia’s CTS Department have made (what I think of as) the double pop-up tent equivalent– or as they call it, the dual disk resonator (DDR). Made from SU8, an epoxy-based polymer used in microfluidics chips, it can be patterned in a single lithographic step. Not only that, but the DDR uses a gapless design and two rings, increasing the sensitivity of the device (FIG 1b).
FIG 1: The hard way or the easy way (a) the traditional microring resonator with submicrometer gap (b) gapless dual disk resonator
Once they had constructed the DDR, the team characterised the optical sensitivity of the device using sucrose solutions to vary the refractive index of the sample above the waveguide. They then went on to show that the sensor could be used to evaluate the dynamics of antibody interactions on surfaces, exploring avidin-biotin-based immobilisations; sharp resonance shifts confirmed the assembly and disassembly of constructs.
The simpler fabrication shows great promise, as the authors suggest that the sensitivity of the device could be greatly improved by coupling more disks to it– in which case Beyoncé might soon be singing ‘if you like it, then you should put a chain on it.’
Read this ‘HOT’ ChemComm article today:
Polymer dual ring resonators for label-free optical biosensing using microfluidics
Muhammad H. M. Salleh, Andrew Glidle, Marc Sorel, Julien Reboud and Jonathan M. Cooper
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC38228A
Gels that are held together by non-covalent interactions are a hot topic in supramolecular chemistry. In this Communication, Itaru Hamachi’s research group from Kyoto University report a series of glycolipids that form yellow hydrogels from orange suspensions when heated. The gelation and hence the colour change is reversible, and the authors hoped to use this response to create a sensor system.
Once the gel has formed, adding a glycosidase enzyme which can selectively cleave the β-glucosidic bond leads to breakup of the gel and a colour change from yellow to orange. This response is only observed with an enzyme that is complimentary to the saccharide used as a “substrate unit” in the gelator. Hence, the authors have harnessed natural enzyme-substrate selectivity to yield a highly selective sensing system. The combination of a number of these gels into a sensor array chip yields a system that can simply and rapidly detect and distinguish a range of glycosidase enzymes. The ability to selectively sense these enzymes could have significant application for diagnosing disease and identifying bacterial contamination of drinking water.
Read this ‘HOT’ ChemComm article today:
Rika Ochi, Kazuya Kurotani, Masato Ikeda, Shigeki Kiyonaka and Itaru Hamachi
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 2115-2117
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC37908B
The field of ionic liquids has seen phenomenal growth in recent years, with the topic spanning a variety of disciplines across the chemical sciences. The recent themed issues from ChemComm, PCCP and CrystEngComm showcase some of the latest developments from a range of scientific subjects utilising the unique properties of ionic liquids.
Highlights from these themed issues include the articles below, which are free to download until the 24th August. You can also access the full themed issues by clicking on the buttons above.
Ionic liquids as crystallisation media for inorganic materials Ejaz Ahmed, Joachim Breternitz, Matthias Friedrich Groh and Michael Ruck, CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 4874-4885
Ionic liquids in confined geometries Susan Perkin, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 5052-5062
Fluorescence monitoring of ionic liquid-facilitated biopolymer mobilization and reorganization Luke M. Haverhals, Laura M. Nevin, Matthew P. Foley, E. Kathryn Brown, Hugh C. De Long and Paul C. Trulove, Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 6417-6419
Hofmeister effects of ionic liquids in protein crystallization: Direct and water-mediated interactions Magdalena Kowacz, Abhik Mukhopadhyay, Ana Luísa Carvalho, José M. S. S. Esperança, Maria J. Romão and Luís Paulo N. Rebelo, CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 4912-4921
Influence of the ionic liquid/gas surface on ionic liquid chemistry Kevin R. J. Lovelock, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 5071-5089
Optically responsive switchable ionic liquid for internally-referenced fluorescence monitoring and visual determination of carbon dioxide Shubha Pandey, Sheila N. Baker, Siddharth Pandey and Gary A. Baker, Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 7043-7045
Supramolecular architectures of symmetrical dicationic ionic liquid based systems Haregewine Tadesse, Alexander J. Blake, Neil R. Champness, John E. Warren, Pierre J. Rizkallah and Peter Licence, CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 4886-4893
New insights into the interface between a single-crystalline metal electrode and an extremely pure ionic liquid: slow interfacial processes and the influence of temperature on interfacial dynamics Marcel Drüschler, Natalia Borisenko, Jens Wallauer, Christian Winter, Benedikt Huber, Frank Endres and Bernhard Roling, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 5090-5099
An elegant access to formation and vaporization enthalpies of ionic liquids by indirect DSC experiment and “in silico” calculations Sergey P. Verevkin, Dzmitry H. Zaitsau, Vladimir N. Emel’yanenko, Christoph Schick, Saivenkataraman Jayaraman and Edward J. Maginn, Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 6915-6917
Ionic liquid-mediated epitaxy of high-quality C60 crystallites in a vacuum Yoko Takeyama, Shingo Maruyama, Hiroki Taniguchi, Mitsuru Itoh, Keiji Ueno and Yuji Matsumoto, CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 4939-4945
Proton transfer and polarity changes in ionic liquid–water mixtures: a perspective on hydrogen bonds from ab initio molecular dynamics at the example of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate–water mixtures—Part 1 Martin Brehm, Henry Weber, Alfonso S. Pensado, Annegret Stark and Barbara Kirchner, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 5030-5044
Direct visualization of solution morphology of cellulose in ionic liquids by conventional TEM at room temperature Nan Luo, Yuxia Lv, Dexiu Wang, Jinming Zhang, Jin Wu, Jiasong He and Jun Zhang, Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 6283-6285
If you’re interested in ionic liquids, why not take a look at the recent cross-journal promotion Incredible ionic liquids: an article collection.
You can keep up to date with all the latest developments across the chemical sciences by signing up to your favourite journal e-alerts or following them on twitter!
Two of the conference co-chairs – ChemComm Associate Editor Jonathan Sessler and Changhee Lee from Kangwon National University – are the guest editors of ChemComm’s Porphyrins & Phthalocyanines web theme issue, along with ChemComm Editorial Board member Penny Brothers.
To celebrate this exciting and vibrant area of research, we have made the whole of our Porphyrins & Phthalocyanines web theme FREE to access until 6th July. So don’t delay – view the web theme today!
Will you be attending ICPP-7? Email Robert if you’d like to arrange a meeting. Post your comments on the conference or the web theme below or tweet us @ChemCommun.
….and did you know….?
ChemComm published 7 web-based thematic issues in 2011:
We are still adding articles to some of these issues so please visit the themed issue webpages to view the latest research.
If you have an idea for a web theme, let us know! Email the Editorial Office >
We are delighted to announce a high-profile web themed issue on Aromaticity.
Guest editors: Nazario Martín (University Complutense of Madrid), Michael Hayley (University of Oregon) and Rik Tykwinski (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
This themed issue will consist of a series of invited Communications and Feature Articles covering work on all aspects of chemistry related with aromaticity – from new fundamental knowledge about aromaticity and theoretically interesting new arene structures to novel applications of aromatics and heteroaromatics which take advantage of their unique optical and electronic attributes.
The level of quality of this issue will be extremely high, and all manuscripts will undergo strict peer review. You are therefore encouraged to report work that you consider to be very important and conceptually significant. Please note that inclusion in the issue is subject to the discretion of the guest editors.
Publication of the peer-reviewed articles will occur without delay to ensure the timely dissemination of the work. The articles will then be assembled on the ChemComm website as a web-based thematic issue.
Submit your work before 31st May 2012. Please add “aromaticity” in the comments to the editor section.
….and did you know….?
There are 65 articles in ChemComm’s ‘Selective Catalysis for Organic Synthesis’ web themed issue. This was ChemComm’s first web theme, published back in 2009. Since then, we’ve published a host of exciting themes, all of which are available to browse on the ChemComm website.
Do you have an idea for a web theme? Get in touch with us by email, Twitter or leave your comments below.
Also of interest:
100 days to 100 issues
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70 days until 100 issues…
ChemComm is delighted to announce a high-profile web themed issue on Ionic Liquids.
Guest editors: Robin D. Rogers (University of Alabama), Doug MacFarlane (Monash University) and Suojiang Zhang (Institute of Process Engineering)
Picture courtesy of Photodisc
This issue will consist of a series of Communications and Feature Articles from prominent scientists working on all aspects of ionic liquid chemistry. The scope will range from new fundamental knowledge about ionic liquids to novel applications of ionic liquids which take advantage of their unique attributes. Follow on studies or those of routine interest will not be considered.
The level of quality of this issue will be extremely high, and all manuscripts will undergo strict peer review. You are therefore encouraged to report work that you consider to be very important and conceptually significant in accord with the ChemComm mandate. Please note that inclusion in the issue is subject to the discretion of the guest editors.
Publication of the peer-reviewed articles will occur without delay to ensure the timely dissemination of the work. The articles will then be assembled on the ChemComm website as a web-based thematic issue.
Submit your work before 29th February 2012. Please add “ionic liquids” in the comments to the editor section.
Due to popular demand, the submission deadline for ChemComm’s Artificial Photosynthesis web theme has been extended until 30th September 2011.
Visit the original announcement for more details about the issue.
