Fluorescence image of a polysulfide in H9c2 cells

Sulfane sulfurs – which feature divalent sulfur atoms bonded to other sulfur – appear in a number of biologically important compounds. They include thiocysteine and thiocystine, two products of cysteine metabolism which are found at higher than normal concentrations in cancer cells. Until now, the only selective methods for detecting sulfane sulfurs were destructive and could therefore not be used for real-time imaging.

Now, Ming Xian and colleagues at Washington State University have designed a probe for sulfane sulfurs and tested it on living cells.

Continue reading the full article in Chemistry World »

Read the original journal article in Chemical Science:
New fluorescent probes for sulfane sulfurs and the application in bioimaging
Wei Chen, Chunrong Liu, Bo Peng, Yu Zhao, Armando Pacheco and Ming Xian  
Chem. Sci., 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3SC50754H, Edge Article

                  

The winners will be rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to Shanghai, China later this year where they will attend a two-day RSC-Roche symposium and be given the unique opportunity to present their work to Roche staff along with other leading PhD students.

As this exciting news has only just been publicised we have decided to extend the poster abstract submission deadline to Wednesday 22 May 2013.

Be sure to take advantage of the excellent opportunity to showcase your work to a truly global audience at ISACS11 and have a chance to win a trip to China by submitting a poster abstract today.

                  

Don’t forget that the early bird deadline for Challenges in Organic Materials and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISACS10) is this Friday.  Make sure you register for this significant conference before Friday 17 May 2013 to guarantee your place at the reduced fee.

Programme Live

We are pleased to announce that the ISACS10 programme is now available to view online. Take a look at the schedule for the entire conference and discover stimulating lecture titles which span all five themes of the event.

For full details on Challenges in Organic Materials & Supramolecular Chemistry (ISACS10), please visit the dedicated website.

                  

Synthetic supramolecular polymers have already shown great potential in the materials field, but their potential to target biological systems has been underexplored until now. This is surprising considering their self-assembling nature, providing access to structures and molecular properties analogous to biological systems.

The synthesis of a mono-functional discotic molecule, forming supramolecular columnar polymers, allows for the site-selective, covalent attachment of proteins. The supramolecular polymer, displaying the proteins along the columns, acts as a dynamic framework; the simultaneous conjugation of two different proteins enables their assembly in close proximity, resulting in efficient energy transfer. The dynamic nature of the protein-conjugated discotic monomers in the supramolecular polymers allows the exchange of supramolecular building blocks between the columns and tuning of protein density.

The concept of supramolecular polymers displaying proteins could bridge the gap between synthetic and biological systems, providing entry to create dynamic multi- and heterovalent protein assemblies with a responsive nature.

Read the ‘HOT’ Chemical Science article:

 Dynamic and bio-orthogonal protein assembly along a supramolecular polymer
Katja Petkau-Milroy, Dana A. Uhlenheuer, A. J. H. Spiering, Jef A. J. M. Vekemans and Luc Brunsveld
Chem. Sci., 2013, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3SC50891A

                  

Scottish-born David MacMillan is currently the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University.  His group’s research focuses on new concepts in synthetic organic chemistry and catalysis.

As Editor-in-Chief of Chemical Science since its launch in 2010, he has been instrumental in the journal’s rapid success for which it was recognised by the ALPSP as the Best New Journal 2011.

Describe Chemical Science in three words.

Non-traditional – Egalitarian – Quality

(and a bonus 4^th Glaswegian word – Gallus)

Which is your favourite Chemical Science paper and why?

I really love the six-step synthesis of strychnine by Chris Vanderwal’s lab.  Almost all of the steps in the synthesis have been known for more than 50 years, yet it took the ingenuity of Vanderwal to come up with an extraordinary efficient synthesis of this famous benchmark molecule that so many people have worked on.  In many ways, it sets the tempo and pace for what the school of total synthesis should be striving towards.

If you were in charge of a million-dollar research fund but couldn’t use it for your own projects, which hot area in organic chemistry would you invest in?

I would invest in trying to define new questions for the field of organic chemistry, and thereafter (and only thereafter) in ways to execute solutions to these new problems.  As an example, what transformation could be the next olefin metathesis or Buchwald-Hartwig coupling?  This would exclusively focus on trying to identify new problems or questions, and not how to solve established questions within the field.  I see so many applications for assistant professor positions where people want to work on the problem, or in the field, of the day – it’s better to work on your own questions rather than someone else’s.

When you aren’t teaching, doing research, or hard at work as our EIC, where are you most likely to be found?

In good restaurants trying to expand my knowledge of grape derived beverages.

What’s the most stupid mistake– and thus the most valuable learning experience– you’ve ever made in your career?

It’s a mistake I continue to make to this day, which is to describe work in public that has yet to be published (not a smart thing to do).  That being said, one of the thrills of giving any research talk is to surprise the audience with new results – the instant feedback can be really valuable.  Moreover, by getting out on the road and presenting your new research, it often helps formulate the message of the accompanying manuscript.  But again, it’s still a mistake to do it.

Please tell us something that Chem Sci readers might not know about you yet.

I like to fly airplanes.

Dream with us for a bit – the year is 2025: give us your idea of a hot, exciting Chemical Science Edge article title.

“Development of Basis Set 6311+GHI**, a computational approach to accurate and predictive modelling of any known or unknown transformation in chemical synthesis”

Your personal message to Chemical Science authors and readers?

The goal of Chemical Science is to do something different.  We hope to publish the most innovative chemistry research of our time and in doing so, create a new journal with a completely fresh outlook.  We are egalitarian and we feel strongly that all authors (young and old, famous or just getting started), should be treated equally and with respect.  Our journal will be a home for innovative and unique research that will appeal to aficionados of all subfields of chemistry.  We believe we have assembled one of the most high quality editorial boards in all of chemistry and we hope to earn the trust of readers and authors worldwide through thoughtful and deliberate handling of manuscripts.  We believe this substantial, egalitarian approach with an emphasis on innovation will drive the success of Chemical Science.  As such, I encourage you to try us out and submit an article to Chemical Science in the near future.

David MacMillan and his dynamic international team of Associate Editors make direct decisions on the content of Chemical Science and actively drive its scientific development – submit your best and most innovative work to any of their Editorial Offices.

Read Professor MacMillan’s Chem Sci articles:

Synergistic catalysis: A powerful synthetic strategy for new reaction development
Anna E. Allen and David W. C. MacMillan
Chem. Sci., 2012, 3, 633-658
DOI: 10.1039/C2SC00907B

A general approach to the enantioselective α-oxidation of aldehydes via synergistic catalysis
Scott P. Simonovich, Jeffrey F. Van Humbeck and David W. C. MacMillan
Chem. Sci., 2012, 3, 58-61
DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00556A

The intramolecular asymmetric allylation of aldehydes via organo-SOMO catalysis: A novel approach to ring construction
Phong V. Pham, Kate Ashton and David W. C. MacMillan
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 1470-1473
DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00176K

Total synthesis of diazonamide A
Robert R. Knowles, Joseph Carpenter, Simon B. Blakey, Akio Kayano, Ian K. Mangion, Christopher J. Sinz and David W. C. MacMillan
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 308-311
DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00577K

The organocatalytic three-step total synthesis of (+)-frondosin B
Maud Reiter, Staffan Torssell, Sandra Lee and David W. C. MacMillan
Chem. Sci., 2010, 1, 37-42
DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00204F

                  

Register for these upcoming ISACS conferences now and take advantage of early bird registration fees!

To stay informed of the latest news and information on ISACS, sign up to receive exclusive ISACS e-alerts.

                  

Final Chance To Submit

The poster abstract deadline for Challenges in Chemical Biology (ISACS11) is almost upon us. Take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to showcase your work to a truly global audience and submit before Friday 10 May 2013.

Registration Now Open

We are delighted to announce that registration for this significant conference is now open – secure your space today and benefit from the early bird discount. There are also student rates and bursaries available.

For full details on Challenges in Chemical Biology (ISACS11), please visit the dedicated website.

                  

Scientists in Germany and Australia report that the control of the bonding/debonding properties in materials obtained by Diels–Alder reactions between difunctional polymeric building blocks can also be governed by entropy considerations such as chain length and branching of the building blocks. They have shown this theoretically and experimentally for two Diels–Alder polymer systems, each based on a different difunctional diene and a common difunctional dienophile.

This interesting finding will help polymer and materials chemists transform the approach they take to designing reversibly/dynamically bonding materials and could aid the development of self-healing materials.

Read this ‘HOT’ Chemical Science article, hot off the press:

Harnessing entropy to direct the bonding/debonding of polymer systems based on reversible chemistry
N K Guimard et al, Chem. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/c3sc50642h

                  

A recent Chemical Science Minireview by Emilia Calvaresi and Paul Hergenrother focuses on the current progress and future directions of exploiting the Warburg effect by targeting it for cancer treatment.  One potential strategy is glycoconjugation; simply put, the linking of a drug to a sugar.  Unfortunately, however, it is not as simple as dipping a fun-size Mars bar in some cisplatin.

The strategy for glycoconjugation of anticancer drugs was inspired by the use of 18F-FDG, a radiolabeled glucose analogue used to visualise tumours.

Like a rather strange cake recipe book, this review discusses ways to make sugary, anticancer conjugates– it does mention sugar and mustard at one point– but more seriously, it explains the developments in this anticancer approach, the difficulties and the lessons learned, in a clear and comprehensible way.

Since the first report of glycoconjugated anticancer drugs in 1995, this field has rapidly developed to the point that one conjugate (glufosfamide) is already in advanced trials, and Calvaresi and Hergenrother discuss this, as well as other anticancer glycoconjugates that are in development.

Importantly, Calvaresi and Hergenrother recognise that, for these glycoconjugated anticancer compounds to be successful, there are outstanding issues that need addressed, i.e., what is the best way to make the cancer ‘eat up’ these conjugates?  Do you offer it the dark chocolate or the milk chocolate?  Which position on the sugar should be substituted?  Are their more effective sugars?  What’s the best way to test the efficacy, i.e., how do we measure how much the cancer has eaten, and if it likes it?

The authors conclude that this field has a great deal of potential but, just like any new confectionery, it needs to be rigorously developed at each stage for optimum customer satisfaction.

Read this HOT Chem Sci Minireview in full!

Glucose conjugation for the specific targeting and treatment of cancer
Emilia C. Calvaresi and Paul J. Hergenrother
Chem. Sci., 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3SC22205E

Sarah Brown is a guest web-writer for Chemical Science.  Sarah hung up her lab coat after finishing her PhD and post-doctorate in nanotechnology for diagnostics and therapeutics, to become an assistant editor at the BMJ Publishing Group. When not trying to explain science through ridiculous analogies, you can often find her crocheting, baking or climbing, but not all at once.

                  

Scientists in the US have investigated the photoreduction mechanism of a pair of valence-isomeric dirhodium phosphazane complexes and suggest that a common intermediate is accessed in the photochemistry of both mixed-valent and valence-symmetric complexes.

They conclude that halogen photoelimination proceeds by two sequential photochemical reactions: ligand dissociation followed by subsequent halogen elimination, and they hypothesise that complexes that can directly assume a halide-bridged structure will have the highest quantum efficiencies for energy conversion.

Read the ‘HOT’ article for free today:

Halogen Photoelimination from Dirhodium Phosphazane Complexes via Chloride-Bridged Intermediates
David C Powers, Matthew B Chambers, Thomas S Teets, Noémie Elgrishi, Bryce L Anderson and Daniel G Nocera
Chem. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3SC50462J