September 2011 – Chemical Communications Blog

Archive for September, 2011

Extension of Hirsch’s rule opens the door on spherical aromaticity

30 Sep 2011

Miquel Solà and Jordi Poater working University of Girona in Spain have put forward an extension of Hirsch’s rule to open-shell spherical species.

The famous Hückel rule allows one to estimate whether or not a planar ring molecule would have aromatic properties. When the molecule has 4N + 2 π-electrons then it follows Hückel’s rule. In 2000 Andreas Hirsch found a rule to predict the aromaticity of fullerenes, known as the 2(N +1)²rule and now Solà has extended this rule to spherical systems with an open-shell.

They found that spherical compounds with a half filled last energy level, e.g. those with 2N² + 2N + 1 electrons, are aromatic. This was backed up with computational evidence and showed that for example C₆₀¹⁹⁺and C₆₀^1- both have strong aromatic character.

Solà speculates that this finding could be an important tool for those working in the in stable high spin molecules such as molecular magnets.

Interested in finding out more? Then download the full ChemComm article for free today.

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93 days until 100 issues…

29 Sep 2011

….and did you know?….

In 2010 we published 93% more communications than in 2007 (more than 2000 of them). And we’ve published even more this year, one of the reasons why we’re moving to 100 issues in 2012.

Find out more about the move to 100 issues >

Also of interest
100 days to 100 issues
96 days until 100 issues…

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New electrochemiluminescence possibilities

29 Sep 2011

Electrogenerated chemiluminiscence (ECL) is a promising detection technique but its application to certain targets, such as small ions, is compromised due to the necessity to use high concentrations of reagents which can contaminate the sample.

Eric Bakker and co-workers have devised a system which separates the sample compartment, where the analyte is introduced alongside the ruthenium-based ECL reagent, from the compartment which contains the co-reactant necessary for the chemiluminescence to be generated. The technique relies on a liquid membrane to selectively transport the ECL ruthenium compound from the sample towards the detector.

This electro-separation technique opens the door to even more targets capable of being detected using ECL.

To learn more about how Bakker and his team have implemented this strategy, download the ChemComm article.

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Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

29 Sep 2011

New drugs need to be found that are capable of targeting carbonic anhydrases – a class of enzyme that catalyses the hydration of carbon dixoide to bicarbonate and H⁺. By inhibiting or activating these enzymes, a number of pathological disorders can be treated such as glaucoma, osteoporosis and cancer. Unfortunately, many of the drugs developed so far are not selective for the different isoforms of the enzyme.

Representation of the binding mode of an inhibitor compound in the active site cavity of the enzyme

Researchers from Italy have embarked upon investigating the inhibition of mammalian isoforms of carbonic anhydrase using N-substituted benzenesulfonamides. By employing X-ray crystallographic studies, they discovered a completely new binding mode with the enzyme. The team say that by substituting the moieties on the phenyl ring, unexplored regions of the enzyme active site could be targeted, allowing new lead compounds to be identified.

Read the ChemComm article to learn more about their findings.

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Revolutionising gene studies

29 Sep 2011

A simple method for detecting a natural nucleobase in DNA could revolutionise epigenetic studies, say Japanese scientists.

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine is abundant in neuron cells and embryonic stem cells and plays a critical role in epigenetic regulation. Scientists are eager for a way to detect it, to help them understand how gene function is initialised.

The team discovered that peroxotungstate can detect 5-hydroxymethylcytosine by oxidising it to a thymine derivative, which can be visualised using gel electrophoresis.

Download the ChemComm article today to find out more.

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Top ten most accessed articles in August

27 Sep 2011

This month sees the following articles in ChemComm that are in the top ten most accessed:-

A molecular probe for the optical detection of biogenic amines
Boram Lee, Rosario Scopelliti and Kay Severin
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9639-9641, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13604F

Photocatalytic hydrogen production
Thomas S. Teets and Daniel G. Nocera
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9268-9274, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC12390D

A near-infrared fluorescent calcium probe: a new tool for intracellular multicolour Ca2+ imaging
Akihiro Matsui, Keitaro Umezawa, Yutaka Shindo, Tomohiko Fujii, Daniel Citterio, Kotaro Oka and Koji Suzuki
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 10407-10409, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC14045K

Neocuproine–KO t Bu promoted intramolecular cross coupling to approach fused rings
Chang-Liang Sun, Yi-Fan Gu, Wei-Ping Huang and Zhang-Jie Shi
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9813-9815, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13907J

Supramolecular polymer for explosives sensing: role of H-bonding in enhancement of sensitivity in the solid state
Bappaditya Gole, Sankarasekaran Shanmugaraju, Arun Kumar Bar and Partha Sarathi Mukherjee
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 10046-10048, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13925H

Incorporation of chemical functionalities in the framework of mesoporous
silica Noemi Linares, Elena Serrano, Marisa Rico, Alina Mariana Balu, Elia Losada, Rafael Luque and Javier García-Martínez
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9024-9035, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC11016K

Highly sensitive and selective colorimetric visualization of streptomycin in raw milk using Au nanoparticles supramolecular assembly
Jiayu Sun, Jiechao Ge, Weimin Liu, Zhiyuan Fan, Hongyan Zhang and Pengfei Wang
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9888-9890, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC12910D

A fluorescent turn-on probe for the detection of alkaline phosphatase activity in living cells
Tae-Il Kim, Hyunjin Kim, Yongdoo Choi and Youngmi Kim
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9825-9827, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13819G

Fluorescent nanoparticles based on a microporous organic polymer network: fabrication and efficient energy transfer to surface-bound dyes
Abhijit Patra, Jan-Moritz Koenen and Ullrich Scherf
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 9612-9614, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13420E

Yolk/shell nanoparticles: new platforms for nanoreactors, drug delivery and lithium-ion batteries
Jian Liu, Shi Zhang Qiao, Jun Song Chen, Xiong Wen (David) Lou, Xianran Xing and Gao Qing (Max) Lu
Chem. Commun., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13658E

Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.

Fancy submitting an article to ChemComm? Then why not submit to us today or alternatively contact us with your suggestions.

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96 days until 100 issues…

26 Sep 2011

….and did you know?….

96, or 1996 to be exact, is the year when ChemComm was first published as Chemical Communications. Its previous names were Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications (1972-1995); Journal of the Chemical Society D: Chemical Communications (1969-1971); and Chemical Communications (London) (1965-1968).

Find out more about the move to 100 issues >

Also of interest
100 days to 100 issues

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ChemComm poster prize awarded at NMR-DG 2011

26 Sep 2011

Congratulations to Rob Evans (University of Manchester, UK) who won the ChemComm poster prize at NMR-DG 2011 Postgraduate Meeting held earlier this summer at the University of Birmingham.

Rob presented his work entitled ‘Predicting Diffusion Coefficients for Small Molecules’. He receives a prize certificate and a one-year print subscription to ChemComm.

: Rob Evans receiving his poster prize certificate from Iain Day, who organised the meeting

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Bendy Crystals

26 Sep 2011

Scientists are trying to create molecular systems that mimic machinery components. The idea is for these molecular machines to exhibit mechanical movement once an external stimulus is applied.

With this in mind, Japanese researchers have grown crystals that bend upon shining UV light on them. The crystals are of a salicylideneaniline compound which changes its structure depending on the wavelength of light.

The molecular transformation from the enol to the trans-keto form causes the crystals to bend on the macroscopic scale, which is also accompanied by a colour change from pale yellow to reddish-orange. When the UV light is blocked, the crystals resume their initial straight form and colour. This reversible bending can be repeated for over 200 cycles.

To find out more, download Koshima’s ChemComm article.

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Chemosensor could lead to fewer deaths from bacterial infections

26 Sep 2011

Millions of people die each year from bacterial infections. Scientists have been searching for a low-cost way to quickly identify bacteria so disease can be diagnosed and treated at an early stage.

Graphical abstract: Fluorescent DNA chemosensors: identification of bacterial species by their volatile metabolites Eric Kool and colleagues at Stanford University, USA, have developed fluorescent DNA chemosensors which they claim can sense and distinguish bacteria by the volatile metabolites they release. They tested the sensor on bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, food poisoning, pneumonia and sepsis and showed that it could accurately differentiate the bacterial strains.

The chemosensors could be developed into quick, cheap and reliable reporters for early identification of bacteria in both patient samples and contaminated food, say the authors.

Want to find out more? Download Kool’s ChemComm communication to read more about how the chemosensors work. You might also be interested in the group’s recent Chemical Science Edge article, where they use fluorescent DNA to sense toxic gases.

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Chemical Communications Blog

Archive for September, 2011

Extension of Hirsch’s rule opens the door on spherical aromaticity

93 days until 100 issues…

New electrochemiluminescence possibilities

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

Revolutionising gene studies

96 days until 100 issues…

ChemComm poster prize awarded at NMR-DG 2011

Bendy Crystals

Chemosensor could lead to fewer deaths from bacterial infections

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