Chemical Communications Blog

A research group in the US has successfully simplified a crystallographic technique that scientists, bar those behind the original technique, had struggled to get to grips with.

In 2013, Makoto Fujita’s group at the University of Tokyo in Japan unveiled a powerful tool that gave scientists the ability to analyse oils and liquids by x-ray crystallography, a seemingly impossible task. Upon incorporating these compounds into crystalline hosts, their molecules became ordered, and the compounds became susceptible to diffraction. Thus, armed with fresh insight, the method has provided the absolute structures of compounds where we’d previously been left in the dark. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the orginal journal article in ChemComm:
The crystalline sponge method: MOF terminal ligand effects
Timothy R. Ramadhar, Shao-Liang Zheng, Yu-Sheng Chen and Jon Clardy 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03840E, Communication

Here are some of the latest referee-recommended articles published in ChemComm – all free to access until 17th July! 

Organoaqueous calcium chloride electrolytes for capacitive charge storage in carbon nanotubes at sub-zero-temperatures
Yun Gao, Zhanbin Qin, Li Guan, Xiaomian Wang and George Z. Chen
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03048J 

Self-Assembly Pathway of Peptide Nanotubes Formed by a Glutamatic Acid-Based Bolaamphiphile
Emerson Rodrigo DA SILVA, Wendel Alves, Valeria Castelletto, Mehedi Reza, Janne Ruokolainen, Rohanah Hussain and Ian Hamley
Chem. Commun., 2015, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03640B 

Mimicking the Active Site of Aldehyde Dehydrogenases:Stabilization of Carbonyl Hydrates through Hydrogen Bonds
A. J. K. Roth, M. Tretbar and C. B. W. Stark
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02831K 

Graphene Quantum Dots doped Polyaniline Nanofiber as High Performance Supercapacitor Electrode Materials
Sanjoy Mondal, Utpal Rana and SUDIP MALIK
Chem. Commun., 2015, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03981A 

Mesoporous Crystalline-Amorphous Oxide Nanocomposite Network for High-Performance Lithium Storage
Yiting Peng, Zheng Chen, Zaiyuan Le, Hexing Li, Qunjie Xu and Yunfeng Lu
Chem. Commun., 2015, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03534A 

Aqueous light driven hydrogen production by a Ru–ferredoxin–Co biohybrid
S. R. Soltau, J. Niklas, P. D. Dahlberg, O. G. Poluektov, D. M. Tiede, K. L. Mulfort and L. M. Utschig
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 10628-10631
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03006D 

Researchers from the UK have developed a straightforward strategy for making compounds that have the potential to become clinical drugs. By cleverly combining robust chemistry and simple starting materials, the team accessed numerous small, diverse molecules with properties suitable for drug screening.

Even the most successful drug starts small. Pharmaceutical companies screen vast libraries of small compounds for the next lead – a molecule that interacts with a given target such as a protein or receptor. Through structural optimisation, tweaking and testing, the lead then grows into a full-fledged drug, ready for biological trials.

A minimal toolkit of reactions turns small polyfunctional molecules into diverse scaffolds

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 1st July:
Synthesis of amphiphilic polysuccinimide star copolymers for responsive delivery in plants
Mingsheng Chen, Shaun P. Jensen, Megan R. Hill, Gloria Moore, Zhenli He and Brent S. Sumerlin 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02726H, Communication

US scientists have developed a stimuli-responsive, biodegradable star-shaped copolymer for targeted nutrient and pesticide delivery in plants. Controlled release to the phloem at an elevated pH makes these nanocarriers a promising step forward in modern agriculture.

Polymeric nanocarriers have already been studied for site-specific and controlled drug release in medicine, but their agricultural potential remains relatively unexplored. Existing methods of plant nutrient and pesticide delivery offer low efficiency so a site-specific strategy is in demand.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 29th June:
Synthesis of amphiphilic polysuccinimide star copolymers for responsive delivery in plants
Mingsheng Chen, Shaun P. Jensen, Megan R. Hill, Gloria Moore, Zhenli He and Brent S. Sumerlin 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02726H, Communication

Tweaking the natural substrates of terpene synthase enzymes could lead to less toxic pesticides and swathes of other important biologically-active compounds, according to UK researchers.

Terpene synthases generate a huge variety of natural compounds with important functions in all forms of life. Many plants emit volatile terpenes to repel predators, including insects, so there is considerable interest in creating new terpene analogues for pesticides. Insects, however, have a very sophisticated ‘nose’ for these compounds and may ignore even closely-related analogues.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article ChemComm – it’s free to access until 22nd June:
Novel olfactory ligands via terpene synthases
Sabrina Touchet, Keith Chamberlain, Christine M. Woodcock, David J. Miller, Michael A. Birkett, John A. Pickett and Rudolf K. Allemann 
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 7550-7553
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC01814E, Communication

A new perfume delivery system has been developed by chemists in the UK as a way of keeping sweet smells around for longer. This cleverly designed system tags fragrance alcohols – such as 2-phenylethanol, which has a rose-like scent – onto odourless ionic liquids. In the tagged form, the material has no smell. However, when it comes into contact with water, the link is broken and the fragrance is released – along with its sweet scent.

Fragrance alcohols are typically volatile, so their scent can be lost soon after a perfumed product is applied. A lot of research has been dedicated to finding ways to keep scents around for longer.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Pro-fragrant ionic liquids with stable hemiacetal motifs: water-triggered release of fragrances
H. Q. Nimal Gunaratne, Peter Nockemann and Kenneth R. Seddon 
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 4455-4457
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC00099H, Communication

A self-assembling hydrogel with nanofibres that specifically capture and release anti-inflammatory compounds has been created for applications in targeted drug delivery. The drug naproxen is only unleashed from the gel in basic solvents, a trait that could be exploited to avoid naproxen’s undesirable side effects.

Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as naproxen and ibuprofen, are ubiquitous in the management of many diseases and injuries. However, even these well-established medications can cause stomach ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders. Side effects most commonly arise when the drugs are taken for an extended period of time, as in the long-term treatment of arthritis with naproxen. One way of preventing these painful consequences is to encapsulate drugs to restrict their availability in certain parts of the body and target their release to others.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 27th May:
Self-assembled sorbitol-derived supramolecular hydrogels for the controlled encapsulation and release of active pharmaceutical ingredients
Edward J. Howe, Babatunde O. Okesola and David K. Smith 
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 7451-7454
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC01868D, Communication

Here are some of the latest referee-recommended articles published in ChemComm – all free to access until 15th May!

Lewis acid-assisted detection of nerve agents in water
Rahul R. Butala, William R. Creasy, Roderick A. Fry, Michael L. McKee and David A. Atwood 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC00466G, Communication

From slow to fast – the user controls the rate of the release of molecules from masked forms using a photoswitch and different types of light
C. Chad Warford, Carl-Johan Carling and Neil R. Branda   
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 7039-7042
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC00218D, Communication

The long-sought seventeen-electron radical [(C₆Me₆)Cr(CO)₃]+: isolation, crystal structure and substitution reaction
Wenqing Wang, Xingyong Wang, Zaichao Zhang, Ningning Yuan and Xinping Wang 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC01941A, Communication

A bioelectronic system for insulin release triggered by ketone body mimicking diabetic ketoacidosis in vitro
Maria Gamella, Nataliia Guz, José M. Pingarrón, Roshanak Aslebagh, Costel C. Darie and Evgeny Katz 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC01498K, Communication

A membraneless air-breathing hydrogen biofuel cell based on direct wiring of thermostable enzymes on carbon nanotube electrodes
Noémie Lalaoui, Anne de Poulpiquet, Raoudha Haddad, Alan Le Goff, Michael Holzinger, Sébastien Gounel, Michel Mermoux, Pascale Infossi, Nicolas Mano, Elisabeth Lojou and Serge Cosnier 
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 7447-7450
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02166A, Communication

Body temperature sensitive micelles for MRI enhancement
Xiaolei Zhu, Shizhen Chen, Qing Luo, Chaohui Ye, Maili Liu and Xin Zhou 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02587G, Communication

An international team of scientists has tethered palladium to a metal–organic framework (MOF) support using thiol groups normally associated with catalyst poisoning. In doing so, the metal centre becomes neither too soluble nor too crowded, but is instead just right for lossless catalysis.

The modified MOF catalyses a coupling reaction between a boronic acid and 4-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile

Heterogeneous catalysts, where metal catalysts are supported on an insoluble structure, are easier to recover than soluble homogeneous catalysts. Leaching of the metal catalyst from a support into solution is however a central problem in heterogeneous catalysis. Metals lost to the supernatant can be costly, either in catalyst replacement or additional purification and recovery processes. In drug synthesis there are strict limits on residual metals in active pharmaceutical ingredients. Palladium levels must, for example, be less than 10 ppm for oral intake, and an order of magnitude lower for parenteral exposure.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 13th May 2015:
Tackling poison and leach: catalysis by dangling thiol–palladium functions within a porous metal–organic solid
Bo Gui, Ka-Kit Yee, Yan-Lung Wong, Shek-Man Yiu, Matthias Zeller, Cheng Wang and Zhengta Xu 
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 6917-6920
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC00140D, Communication