….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
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.
Ionic liquid drugs can rapidly pass through the skin and may open the way to new, more effective medicines, say scientists in Australia. They could also be a solution to some of the most significant problems in the pharmaceutical industry, they say.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are amorphous compounds consisting of a cation-anion pair. One or both of the ions can be derived from pharmaceutically active compounds to create liquid forms of the drugs, which are more stable, soluble and bioavailable than the parent compounds. In some cases, the IL shows an enhanced pharmaceutical effect over the drugs from which it is derived. Also, being amorphous, ILs could be a solution to polymorphic interconversion, where one polymorph of a drug converts to another over time, which affects its properties.
The use of ILs has been limited because they don’t readily permeate skin and other biological membranes, thought to be because they are poorly soluble in lipids. Now, Jelena Stoimenovski and Douglas MacFarlane from Monash University have identified protic ionic liquids (PILs) – in which a pharmaceutically active acid is reacted with a biocompatible base to produce salts with dual activity – that can overcome this barrier.
Pharmaceutically active protic ionic liquids can permeate rapidly through model membranes as neutral hydrogen bonded clusters
Read the full Chemistry World article here
Link to Journal Article
Enhanced membrane transport of pharmaceutically active protic ionic liquids
Jelena Stoimenovski and Douglas R. MacFarlane
Chem. Commun., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1CC14314J
The countdown to 2012 has begun. There are only 100 days until ChemComm more than doubles its frequency to 100 issues per year.
To celebrate the countdown to this exciting change, we’ll be featuring some numerical ChemComm trivia over the coming weeks.
Did you know?……
100 is the number of citations Zhang-Jie Shi’s 2010 Feature article on Pd-catalyzed oxidative coupling with organometallic reagents via C–H activation has received (according to Web of ScienceSM).
Find out more about the move to 100 issues >
Scientists in Canada have developed a simple chemical detector that could be used to detect airborne neurotoxic organophosphorus chemical warfare agents.
Exposure to organophosphorus agents blocks the action of cholinesterase enzymes, which causes the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to accumulate in the brain. This rapid reaction causes bronchoconstriction (constriction in the airways in the lungs, owing to a tightening of surrounding smooth muscle), seizures, and finally death. Some agents, such as sarin and soman, are odourless and colourless, which makes them difficult to detect. Current detection methods require specialist equipment and trained personnel, so are of limited use in the field.
The photoresponsive dithienylethene changes colour in the presence of an organophosphorus agent
Neil Branda at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, and colleagues, have designed a chemical detector made of a dithienylethene compound that binds with organophosphorus agents in the same way that the agents bind to enzymes in the body. When the detector is bound to an agent, its structure alters, causing it to change from colourless to blue when exposed to UV light. This simple colour change provides a clear signal. Visible light resets the system by triggering the reverse reaction.
Read the full story in Chemistry World and download the ChemComm article to find out more about Branda’s research.
A team of researchers from Switzerland have used a commercially available fluorophore for detecting caffeine in water.
Previous methods for caffeine detection have been based on hydrogen-bonding receptors but these suffer from the need to use organic solvents. Whilst water-based detection has been achieved, the sensitivity and selectivity for caffeine was low.
Inspired by the known affinity of caffeine for polyaromatic compounds, Kay Severin and colleagues discovered that HPTS, a polysulfonated pyrene dye, can be used to selectively probe caffeine in liquid and solid samples. The team used the probe to quantify caffeine levels in soft drinks, coffee and painkillers, proving it can be used as a simpler alternative to HPLC.
Download the ChemComm article to find out more.
We are delighted to invite nominations for the 2nd ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship. The lectureship, which is awarded annually, will recognise an emerging scientist in the early stages of their independent academic career.
To qualify
To be eligible for the ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship, the candidate should have completed their PhD on or after 5th September 2003.
The candidate should also have published at least one article in ChemComm during the course of their independent career.
Award details
The recipient of the award will be invited to present a lecture at three different locations over a 12 month period. It is expected that at least one of the locations will be a conference. The recipient will receive a contribution of £1500 towards travel and accommodation costs. S/he will also be presented with a certificate and be asked to contribute a ChemComm Feature Article.
Nominations
Those wishing to make a nomination should send the following details to the ChemComm Editorial Office by 9th December 2011:
The nominator and independent referees are requested to comment on the candidate’s presenting skills.
Please note that self nomination is not permitted.
Selection procedure
The ChemComm Editorial Board will draw up a short-list of candidates based on the information provided by the referees and nominator. Short-listed candidates will be asked to provide a supporting statement justifying why they deserve the award. The recipient of the award will then be selected and endorsed by the ChemComm Editorial Board.
Previous winner
2011 Dr Scott Dalgarno (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK) – Find out about his Emerging Investigator Lecture tour in China
This week, the RSC launched a new product, RSC e-membership, allowing anyone to access an electronic version of Chemistry World through a MyRSC account and to enjoy the benefits of electronic networking via this professional online community for £20/year.
Subscribers to this do not benefit from the professional recognition or any of the other many services and discounts available to RSC Members, but it allows chemists from around the world, many already members of another chemical society in their own country, to benefit from the highly-esteemed content in Chemistry World and the networking opportunities offered from MyRSC, which now stands at over 11,000 members. The RSC e-membership also allows subscribers to join a virtual specialist interest group on MyRSC. If you are interested in joining, please visit www.rsc.org/emembership.
Toyonobu Usuki, from Sophia University, Tokyo, found that shikimic acid could be isolated from ginkgo biloba leaves using an ionic liquid. Ginkgo biloba is a tree mainly found in China and has often been used in Chinese medicine.
Find out more – read Usuki’s ChemComm communication.
We expect this growth to continue – so we’re moving to 100 issues in 2012. And we’ll be the first chemistry journal to do this.
Why have we taken this decision? With our authors and readers in mind, we wanted to further improve the service we are currently offering. More issues means:
And just in case you’re thinking that our Impact Factor hasn’t kept pace with our growth – think again:
So there are exciting times ahead for ChemComm – make sure you keep in touch by signing up for the newsletter or Table of Contents alert – or both – on our website.
