Chemical Communications Blog

Researchers in France, Switzerland and Cameroon are convinced that the African pin-cushion tree produces the well-known painkiller Tramadol and are determined to prove it. Back in 2013, a team led by neuroscientist Michel de Waard, of the Joseph Fourier University, claimed that significant quantities of the drug were present in the root bark extract of Nauclea latifolia, which has long been used by locals in West and Central Africa to treat pain and disease.

Last year another team, led by Michael Spiteller who is based at the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, ran some tests of their own and cast doubt on these findings. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

N. latifol grows widely in Cameroon and is used by traditional healers to treat a wide variety of complaints. Image courtesy of Scott Zona / Wikipedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to read until 7th October:
Biomimetic synthesis of Tramadol
Florine Lecerf-Schmidt, Romain Haudecoeur, Basile Peres, Marcos Marçal Ferreira Queiroz, Laurence Marcourt, Soura Challal, Emerson Ferreira Queiroz, Germain Sotoing Taiwe, Thierry Lomberget, Marc Le Borgne, Jean-Luc Wolfender, Michel De Waard, Richard J. Robins and Ahcène Boumendjel 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05948H, Communication

Earlier this year we reported that scientists in China had built molecular Sierpiński triangles from small aromatic building blocks. Now, another team in China has constructed fractal triangles on the molecular scale and this time, they’re much more robust. Read more in Chemistry World»

You can read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 28th September:
On-surface construction of a metal–organic Sierpiński triangle
Qiang Sun, Liangliang Cai, Honghong Ma, Chunxue Yuan and Wei Xu 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05554G, Communication

Researchers have synthesised a polymer that limits ice crystal growth in frozen red blood cells as they thaw. The polymer is set to pave the way for similar synthetic structures that mimic the properties of natural antifreeze proteins.

Antifreeze proteins have been a hot topic since they were first discovered in Antarctic fish in the 1960s. They have a wide range of potential applications in aerospace, the food industry and in biomedicine, where they are used in cryopreservation.

During cryopreservation, cells and tissues are stored at sub-zero temperatures and thawed before use. However, frozen cells can be damaged as they defrost. When ice melts, it can refreeze into larger crystals that puncture cells from the outside. This process, called recrystallisation, is especially damaging for organs and blood bags, which defrost over a long time. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Rational, yet simple, design and synthesis of an antifreeze-protein inspired polymer for cellular cryopreservation
Daniel E. Mitchell, Neil R. Cameron and Matthew I. Gibson 
Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 12977-12980, DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04647E, Communication

We’ve selected a few more referee-recommended articles for you to enjoy this month – all free to download until the end of August:

An ultra-microporous organic polymer for high performance carbon dioxide capture and separation
Ali Kemal Sekizkardes, Jeffrey T. Culp, Timur Islamoglu, Anne Marti, David Hopkinson, Christina Myers, Hani M. El-Kaderi and Hunaid B. Nulwala 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04656D, Communication

Higher-order human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA metalloenzyme catalyzed Diels–Alder reaction: an unexpected inversion of enantioselectivity modulated by K⁺ and NH₄⁺ ions
Yinghao Li, Changhao Wang, Jingya Hao, Mingpan Cheng, Guoqing Jia and Can Li 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05215G, Communication

Glass formation via structural fragmentation of a 2D coordination network
D. Umeyama, N. P. Funnell, M. J. Cliffe, J. A. Hill, A. L. Goodwin, Y. Hijikata, T. Itakura, T. Okubo, S. Horike and S. Kitagawa 
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 12728-12731, DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04626B, Communication

Highly-efficient T4 DNA ligase-based SNP analysis using a ligation fragment containing a modified nucleobase at the end
Eui Kyoung Jang, Munhee Yang and Seung Pil Pack 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03761A, Communication

Scientists in Japan have reported a way of inserting alkynes into carbon–silicon bonds, also known as alkynylsilylation, that creates silicon stereogenic centres with high enantioselectivity.

The literature is littered with examples of alkyne insertion into carbon–silicon bonds to synthesise alkenylsilanes but until now, there has been limited progress in synthesising their alkynyl cousins. Now, Ryo Shintani and Kyoko Nozaki at the University of Tokyo have developed a successful rhodium-catalysed intramolecular method to achieve this. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Rhodium-catalyzed intramolecular alkynylsilylation of alkynes
Ryo Shintani, Hiroki Kurata and Kyoko Nozaki
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 11378-11381
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04172D, Communication

Scientists in China have built a thin film that retains its antifogging properties even under an antireflective coating.

When water molecules in warm moist air condense on a cooler surface, tiny droplets form. On transparent surfaces – such as glasses, windows or screens – these droplets scatter light and fog the surface. Most antifogging materials are superhydrophilic compounds that spread the water molecules on the surface to stop droplets from forming and require the superhydrophilic layer to be on top. This imposes ‘significant difficulties and challenges when designing multifunctional thin films,’ explains Junhui He from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. The problem is ‘that different functions generally act on their own and do not collaborate with each other. How to harmonise these functions in a single film is a big hurdle that scientists must span.’ Read the full article in Chemistry World to find out He’s solution»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Antifogging antireflective thin films: does the antifogging layer have to be the outmost layer?
Xiaojie Zhang and Junhui He
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04465K, Communication

Here are some recent referee-recommeded ChemComm articles for you to enjoy – all free to download until 12th August:

Mesostructured zeolites: bridging the gap between zeolites and MCM-41
Teerawit Prasomsri, Wenqian Jiao, Steve Z. Weng and Javier Garcia Martinez
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC10391B, Feature Article

Titanium migration driven by Li vacancies in Li_1−xTi₂O₄ spinel
A. Kitada, A. M. Arevalo-Lopez and J. P. Attfield
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02800K, Communication

Rational design of a charge shunt: modification upon crystal facet engineering of semiconductor photocatalysts
Wenhui Feng, Sunxian Weng, Zuyang Zheng, Zhibin Fang and Ping Liu
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02700D, Communication

Ultrasensitive genotyping with target-specifically generated circular DNA templates and RNA FRET probes
Haoxian Zhou, Hui Wang, Chenghui Liu, Honghong Wang, Xinrui Duan and Zhengping Li
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03738G, Communication

Tuning the lignin oil OH-content with Ru and Pd catalysts during lignin hydrogenolysis on birch wood
S. Van den Bosch, W. Schutyser, S.-F. Koelewijn, T. Renders, C. M. Courtin and B. F. Sels
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04025F, Communication

High Performance Li-ion Sulfur Batteries Enabled by Intercalation Chemistry
Dongping Lu, Pengfei Yan, Yuyan Shao, Qiuyan Li, Seth Ferrara, Huilin Pan, Gordon L Graff, Bryant Polzin, Chongmin Wang, Ji-guang Zhang, Jun Liu and Jie Xiao 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05171A, Communication

Mimicking interstellar conditions, a team of scientists at NASA has synthesised complex organic molecules thought to be necessary for the origin of life.

Understanding how simple compounds gave rise to the complex organic molecules and metabolic processes we see in today’s biology is one of the greatest conundrums of modern scientific endeavour. Now, Karen Smith and co-workers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, US, allow us a peek into life’s molecular past with their latest research.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Metabolic precursors in astrophysical ice analogs: implications for meteorites and comets
Karen E. Smith, Perry A. Gerakines and Michael P. Callahan 
Journal Article
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03272E, Communication