Chemical Communications Blog

Ionic Liquids web theme issue – welcoming submissions

03 Oct 2011

ChemComm is delighted to announce a high-profile web themed issue on Ionic Liquids.

Guest editors: Robin D. Rogers (University of Alabama), Doug MacFarlane (Monash University) and Suojiang Zhang (Institute of Process Engineering)

Picture courtesy of Photodisc

This issue will consist of a series of Communications and Feature Articles from prominent scientists working on all aspects of ionic liquid chemistry. The scope will range from new fundamental knowledge about ionic liquids to novel applications of ionic liquids which take advantage of their unique attributes. Follow on studies or those of routine interest will not be considered.

The level of quality of this issue will be extremely high, and all manuscripts will undergo strict peer review. You are therefore encouraged to report work that you consider to be very important and conceptually significant in accord with the ChemComm mandate. Please note that inclusion in the issue is subject to the discretion of the guest editors.

Publication of the peer-reviewed articles will occur without delay to ensure the timely dissemination of the work. The articles will then be assembled on the ChemComm website as a web-based thematic issue.

Submit your work before 29^th February 2012. Please add “ionic liquids” in the comments to the editor section.

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Modelling reveals interconnect between SERS enhancement mechanisms

03 Oct 2011

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) uses noble metal substrates to enhance the inherently weak Raman signal from analytes. In some cases, the enhancement stems from two different mechanisms: a physical enhancement that comes from excitation of the metal surface plasmons and a chemical enhancement arising from charge transfer between the metal surface and an adsorbed molecule.

Up until now, theoretical SERS models have tended to treat these mechanisms separately. However, Duan and colleagues point out that this simplification is not always valid since plasmonic properties can be significantly affected by adsorbed molecules. Using state-of-the-art density functional models, they have revealed the connection between the two mechanisms, allowing more accurate modelling of SERS spectra.

To learn more about how Duan’s team have implemented this model, download the ChemComm article.

Also of interest:

Evidence of a surface plasmon-mediated mechanism in the generation of the SERS background, C. Farcau and S. Astilean, Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 3861.
Scanned chemical enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman scattering using a charge-transfer complex, J. R. Lombardi et al., Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 2426.

Visit the ChemComm Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy web theme issue for more articles.

Posted on behalf of Iain A. Larmour, ChemComm web writer.

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

30 Sep 2011

By Will Dennis, Publishing Editor.

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

By Joanne Thomson.

….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

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

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

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

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

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

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

By Rachel Blakeburn.

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

By Joanne Thomson.

….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

By Joanne Thomson.

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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Chemical Communications Blog

Ionic Liquids web theme issue – welcoming submissions

Modelling reveals interconnect between SERS enhancement mechanisms

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

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