Chemical Communications Blog

Microjet engines called microbots that can transport cells within a fluid to any desired location have been developed by scientists in Germany.

Manipulating nanomachines to transport biological matter in the body has been a challenge until now. Samuel Sanchez, from the Institute for Integrative Nanosciences in Dresden, and colleagues have shown that by using a magnet it is possible to navigate a microbot towards a specific cell within the body, pick it up from point A and transport it to point B.

The group made machines made up of hollow tubular structures containing a thin layer of platinum on the inside. They found that the machines moved independently in a peroxide solution when controlled externally by a small magnet manipulated with a joystick. The microbots can be directed towards suspended cells in solution, where they pick them up and transport them to the desired location. They released the cells from the tube by rapidly turning the magnet.

Sanchez and his team hope that in the future their microbots could perform visionary tasks within the body. “I would like to see our microbots swimming inside the bodies of animals, delivering drugs to required locations, for example, in the vicinity of cancer cells or replacing diseased cells with healthy ones,” he says.

For more information download Sanchez’s communication, where you can find videos of the swimming microbots in the ESI.

Chinese chemists have prepared graphene via carbonisation of microwave-synthesised metal phthalocyanine, followed by a rapid cooling process. They controlled the thickness of the graphene by using different coolants.

Download their ChemComm communication, free to access until 24th December, to find out more.

A platinum(II)-based major groove binder was identified as a potent human topoisomerase IIα poison, showing anti-proliferation activities in human cancer cells.

Chi-Ming Che and colleagues from the University of Hong Kong were able to stabilise the covalent TopoIIα–DNA cleavage complex and induce cancer cell death with its high potency – apparently it’s significantly higher than a clinically used TopoIIα poison.

Fancy reading more? Then why not download the article today and blog some comments below. The communication, published in ChemComm will be free to access until the 24th December.

Chemists in Denmark have developed a procedure for modifying the surface of SU-8 microparticles and then using it for quantitative multi-step organic synthesis.

SU-8 is a novolac-epoxy resin used in the field of microfabrication and micropatterning. Thomas Nielsen, at Technical University of Denmark, and colleagues demonstrated how common linkers can be attached to the support surface and effectively used for solid-supported synthesis. 

They report transformations including reduction, oxidation, multi-step peptide synthesis and metal-catalysed cycloaddition and cross-coupling reactions in their ChemComm communication, free to download until 24th December.

Peptide–polymer nanotapes can be decorated with diverse functionalities thanks to a versatile strategy developed by scientists in Germany.

Hans Börner, at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, and colleagues modified self-assembled nanotapes of poly(ethylene oxide)–peptide conjugates by a simple amine–azide transfer to create azide-containing nanofibres. Using click chemistry, they then introduced different carboxyl-bearing entities to modulate the calcium binding properties of the nanotapes.

To find out more, download Börner’s communication, which is free to access until 9th December.

Also of interest: Anti-wrinkle creams aided by nanotapes

A new, highly effective β-diketiminatophosphane palladium catalyst can be used in fluoride-free Hiyama coupling reactions of unactivated aryl chlorides in water.

Myung-Jong Jin and colleagues from the Inha University, in Korea, have published their findings in ChemComm. Fancy finding out more about this catalyst and the reaction conditions required? Then download the article today, which is free to access until the 9th December and why not blog some comments below too!

This is the first time, say scientists in China, that copper-catalysed decarboxylative reactions have enabled cross-coupling of alkynyl carboxylic acids with aryl halides, under relatively mild reaction conditions.

Jingsong You, Ying Xue and colleagues from Sichuan University in China believe the process is not only simple and convenient in terms of the reaction conditions and purification, but also tolerant of a variety of functional groups. This is a practical route to give unsymmetric internal arylalkynes. The team have also shown that benzofurans can be smoothly prepared by a one-pot domino protocol on the basis of decarboxylative cross-coupling of 2-iodophenol.

The team have published their findings in ChemComm so why not download the article today, which will be free to access until the 9th December.