Themed Issues – Page 3 – Chemical Society Reviews Blog

Archive for the ‘Themed Issues’ Category

Themed Issue: Solar Fuels

20 Mar 2013

We are delighted to present the Chem Soc Rev themed issue on solar fuels. Guest Editors Siddharth Dasgupta, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Jay R. Winkler and Harry B. Gray introduce the issue in their Editorial:

Editorial: Solar fuels
Siddharth Dasgupta, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Jay R. Winkler and Harry B. Gray
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013,42, 2213-2214

The issue contains a collection of high-profile Reviews and Tutorial Reviews which introduce various key areas within solar fuels research. Here are just a selection:

Tutorial
Structure–function analyses of solar fuels catalysts using in situ X-ray scattering
Karen L. Mulfort, Anusree Mukherjee, Oleksandr Kokhan, Pingwu Du and David M. Tiede
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 2215-2227

Tutorial
Comparison of primary oxidants for water-oxidation catalysis
Alexander R. Parent, Robert H. Crabtree and Gary W. Brudvig
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 2247-2252

Review
Long-lived charge separated states in nanostructured semiconductor photoelectrodes for the production of solar fuels
Alexander J. Cowan and James R. Durrant
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 2281-2293

Read the whole issue online

Comments Off on Themed Issue: Solar Fuels

1,8-Naphthalimide Derivatives: Chemistry, Physical Properties and Activity as Anticancer and Fluorescent Imaging Agents

15 Feb 2013

Written by guest web-writer Kevin Murnaghan.

In this Review, which is part of the Alfred Werner Nobel Centenary Issue, chemists from the Gunnlaugsson group at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) describe recent advances in the development and use of 1,8-naphthalimides, primarily as anti-cancer agents. The scope and breadth of the review are impressive. The use of 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives as DNA binders and cytotoxic agents, as well as their mode of action, cellular uptake and cell selectivity are discussed and compared.

The group at TCD, among others, have prepared a large library of 1,8-naphthalimides. A richly diverse group of materials of varying complexity has been realised, enabled by a powerful, yet simple synthetic strategy. Materials designed to modulate the photophysical response of the aromatic unit are described, as are a range of bis-naphthalimides.

General synthetic route and numbering of 1,8-naphthlimide.

Examples of materials reviewed include mono and bis 1,8-naphthalimides derived from polyamines, amino acids, peptides, Tröger’s bases, and norbornanes. Details are given of effective therapeutics with varying naphthalimide substituents, and also with other aromatics or heteroatomics containing similar functionality. A part of the review is devoted to the coordination chemistry of selected derivatives with metal likes gold or platinum. Additionally, the properties of examples bearing organometallic and coordinated metal fragments such as ruthenium tris-bipyridine are discussed.

The absorption, excitation and emission spectra of a 4-aminonaphthalimide derivative in 10 mM phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 (for structure 68)

The naphthilamide group can neatly interact with biomolecules such as DNA via several modes, including intercalation. This combined with favourable photophysical properties ensures that these materials make extremely useful dual function therapeutic and fluorescent imaging agents. Much qualitative and quantitative clinical information is presented. Best performing derivatives are identified and described in various stage clinical trials against selected cell lines and clinical models.

This broad, highly informative and concise Review should prove to be of interest to a wide range of scientists from pure and multi disciplinary fields. A vast amount of information is given and is well referenced, dealing with the physical, chemical, supramolecular and favourable therapeutic properties of 1,8-napthalimide derivatives.

Read this Chemical Society Reviews article today:

Recent advances in the development of 1,8-naphthalimide based DNA targeting binders, anticancer and fluorescent cellular imaging agents

Swagata Banerjee, Emma B. Veale, Caroline M. Phelan, Samantha A. Murphy, Gillian M. Tocci, Lisa J. Gillespie, Daniel O. Frimannsson, John M. Kelly and Thorfinnur Gunnlaugsson
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 1601-1618
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35467E

Kevin Murnaghan is a guest web-writer for Chemical Society Reviews. He is currently a Research Chemist in the Adhesive Technologies Business Sector of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. His research interests focus primarily on enabling chemistries and technologies for next generation adhesives and surface treatments. (Any views expressed here are his personal ones and not those of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA.)

Comments Off on 1,8-Naphthalimide Derivatives: Chemistry, Physical Properties and Activity as Anticancer and Fluorescent Imaging Agents

Designing a new antifungal glycoconjugate vaccine

13 Dec 2012

Potential conjugate vaccines against Candida albicans, a common pathogen which in its most virulent form may cause life-threatening bloodstream infections such as bacterial meningitis in infants and immunocompromised adults, are currently being developed.

As part of the upcoming Chem Soc Rev carbohydrate chemistry themed issue, this review article by members of the Bundle Research Group from the Alberta Glycomics Centre at the University of Alberta highlights the latest and most significant prospects for candidate vaccines against C. albicans. It also contextualises their work on conjugate vaccine design and evaluation within current knowledge on antibody-carbohydrate interactions and glycoconjugate vaccines development.

Their experimental findings show that conjugate vaccines containing disaccharide or trisaccharide attached to immunogenic proteins reduced fungal burden.

graphical abstract

Related PowerPoint slides on “β1,2-Mannans Conformationally Interesting Molecules” are also available as electronic supplementary information (ESI) – take a look at these for free.

Read this Chemical Society Reviews article today:

Designing a new antifungal glycoconjugate vaccine
Margaret A. Johnson and David R. Bundle
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35382B

Comments Off on Designing a new antifungal glycoconjugate vaccine

Themed issue: Quasicrystals

12 Nov 2012

Chem. Soc. Rev. is delighted to present its Quasicrystals themed issue, in honour of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, Professor Dan Shechtman.

Guest editor Professor Walter Steurer introduces this themed issue in his editorial Fascinating Quasicrystals.

This themed issue features a fantastic collection of reviews on the topic of quasicrystals, here is just a snapshot:

Tutorial Reviews:
Why are quasicrystals quasiperiodic?
Walter Steurer
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 6719-6729
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35063G

Electrical and thermal transport properties of icosahedral and decagonal quasicrystals
Janez Dolinšek
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 6730-6744
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35036J

Critical Review:
Mathematical diffraction of aperiodic structures
Michael Baake and Uwe Grimm
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 6821-6843
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35120J

Browse the whole Quasicrystals themed issue online.

Comments Off on Themed issue: Quasicrystals

A centenary for solar fuels

25 Sep 2012

100 years ago an Italian chemist predicted that one day human beings would use sunlight to make fuel.

Professor Giacomo Ciamician, nine-time Nobel Prize nominee, envisaged a time when human beings would use “processes that hitherto have been the guarded secret of the plants” to harvest sunlight and make fuel.

To celebrate the remarkable recent scientific advances towards achieving this dream, the RSC has created a collection articles by leading international scientists as well as original commentaries setting out their opinions about the future. All articles in the collection are free to access until 27th October 2012.

Opinion
“Fast food” energy – Daniel Nocera argues that new research and development is needed to provide the nonlegacy world with the “fast food” equivalent of solar energy—light-weight and highly manufacturable solar capture and storage systems (Energy Environ. Sci., 2010,3, 993-995).

Running on sun – five international experts discuss the promise of artificial photosynthesis and the challenges that lie ahead (Published on the 25th of September 2012).

Which energy solution is best?
Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security – Mark Jacobson reviews and ranks major proposed energy-related solutions to global warming, air pollution mortality, and energy security (Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, 148-173).

Learning from Nature
Photosynthetic energy conversion: natural and artificial – James Barber asks: can we address the energy/CO₂ problem by developing new photochemical technologies which mimic the water splitting enzyme of photosynthesis? (Chem. Soc. Rev., 2009, 38, 185-196).

Recent advances in hybrid photocatalysts for solar fuel production – Joachim Loo and colleagues investigate how to make robust photocatalytic hybrid Graphical abstract: Photosynthesis-to-fuels: from sunlight to hydrogen, isoprene, and botryococcene production systems for producing solar fuels (Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 5902-5918).

Photosynthesis-to-fuels: from sunlight to hydrogen, isoprene, and botryococcene production – Anastasios Melis explains how the primary products of photosynthesis can be transformed directly, in a single organism, into useful fuels and chemicals for human consumption (Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 5531-5539).

Raising awareness
Solar Fuels and Artificial Photosynthesis: Science and innovation to change our future energy options is a non-technical RSC report introducing the potential of solar fuels to become a viable alternative in our future energy landscape.

Click for more free-to-access energy-related articles

Comments Off on A centenary for solar fuels

Computational modelling to investigate the origins of life (a Tutorial review with a bonus)

22 Jun 2012

The excerpt above, taken from Peter Coveney and colleagues’ latest review article in Chem Soc Rev, was a key motivation for the journal to develop a themed issue on Prebiotic Chemistry (which will be published later this year, but you can find many of the articles on our platform as advance articles).

This exciting review from the UK based researchers (at UCL, University of Nottingham and Durham University) covers key areas in theory, modelling and simulation studies to help investigate the origin of life and is certainly worth a read from anyone interested in prebiotic chemistry.

Image taken from ESI

But the authors haven’t just written an excellent review. They’ve also provided a presentation as electronic supplementary information (ESI), representing a great learning and teaching resource.

Tutorial reviews are essential introductions to important fields in the chemical sciences, designed to have particular appeal to younger researchers. Authors are encouraged to make use of Chem Soc Rev’s ESI facilities to complement and enhance their reviews. This doesn’t just have to be in the form of a presentation – videos, practice questions, audio files, recorded lectures, etc are all welcomed as ESI if they enhance the key learning points of a Tutorial review.

Read Coveney’s review >

Comments Off on Computational modelling to investigate the origins of life (a Tutorial review with a bonus)

Nanomedicine themed issue

30 Mar 2012

A highlight of the year so far for me is the publication of the Chem Soc Rev themed issue on Nanomedicine. Have you read it yet?

A lot of planning and hard work goes into the production of our themed issues. In fact, it has been over two years since I initially proposed this themed issue to the Chem Soc Rev Editorial Board. With the help, input and guidance of the fantastic guest editors – Frank Caruso, Taeghwan Hyeon and Vince Rotello – and the enthusiasm and dedication of all the authors, not to mention the referees and our Editorial Production team, the issue is now online. And I think it’s great. What about you?

As the guest editors state in their Editorial, nanomedicine is ‘poised to revolutionise healthcare and medicine through transformative new diagnostic and therapeutic tools’. Chemistry plays a crucial role, not just in terms of developing new materials but also the techniques and tools used to monitor and analyse their interactions in tissues. I hope that this themed issue will be a useful resource for those involved in research and teaching in this fascinating area.

Also of interest
Tailoring nanoparticles: Suits you sir!
ISACS9: Challenges in Nanoscience 31 August – 3 September, Xiamen, China

@ChemSocRev

Comments Off on Nanomedicine themed issue

Solar Energy review collection

17 Jan 2012

Creating and securing environmentally sustainable energy is a global challenge. As part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s ‘Chemistry for Tomorrow’s World’ initiatives, we are promoting solar energy and the role the chemical sciences can play in providing solutions.

Chem Soc Rev has recently published some great reviews on the theme of solar energy. Read them today to find out how chemistry can support change.

Sensitizer molecular structure-device efficiency relationship in dye sensitized solar cells
John N. Clifford, Eugenia Martínez-Ferrero, Aurélien Viterisi and Emilio Palomares
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, 40, 1635-1646

Photodeposition of metal sulfide quantum dots on titanium(IV) dioxide and the applications to solar energy conversion
Hiroaki Tada, Musashi Fujishima and Hisayoshi Kobayashi
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, 40, 4232-4243

Thermodynamics and kinetics of CO₂, CO, and H⁺ binding to the metal centre of CO₂ reduction catalysts
Jacob Schneider, Hongfei Jia, James T. Muckerman and Etsuko Fujita
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, DOI:10.1039/C1CS15278E

Photosensitized electron transfer processes of nanocarbons applicable to solar cells
Francis D’Souza and Osamu Ito
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 86-96

Charge transfer in organic molecules for solar cells: theoretical perspective
Yi Zhao and WanZhen Liang
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1CS15207F

Also of interest:
Artificial Photosynthesis – a ChemComm web theme

Comments Off on Solar Energy review collection

Advances in DNA-based nanotechnology: video introduction by Eugen Stulz

05 Jan 2012

Eugen Stulz introduces the Chem Soc Rev themed issue on Advances in DNA-Based Nanotechnology, which he guest edited with Guido Clever, Mitsuhiko Shionoya and Chengde Mao.

Comments Off on Advances in DNA-based nanotechnology: video introduction by Eugen Stulz

Honouring the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

29 Sep 2011

Graphical abstract: Front cover In its latest issue, Chem Soc Rev is honouring the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners: Professors Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki.

The issue, guest edited by Professor Matthias Beller (Rostock University, Germany), includes 18 reviews highlighting recent key developments in cross-coupling reactions in organic synthesis. Authors include Stephen Buchwald, Lukas Goossen and Steven Nolan.

Read the issue >

Also of interest: OBC Perspective: Tandem reactions initiated by copper-catalyzed cross-coupling: A new strategy towards heterocycle synthesis

Comments Off on Honouring the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Chemical Society Reviews Blog