Chemical Science Blog

Here are some recent referee-recommended Chemical Science articles for you to enjoy – all are open access and free to download:

Theoretical studies on a carbonaceous molecular bearing: association thermodynamics and dual-mode rolling dynamics
Hiroyuki Isobe, Kosuke Nakamura, Shunpei Hitosugi, Sota Sato, Hiroaki Tokoyama, Hideo Yamakado, Koichi Ohno and Hirohiko Kono 
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC00335K, Edge Article

Molecular understandings on the activation of light hydrocarbons over heterogeneous catalysts
Zhi-Jian Zhao, Cheng-chau Chiu and Jinlong Gong 
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01227A, Perspective

Selective glycoprotein detection through covalent templating and allosteric click-imprinting
Alexander Stephenson-Brown, Aaron L. Acton, Jon A. Preece, John S. Fossey and Paula M. Mendes 
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC02031J, Edge Article

Biomimetic versus enzymatic high-potential electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide on a functionalized carbon nanotube electrode
Bertrand Reuillard, Solène Gentil, Marie Carrière, Alan Le Goff and Serge Cosnier 
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01473E, Edge Article

Small molecular logic systems can draw the outlines of objects via edge visualization
Jue Ling, Gaowa Naren, Jessica Kelly, David B. Fox and A. Prasanna de Silva 
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01537E, Edge Article

Imaging metals in biology: balancing sensitivity, selectivity and spatial resolution
Dominic J. Hare, Elizabeth J. New, Martin D. de Jonge and Gawain McColl
DOI: 10.1039/C5CS00055F, Tutorial Review

The exploitation of porous frameworks, both metal-organic and wholly organic in nature, for their ability to take up and store gases and small molecules, has been well reported over the past few decades. The modularity of these frameworks with respect to their size, flexibility and chemical functionality gives rise to their propensity to adsorb a myriad of chemicals; however, this process is not always selective and the chemical instability of these frameworks can cause difficulties in their extension towards real-life applications. A framework that a) is able to favourably and preferentially adsorb chemicals with high sensitivity, and b) exhibits chemical stability under a wide range of conditions, remains somewhat elusive and is thus a hot topic of investigation in many research groups.

Whilst the uptake and sensing properties of two-dimensional porous polymers have been well studied, the bulk nature of these materials often results in the decrease of their properties on account of the extensive aggregation of the polymer layers and resulting reduction of electrons available to interact with guest molecules. Rahul Banerjee and researchers from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Chemical Laboratory set out to address this limitation in the field of porous polymers through the Liquid Phase Exfoliation of an imide-based covalent organic framework to its covalent organic nanosheet (CON) analogue. Such a CON, which contains between five and fifteen layers of the material, has chemical and thermal stability equal to that of its bulk counterpart; however, its sensing ability down to 10^–5 M towards 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) and other nitroaromatic explosive chemicals is far superior. Furthermore, this reversible detection upon uptake can be seen both spectroscopically in solution and visually in the solid state via the turning off and on of the CON luminescence respectively.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received over a decade’s worth of attention from scientists worldwide. These porous materials can be constructed from almost an infinite combination of organic ligands and metal ions, which has spurred scientists to become creative in their designs, delivering materials with a wide range of useful applications.

In this recently published Chemical Science Perspective, Christopher Hendon and Aron Walsh (recently announced as the winner of the 2015 Chemical Society Reviews Emerging Investigator Lectureship) provide unique insight on the importance of the electronic, magnetic and physical properties of MOFs, focusing their attention on the body of evidence available on HKUST-1.

Many of the most successful MOFs contain arrays of copper paddle wheel motifs, and HKUST-1 is no exception. First reported by Williams in 1999¹, HKUST-1 remains one of the most high-performing materials of its kind and, thanks to it being high in demand, is one of few commercially available MOFs on the market.

With fresh analysis in hand, this report provides researchers with key design principles for the construction of MOFs with tailored chemical and electronic properties, potentially furthering the high-performance applications of these materials.

Read Walsh and Hendon’s Perspective in Chemical Science – it’s open access, and free to download:
Chemical principles underpinning the performance of the metal–organic framework HKUST-1
Christopher H. Hendon and Aron Walsh  
Chem. Sci., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01489A, Perspective

¹S. S. Chui, S. M. Lo, J. P. H. Charmant, A. G. Orpen and I. D. Williams, Science, 1999, 283, 1148

Researchers in China and Ireland have developed a simple way of building new stimuli-responsive phospholipids that can self-assemble into hollow spheres and trigger the release of anticancer drugs only when inside the cell lysosome.

Liposomes made from synthetic nucleoside phospholipids could benefit drug delivery

Liposomes are nanoscale three-dimensional hollow vesicles with a phospholipid-based outer shell. They are widely used as drug and gene delivery agents and have been approved for various clinical trials. Liposomes are easily internalised by cells and are sealed off from the rest of the cell by the endosome and later in the internalisation process by the lysosome. These compartments specifically isolate foreign objects from the cell and remove them. Controlled release from them can significantly enhance delivery of a therapeutic drug directly within the targeted cell. Since the internal lysosome environment is acidic, pH sensitive liposomes capable of braking up and releasing their cargo have been widely studied. Due to the covalent nature of most of the phospholipids used to prepare liposomes, the latter do not respond promptly to the acidic environment, limiting the fast release of their cargos, and require tedious covalent synthesis procedures. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

You can read the original journal article in Chemical Science – it’s open access and free to download:
Supramolecularly engineered phospholipids constructed by nucleobase molecular recognition: upgraded generation of phospholipids for drug delivery
Dali Wang, Chunlai Tu, Yue Su, Chuan Zhang, Udo Greiser, Xinyuan Zhu, Deyue Yan and Wenxin Wang 
Chem. Sci., 2015,6, 3775-3787
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01188D, Edge Article

Ionic liquid conductivity decreases at low temperature. To overcome this, a team of researchers from across Japan have combined an ionic liquid with a metal–organic framework (MOF) to produce an unusual material that retains its conductivity below –20°C. This low-temperature conductivity, together with the attractive ionic liquid properties of non-flammability and negligible volatility, could open up the potential for safe battery and capacitor materials for use in extremely cold conditions. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the full article in Chemical Science – it’s open access and free to download:
Low temperature ionic conductor: ionic liquid incorporated within a metal–organic framework
Kazuyuki Fujie, Kazuya Otsubo, Ryuichi Ikeda, Teppei Yamada and Hiroshi Kitagawa  
Chem. Sci., 2015, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01398D, Edge Article