Blogs from RSC Publishing Posts

Sustainable Energy & Fuels is now open for submissions

Rosalind Searle — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 14:24:14 +0000

Sustainable Energy & Fuels will publish research that contributes to the development of sustainable energy technologies with a particular emphasis on new and next-generation technologies. All submitted manuscripts will be handled by our international team of Associate Editors, which we are delighted to introduce below.

Ryu Abe, Kyoto University, Japan Professor Abe’s research focuses on the development of photocatalytic reactions over semiconductor materials for solar energy conversion and environmental purification. His expertise includes photocatalysis, semiconductiors, inorganic materials, metal oxides, materials aspects of electrocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, and some aspects of battery technologies. Vincent Artero, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, France Professor Artero works to develop bio-inspired catalysts and light-driven systems for hydrogen evolution and artificial photosynthesis. He has expertise in molecular and bio aspects of electrocatalysis, photocatalysis and related organometallic and inorganic chemistry. Garry Rumbles, National Research Energy Laboratory and CU Boulder, USA Dr. Rumbles' current research interests are in solar energy with a focus on the basic science of solar photoconversion processes and photoinduced electron transfer processes in polymer-based nanostructured interfaces. His primary research expertise lies in photochemistry and photophysics, with a specialty in kinetics, as well as organics, photovoltaics, solar fuels (oxides too), photochemistry and physical chemistry. Marta Sevilla, Instituto Nacional del Carbón - CSIC, Spain Dr Sevilla is based at the Instituto Nacional del Carbón and has research expertise in supercapacitors, electroreduction reaction, hydrogen oxidation in the anode, carbon capture and storage.

Send us your high quality research today for the chance to be included in our high-profile first issue, available online in spring 2017 with advance articles publishing as early as December this year. Find out more.

Quantifying UK carbon reduction potential

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:39:07 +0000

With 2016 set to become the warmest year on record, global warming has never been more prominent in the news. Researchers have found that scientifically viable carbon capture and reduction technologies could reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by 8–32%. This year the UK signed up to the Paris climate agreement, which aims to limit global temperature increases to below 2°C compared with pre-industrial temperatures. One way to start meeting this agreement is for the UK to aim for net zero CO2 emissions through the use of negative emissions technologies (NETs) – these include methods to capture CO2 either directly from the air of before it is released from fossil fuel emissions, planting trees and creating forests, accelerating natural geological weathering to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, changing agricultural practices and land use, and binding CO2 in the form of biochar.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Carbon dioxide flows among atmospheric, land, ocean and geological reservoirs for different negative emission technologies. Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry"][/caption]

Pete Smith, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and colleagues have assessed the impact that UK-based NETs could have on reducing the country’s CO2emission levels. Smith’s team discovered that if the UK implemented all possible NETs, regardless of their technical viability, it would reduce current emissions by 8–32%. However, the actual proportion of this potential that can be realised might be smaller than this; factors such as cost, energy requirements, environmental impact and public acceptance will all affect these technologies’ viability. Read the full article in Chemistry World.

Preliminary assessment of the potential for, and limitations to, terrestrial negative emission technologies in the UK

Pete Smith, R. Stuart Haszeldine and Stephen M. Smith

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2016,18, 1400-1405

DOI: 10.1039/C6EM00386A

Metals in Biology

Keir Hollingsworth — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:22:41 +0000

The 2017 Metals in Biology Conference is to be held between 22 - 27 January, in Ventura, California

"The MIB-GRC brings together scientists from diverse backgrounds to foster new collaborations that take advantage of complementary skills. Lectures in the 2017 MIB-GRC cover recent advances in our understanding of the roles of metalloproteins and metal/nucleic acid complexes in cellular signaling, metal ion regulation, and their effects on human health; the evolving biological chemistry of metals from the earth's deep past to the current environment, and metal-centered catalysis by a variety of metalloenzymes, including those crucial in the grand global cycles of hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen."

If you are coming to the conference, then why not come and chat to Metallomics Executive Editor Philippa Hughes.

Philippa Ross, Executive Editor, Metallomics

You can find out more about the Metals in Biology conference here

CellMatrix poster prize winners

Mina Roussenova, Development Editor — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 15:23:45 +0000

[caption id="attachment_1835" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="The CellMatrix poster prize winners: Lakshmi Kavitha Sthanam (left) and Asja Guzman (right)"][/caption] Many congratulations to Lakshmi Kavitha Sthanam (IIT Bombay) and Asja Guzman (Columbia University) on winning the poster prizes at the International Conference on New Advances in Probing Cell-Extracellular Matrix Interactions (CellMatrix). Integrative Biology was the proud sponsor of these poster prizes and the winners received book vouchers and Royal Society of Chemistry certificates. This meeting took place in Berlin, Germany from 20^th to the 21^st October, and it highlighted the application of novel experimental tools and technologies for probing cell-extracellular matrix interactions. Sessions covered a wide range of topics including mechanobiology and methods for cell-extracellular matrix visualisation. Please visit the conference website for more details on the themes and speakers.

Many congratulations on this achievement from the Integrative Biology team!

Paper of the month: SET-LRP of acrylates catalyzed by a 1 penny copper coin

Athina Anastasaki, Web Writer — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 13:20:20 +0000

Aksakal et al. report the Cu(0)-mediated living radical polymerization of acrylates using a British penny coin. Cu(0)-mediated living radical polymerization, typically referred to as single electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET-LRP), is a versatile tool for the synthesis of advanced materials. The groups of Becer and Resmini have further highlighted this versatility by reporting the SET-LRP of acrylates catalyzed by a penny copper coin. Impressively, a wide range of hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers were successfully polymerized yielding well-defined polymers with low dispersities, near-quantitative conversions and high end group functionality. The scope of the system was subsequently expanded to include the synthesis of star polymers through the core first approach. Interestingly, the authors used two type of coins, the first one (issued in 1971-1992) consisting of 97% of copper and the second one (issued after 1992) consisting of 6% of copper. Both coins exhibited near identical polymerization results. A series of polymerizations targeting different degrees of polymerization were also conducted, all proceeding with very good control over the molecular weight distributions. In comparison to traditional Cu(0)-wire systems, British penny coins have the additional advantage of prohibiting the induction period, which is typically observed for many SET-LRP reactions. Finally, the scalability of these polymerizations up to 50 gram scale was also successful and thus demonstrating an economic, efficient and easily accessible catalyst for SET-LRP of various acrylic monomers. Tips/comments directly from the authors: Comments: In this study, we provide direct evidence that the traditionally used Cu(0)-wire can be replaced with a copper coin, regardless to its year of issue. To avoid any induction period, this method can be employed for the synthesis of well-defined polymers of acrylates with both linear and star shaped initiators. Tips:

Since the coins are usually contaminated due to prior circulation, we suggest for reproducibility purposes a quick rinse with a freshly prepared HCl before the polymerization.
As mentioned in the manuscript, both penny coins issued before and after 1992 exhibit near identical polymerization results. However, the coins issued after 1992 consist of 94% steel and are magnetic. Due to this, it should be taken into account that the magnetic stirrer can occasionally spin out of its axis. Therefore, we suggest the use of narrow and long Schlenk tube to avoid any splashing of the polymerization mixture.
Due to the reactivity of the polymerization mixture, samples for both NMR and GPC should be diluted immediately in order to avoid errors during kinetic sampling.
The inhibitor of monomers can be easily removed by passing over a plug of basic aluminium oxide. Due to the high viscosity of the OEGA₄₈₀ monomer, larger volumes can be diluted in a volatile solvent to decrease viscosity. Evaporation of the solvent will provide the inhibitor-free monomer.

Read this exciting research for free until 25/11/2016 through a registered RSC account: SET-LRP of acrylates catalyzed by a 1 penny copper coin R. Aksakal, M. Resmini and C.R. Becer Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 6564-6569 DOI: 10.1039/C6PY01295G —————- About the webwriter

Dr. Athina Anastasaki is a web writer for Polymer Chemistry. She is currently an Elings fellow working alongside Professor Craig Hawker at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Please visit this website for more information.

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Materials Chemistry Frontiers!

Wenjun Liu_Deputy Editor — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 12:04:44 +0000

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Materials Chemistry Frontiers!

All content is now free to read.

Front Cover: See Xiao-Peng He, Tony D. James et al., pp. 61–64. Image reproduced by permission of Tony D. James from Mater. Chem. Front., 2017, 1, 61.

Inside Cover: See H. G. Zhao, A. Vomiero, F. Rosei et al., pp. 65–72. Image reproduced by permission of F. Navarro-Pardo from Mater. Chem. Front., 2017, 1, 65.

“The launch of Materials Chemistry Frontiers is the result of a joint venture between the Chinese Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry, supported by the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences... … As its name implies, Materials Chemistry Frontiers aims to publish high-quality work with great impact at the frontiers of materials research. The journal encourages multidisciplinary research with a spirit of collaboration. Emphasis will be given to conceptually new studies that may change our way of thinking… …” said by Editor-in-Chief Ben Zhong Tang in his editorial “Pushing forward the frontiers of materials research” (Mater. Chem. Front., 2017, 1, 10-11).

We envision Materials Chemistry Frontiers to be the top level journal that brings the best materials research from China, Asian and rest of the world to the global audiences. And we kindly ask you to support the journal through your high quality submissions and contributions in this dynamic field of research.

We’re confident the quality and diversity of the journal content speak for themselves, so – with all articles published in volumes 1 and 2 free to access on registration – we invite you to decide for yourself. Enjoy reading!

Higligjts from Issue 1 of Materials Chemistry Frontiers


Pushing forward the frontiers of materials research Ben Zhong Tang *Mater. Chem. Front., 2017, 1, 10-11 Ben Zhong Tang, Editor-in-Chief, introduces the inaugural issue of Materials Chemistry Frontiers*.
Meet the Editorial Board and Advisory Board of Materials Chemistry Frontiers *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2017, 1, 12-23 A massive thank you to all our Editorial Board and Advisory Board members!
Low-dimensional materials facilitate the conjugation between fluorogenic boronic acids and saccharides Shi Guo, Jie Chen, Bi-Ying Cai, Wen-Wen Chen, Yu-Fei Li, Xiaolong Sun, Guo-Rong Chen, Xiao-Peng He and Tony D. James *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2017, 1, 61-64 The cover story shows that low-dimensional materials enhance the conjugation between fluorogenic phenylboronic acids and saccharides.
Nanofiber-supported CuS nanoplatelets as high efficiency counter electrodes for quantum dot-based photoelectrochemical hydrogen production F. Navarro-Pardo, L. Jin, R. Adhikari, X. Tong, D. Benetti, K. Basu, S. Vanka, H. G. Zhao, Z. T. Mi, S. H. Sun, V. M. Castano, A. Vomiero and F. Rosei *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2017, 1, 65-72 In the inside cover story, a hybrid counter electrode based on copper sulfide/polymer nanofibers was developed for efficient and stable photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation.
Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide nanomaterials for biosensing applications Yanling Hu, Ying Huang, Chaoliang Tan, Xiao Zhang, Qipeng Lu, Melinda Sindoro, Xiao Huang, Wei Huang, Lianhui Wang and Hua Zhang *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2017, 1, 24-36 A review on the recent progress on two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide nanomaterial-based biosensors, including optical sensors, electrochemical sensors, and bioelectronic sensors.
Graphene papers: smart architecture and specific functionalization for biomimetics, electrocatalytic sensing and energy storage Minwei Zhang, Chengyi Hou, Arnab Halder, Hongzhi Wang and Qijin Chi *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2017, 1, 37-60 A review of graphene papers regarding their smart assembly, functionalization and applications in biomimetics, sensors and energy devices.

Read the full issue!

Sign-up to the free E-alerts of Materials Chemistry Frontiers, receiving information about newest publications, most read articles, themed collections and all journal news.

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Focus on: Boron Functional Polymers

Fiona Hatton — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 12:02:47 +0000

This month we take a look at three articles published in Polymer Chemistry reporting the use of boron, either as boron-functional polymers or polymerisation catalyst. Boron is an interesting element, essential to life, and has mainly been investigated in the field of polymer chemistry through boronic acid, organoborate and carborane functional polymers. The incorporation of boronic acid into various polymers is of interest due to its responsiveness to pH, and ability to bind 1,2- and 1,3-diols resulting in anionic boronate ester complexes. This has been probably most widely investigated as materials for the detection of glucose which has broad biomedical implications. The first two articles here focus on the incorporation of boronic acid into polymeric materials, whilst the final article presents the use of a boronate-urea as a co-catalyst for ring opening polymerisation.

1. Bioinspired synthesis of poly(phenylboronic acid) microgels with high glucose selectivity at physiological pH Qingshi Wu, Xue Du, Aiping Chang, Xiaomei Jiang, Xiaoyun Yan, Xiaoyu Cao, Zahoor H. Farooqi, Weitai Wu Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 6500-6512; DOI: 10.1039/C6PY01521B Here, poly(phenyl boronic acid) microgels were prepared through the free radical polymerisation of 4-vinylphenylboronic acid and a cross-linker in the presence of a surfactant. The microgels swelled in the presence of glucose (0-30 mM) at physiological pH (7.4), with an enhanced swelling ratio when compared to other monosaccharides, and a highly selective glucose-dependant fluorescence emission. These materials showed potential for use as sensors for glucose detecting. 2. Synthesis of novel boronic acid-decorated poly(2-oxazoline)s showing triple-stimuli responsive behavior Gertjan Vancoillie, William L. A. Brooks, Maarten A. Mees, Brent S. Sumerlin, Richard Hoogenboom Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 6725-6734; DOI: 10.1039/C6PY01437B The authors describe boronic acid functional poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline)s through the cationic ring opening copolymerisation of 2-n-propyl-2-oxazoline and a methyl ester oxazoline, followed by subsequent post-polymerisation modification to functionalise the polymer with boronic acid moeities. The subsequent polymers exhibited LCST behaviour, with pH and glucose concentration dependancy for the thermal transitions, highlighting possible applications in drug delivery, for example. 3. Internal Lewis pair enhanced H-bond donor: boronate-urea and tertiary amine co-catalysis in ring-opening polymerization Songquan Xu, Herui Sun, Jingjing Liu, Jiaxi Xu, Xianfu Pan, He Dong, Yaya Liu, Zhenjiang Li, Kai Guo Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 6843-6853; DOI: 10.1039/C6PY01436D In this article, the use of a boronate-urea (BU) has been presented as a Lewis pair enhanced H-bond donor for the co-catalysis of the ring opening polymerisation of ʟ-lactide. The polymerisations reached high conversions and the resultant polymers exhibited controlled molecular weights and low dispersites. The BU was shown to be mild, tunable and compatible with several tertiary amines, and more efficient than a common urea. —————- About the webwriter

Dr. Fiona Hatton is a web writer for Polymer Chemistry. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Armes group at the University of Sheffield, UK. Find her on Twitter: @fi_hat

New Advisory Board members for Environmental Science: Nano

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 10:47:03 +0000

We are delighted to announce the appointment of the following people to the Environmental Science: Nano Advisory Board.

	Melanie Auffan Melanie Auffan is a CNRS research scientist at the CEREGE (European Geosciences Center) in Aix en Provence. She is member of the iCEINT and CEINT steering committee (consortium for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology). Her research addresses the physico-chemical properties and surface reactivity of nanoparticles in contact with living organisms.		Yoon-Seok Chang Professor Yoon-Seok Chang is based at Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech), South Korea. His research interests include zero valent iron based nanotechnologies for groundwater remediation and the environmental fates and human health effects of toxic substances and nanomaterials.
	Philip Demokritou Dr Demokritou is currently an Associate Professor at Harvard School of Public Health. His research interests are primarily in the areas of nano-aerosol science and technology with emphasis on the elucidation of particle health effects.		Juliane Filser Juliane Filser is a full professor for general and theoretical ecology and vice director of the interdisciplinary UFT Center for Environmental Research and Sustainable Technology at the University of Bremen, Germany. Juliane's main research focus is prospective environmental risk assessment, with special attention to ecological interactions in soils. Her group had been one of the first worldwide to point out the need for assessing potential risks of nanoparticles in terrestrial environments.
	John Fortner Professor Fortner’s research is primarily focused on environmental implications and applications of advanced materials. He has extensively studied the environmental fate, reactivity and impacts of engineered carbon nanomaterials, including fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, in aqueous systems.		Robert Hurt Robert H. Hurt is Professor of Engineering at Brown University, USA. His current research includes the biological response to graphene-family nanomaterials, mechanisms of carbon nanotube uptake and toxicity, nano-silver and nano-copper transformations in the natural environment, safe material design, and the assembly and folding of graphene to make three-dimensional architectures for barrier and encapsulation technologies, and as electrodes and catalyst supports.
	Saber Hussain Saber Hussain is Senior Scientist and Nanotoxicology Group Lead, Molecular Bioeffects Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. His research interests focus on the fundamental interaction of engineered nanomaterials with biological systems, with a special focus on developing nanodevices and evaluating potential toxicity arising from the physicochemical properties of nanoscale structures.		Ralf Kaegi Dr Ralf Kaegi is based at EAWAG, Switzerland. His research interests are focused on the fate and transport of engineered nanomaterials in the (urban) environment.
	Anne Kahru Anne Kahru is head of the Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology at the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn, Estonia. Her current research focuses on the mechanisms of (eco) toxicicity and bioavailability of synthetic nanoparticles by combining molecular techniques, in vitro and ecotoxicological tests and analytical chemistry. She is also a founder and President of the Estonian Society of Toxicology.		Sijin Liu Dr. Sijin Liu is currently a Professor at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests interests include: (1) the mechanisms responsible for environmental pollutant-mediated oncogenic effects; (2) nanosafety and nanoimpact.
	Willie Peijnenburg Willie Peijnenburg is Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Biodiversity at Leiden University, The Netherlands. Currently, his main research interests include assessment of the fate and ecological effects of manusfactured nanomaterials in aquatic media.		Debora Rodrigues Debora Rodrigues is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Houston in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research interests involve investigation of the toxicological effects of carbon-based nanomaterials and polymer nanocomposites to wastewater microbial communities and their potential applications for water treatment and corrosion prevention.
	Tara Sabo-Attwood Tara Sabo-Attwood, PhD is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Global Heath, College of Public Health and Health Professions and Center of Environmental and Human Toxicology at the University of Florida. She has broad expertise in environmental molecular toxicology with an emphasis on water and airborne contaminants.		Navid Saleh Navid Saleh is an Assistant Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on design and development of novel and human-centered water treatment technologies. The primary goal is to enhance economically challenged communities' access to potable water via innovative nanomaterial-enabled treatment processes.
	Gabriele Schaumann Gabriele Schaumann is Professor of Environmental and Soil Chemistry at the University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany. Her main research interest is to gain a process-orientatied understanding on the fate, transformations and effects of new particulate stressors like engineered nanoparticles and plastic particles in the environment and to adapt and further develop analytical techniques for their detection and characterization in environmental samples.		Vera Slaveykova Dr. Vera I. Slaveykova is a professor of environmental biogeochemistry and ecotoxicology at the University of Geneva and director of the Department F.-A. Forel for environmental and aquatic sciences at the University of Geneva. Her primary research interests are in development of new tools and concepts to study the basic processes governing the behavior of trace elements and nanoparticles, their interactions with various biotic and abiotic constituents of the aquatic systems, that are highly relevant to water quality and environmental risk assessment.
	Nathalie Tufenkji Nathalie Tufenkji is Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University, Canada. Her research interests are in the environmental fate of nanomaterials and the development of nano-enhanced products for environmental and biomedical applications (photo credit Eva Blue).		Maria Elena Vela Dr. María Elena Vela is a Professor of La Plata National University (Argentina) and researcher at INIFTA, the Research Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physical Chemistry in La Plata city. Her research group works in the synthesis and investigation of functional nanostructured materials and their applications to modify surface properties and to design platforms for ultrasensitive detection of molecules. She also is interested in the study of the interaction of molecules and nanoparticles with model biomembranes.
	Sharon Walker Sharon Walker is Interim Dean of UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering, where she also serves as John Babbage Chair in Environmental Engineering and Professor of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. She is a leading expert on water quality, focusing on the fate and transport of bacteria and nanoparticles in water.		Wendel Wohlleben Wendel Wohlleben is a Senior Scientist for characterization of nanomaterials at BASF, Dept. of Material Physics. He leads research projects on advanced materials development and on the safety of nanomaterials and is a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health and at the Department of Materials and Interfaces at the Weizmann Institute, Israel.

Read some of the high-impact research authored by our new Advisory Board members in Environmental Science: Nano using the links below.

Modeling nanomaterial fate and uptake in the environment: current knowledge and future trends

M. Baalousha, G. Cornelis, T. A. J. Kuhlbusch, I. Lynch, C. Nickel, W. Peijnenburg and N. W. van den Brink

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016, 3, 323-345

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00207A

Effect of humic acid on the kinetics of silver nanoparticle sulfidation

Basilius Thalmann, Andreas Voegelin, Eberhard Morgenroth and Ralf Kaegi

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016,3, 203-212

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00209E

Toxicity of 12 metal-based nanoparticles to algae, bacteria and protozoa

Villem Aruoja, Suman Pokhrel, Mariliis Sihtmäe, Monika Mortimer, Lutz Mädler and Anne Kahru

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2015,2, 630-644

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00057B

Toxicity of dimercaptosuccinate-coated and un-functionalized magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles towards aquatic organisms

Ya-Qi Zhang, Ralf Dringen, Charlotte Petters, Wiebke Rastedt, Jan Köser, Juliane Filser and Stefan Stolte

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016,3, 754-767

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00222B

Impact of chemical composition of ecotoxicological test media on the stability and aggregation status of silver nanoparticles

George Metreveli, Bianca Frombold, Frank Seitz, Alexandra Grün, Allan Philippe, Ricki R. Rosenfeldt, Mirco Bundschuh, Ralf Schulz, Werner Manz and Gabriele E. Schaumann

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016,3, 418-433

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00152H

Interaction between palladium-doped zerovalent iron nanoparticles and biofilm in granular porous media: characterization, transport and viability

Mohan Basnet, Alexander Gershanov, Kevin J. Wilkinson, Subhasis Ghoshal and Nathalie Tufenkji

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016,3, 127-137

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00109A

Oral bioavailability and sex specific tissue partitioning of quantum dots in fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas

C. M. Lavelle, J. H. Bisesi, M. A. Hahn, K. J. Kroll, T. Sabo-Attwood and N. D. Denslow

Journal Article Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2015,2, 583-593

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00122F

End-of-life thermal decomposition of nano-enabled polymers: effect of nanofiller loading and polymer matrix on by-products

Dilpreet Singh, Georgios A. Sotiriou, Fang Zhang, Joey Mead, Dhimiter Bello, Wendel Wohlleben and Philip Demokritou

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016, Advance Article

DOI: 10.1039/C6EN00252H

Aerosol synthesis of phase-controlled iron–graphene nanohybrids through FeOOH nanorod intermediates

X. S. Lv, Y. Qiu, Z. Y. Wang, G. M. Jiang, Y. T. Chen, X. H. Xu and R. H. Hurt

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016,3, 1215-1221

DOI: 10.1039/C6EN00178E

Surface engineering superparamagnetic nanoparticles for aqueous applications: design and characterization of tailored organic bilayers

Wenlu Li, Carl H. Hinton, Seung Soo Lee, Jiewei Wu and John D. Fortner

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2016,3, 85-93

DOI: 10.1039/C5EN00089K

Research strategy to determine when novel nanohybrids pose unique environmental risks

Navid B. Saleh, Nirupam Aich, Jaime Plazas-Tuttle, Jamie R. Lead and Gregory V. Lowry

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2015,2, 11-18

DOI: 10.1039/C4EN00104D

7th Biennial Berry Health Benefits Symposium

Keir Hollingsworth — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 10:19:18 +0000

The 7th Biennial Berry Health Benefits Symposium is due to be held between 28th - 30th March 2017 in Pismo Beach, California

“Speakers from around the globe will share cutting edge information on how berries positively impact human health and wellness. During the day and a half program thirty speakers will present their most current work in clinical, basic and applied research.”

Renowned berry researchers will be sharing valuable findings in the field of berries and health.

Topics of discussion: Brain Aging Gut Health and Gut Microflora Cancer Food Technology and Chemistry Heart and Healthy Aging Metabolism

Dates for your diary: January 14, 2017: Abstract submission deadline

The symposium will feature talks from many leading researchers in the field, including Dr. Barbara Shukitt-Hale (USDA/Tufts University, USA), Dr. Jess Reed (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) and Dr. Ramesh Gupta (University of Louisville, USA).

Click here for the full programme

If you are planning to attend the conference, please do consider submitting your work to the upcoming online collection to be published in Food & Function dedicated to showcasing the high impact research presented at the Berry Health Benefits Symposium. More details to follow in 2017.

To find out more about the conference and to register your interest, please visit their website http://berryhealth.org/

OrgSyn 50 Conference 27th - 28th February 2017

Kerrie Potter — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 09:52:44 +0000

OrgSyn 50 - Developments in Organic Chemistry

Fluorochem invite you to join them from 27-28 February 2017 in Manchester, UK to celebrate their 50-year milestone in helping support research and supplying intermediates for R&D worldwide.

During the two days there will be 13 outstanding lectures covering a broad range of subjects. Fluorochem are delighted to have attracted a high calibre of speakers to this event and want to ensure people don’t miss out on a unique opportunity to appreciate the remarkable standard of current research being undertaken in the UK. Join them for tales of the unexpected; from fluorination to feedstock, cascades to catalysis and nanoscale to nature. Learn about the latest in cancer research and engage in topics such as rotaxanes, urea function and digitising chemistry. Introducing an outstanding line up of speakers which includes:

Professor Lee Cronin;
Dr Kate Smith;
Professor Graham Sandford, and
Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry Editorial Board member Jonathan Clayden.

For more information and to register please visit the website.

Poster prize winners at the PhoSM 2016 Conference

Kate Bandoo, Publishing Assistant — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 09:13:34 +0000

[caption id="attachment_7306" align="alignright" width="315" caption="Mr. Kyohei Hisano to the right and Professor Takahiro Seki of Nagoya University the Conference Chair to the left."][/caption] Many congratulations to Kyohei Hisano (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan) for his poster prize win at the PhoSM 2016 Conference which took place on the 24th - 27th November 2016 in Nagoya, Japan. Kyohei was awarded the Journal of Materials Chemistry C poster prize and will receive free electronic access to the journal for one year for his poster titled: Photoalignment Control via Masked Photopolymerization without Polarized Light nor Alignment Layer Topics discussed at the conference included the synthesis and design of photoresponsive molecules, photoalignment in liquid crystal materials and systems, physics and computer modeling of photoinduced effects. 153 delegates attended the conference from over 15 different countries. There were 55 oral presentations and 42 poster presentations. Further information about the conference can be found on their website.

Serving up anti-cancer cocktails: design, synthesis and evaluation of hybrid inhibitors

Anand Devasthanam — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 08:34:44 +0000

Scientists in the area of cancer drug development constantly find ways to target cancer’s Achilles heel. Bcr-Abl is a protein expressed in 95% of all Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (a type of blood cancer) cases. It remains activated (i.e. switched ON) and instructs cancer cells to divide indefinitely. Bcr-Abl has remained an attractive target for therapy. Yet another attractive therapeutic target is Histone Deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) - a protein known to control cell survival via its ability to influence the turning on and turning off of certain genes.

Previous studies show that the drugs Dasatinib and MS-275 efficiently inhibit the cancer promoting activities of Bcr-Abl and HDAC1 respectively. Clinical trials also suggest that these drugs, when used independently in separate studies, can be used to treat a variety of solid as well as blood-borne cancers. Bcr-Abl and HDAC1 are components of distinct cellular wiring systems, referred to as signalling pathways, which sustain cell survival and division. Single agent drugs, or drugs that stifle a single cancer-promoting pathway, weed out most cancer cells but also set the stage for drug-resistant cells. Reports suggest that both Dasatinib and MS-275 are associated with cancer drug resistance.

Multi-target inhibitors are a new and evolving class of cancer drugs that can simultaneously inhibit at least two signalling pathways. These compounds have emerged as a potential solution in circumventing cancer drug resistance. Chen and colleagues at the Department of Organic Chemistry, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, China, designed and produced a series of hybrid drug molecules which combine the attributes of the HDAC inhibitor MS-275 with the Bcr-Abl inhibitor Dasatinib.

To determine the effect of the hybrid drugs on cancer cell survival, the research team tested the drug’s ability to halt the growth of three cell types exhibiting features of leukemia, kidney cancer and prostate cancer respectively. They found that all drugs in the series were toxic to cancer cells, with leukemia and kidney cancer cells showing the greatest degree of sensitivity to the hybrid drugs.

To better understand how the hybrid drugs interacted with the Bcr-Abl and HDAC1 active sites (i.e. the ON switch), the team relied on computer-generated three-dimensional models of the hybrid drugs, Bcr-Abl and HDAC1 proteins. Using a method similar to finding the right key for a lock, a computer program found that a hybrid compound termed 6a, which happened to be the most potent compound in the series, fit most snugly into both Bcr-Abl and HDAC1 active sites. In theory, 6a would prevent both Bcr-Abl and HDAC1 from becoming activated (i.e they remain switched OFF).

On the basis of these observations, this study strengthens the paradigm that chemically melding two cancer drugs to form a novel single molecule may prove to be an effective clinical strategy for anticancer treatment. On a broader scale, this is one among many studies advocating for the use of multi-target agents in cancer treatment, highlighting an imminent upsurge in single molecule combination therapies.

Read the full article here:

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-amino-N-(2-aminophenyl)thiazole-5-carboxamide derivatives as novel Bcr-Abl and histone deacetylase dual inhibitors

Xin Chen, Shuang Zhao, Yichao Wu, Yadong Chen, Tao Lua and Yong Zhu

Royal Society of Chemistry and ACS Publications commit to ORCID integration

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:15:07 +0000

On 28 November 2016, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society Publications Division, ACS Publications, both signed the ORCID Open Letter committing to unambiguous identification of all authors that publish in our journals. The official press release can be found here: http://rsc.li/orcid In brief, this partnership with ORCID will resolve ambiguity in researcher identification caused by name changes, cultural differences in name presentation, and the inconsistent use of name abbreviations, thereby ensuring their contributions are appropriately recognized and credited.

Royal Society of Chemistry and ACS Publications commit to ORCID integration

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:14:47 +0000

Royal Society of Chemistry and ACS Publications commit to ORCID integration

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:14:20 +0000

Introducing our new Editorial Board Member - Marianne Glasius

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:21:22 +0000

We are delighted to introduce Marianne Glasius as a new Editorial Board Member for Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. Marianne joins the team as an Editorial Board Member, and will start her role as Associate Editor from January 2017. Marianne will be joining Liang-Hong Guo, Helen Hsu-Kim, Edward Kolodziej, Matthew MacLeod and Paul Tratnyek as Associate Editors handling submissions to the journal.

Marianne Glasius is Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University, Denmark (since 2006), where she is also affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center and the Arctic Research Centre. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Southern Denmark in 2000. During her studies she stayed at the European Commissions Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy for a year. Dr. Glasius was a scientist and senior scientist at the National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark for six years. Recently, she visited University of California, Berkeley for one year, working with Prof. A.H. Goldstein at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.

The research of Dr. Glasius focuses on development and application of advanced chemical analyses for identification and characterization of organic compounds in complex matrices. The aim is to obtain understanding of processes whether these involve atmospheric aerosols affecting air pollution and climate, or development of bio-fuels of the future.

———- Please join us in welcoming Marianne to Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. Interested in the latest news, research and events of the Environmental Science journals? Find us on Twitter:@EnvSciRSC

Hightlights from POLYMAT SPOTLIGHT 2016

Kate Bandoo, Publishing Assistant — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:05:51 +0000

During the 21^st-24^th of June 2016 the very first edition of POLYMAT SPOTLIGHT (http://polymat-spotlight.eu) took place in the beautiful city of San Sebastian in Northern Spain. POLYMAT SPOTLIGHT is a newly created international forum that aims at bringing together world-leading academics and key industries interested in emerging and technologically-relevant macromolecular materials. Organised by Prof. Aurelio Mateo-Alonso, the first edition of POLYMAT SPOTLIGHT was devoted to Novel Approaches to 2D and Porous Polymers, including synthesis, properties and applications. This conference has been organised by POLYMAT (http://polymat.eu) a research centre on macromolecular materials ascribed to the University of the Basque Country, which is also member of the network of Basque Excellence Research Centres (BERC). The trigger for this initiative has been the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 through the project 2D-INK, a Future and Emerging Technologies action (FET Open). The conference venue was the Miramar Palace with one of the most spectacular views of the city. The program was organised to promote interactions between researchers with plenty of time for discussion during sessions, cocktails, coffee breaks and lunches, all taking place in the Miramar Palace. Overall, 6 Plenary lectures and 13 Keynote lectures from recognised experts from all over the globe were arranged over the four days of the conference, including those of Professors Markus Antonietti, Maurizio Prato, Donglin Jiang, Nazario Martin, Graham Bodwell and Colin Nuckolls. The program was completed with 13 contributing lectures, 18 flash presentations and 31 posters, attracting >100 participants. To ensure the visibility of the contributing lecturers by including their talks in-between two invited (Plenary or Keynote) lectures. With the support of Journal of Materials Chemistry A and Materials Horizons, three prizes were awarded to the best posters. Given the great welcome that POLYMAT SPOTLIGHT has received, it will be organised on biyearly basis from now on. Indeed, the organisers are already working on the 2018 edition. More photos can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/142817369@N04/albums/72157670123885276

New magnetofluidic “tweezers” capable of manipulating a single living cell

Fangjie Chen, Publishing Administrator Coordinator — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 09:13:52 +0000

[caption id="attachment_506" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Confocal images of a single cell under the magnetic micropen before and after turning on the external field"][/caption] Single cell manipulation can provide insight into cell mechanics and adhesion, and has a crucial role in in vitro fertilization (IVF). Bartusz Grzybowski at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea and his team’s new technique for this doesn’t need cells to be magnetically tagged beforehand. It also avoids the risks of heat- or stress-induced cell damage that can occur with other methods. Grzybowski et al.’s method relies on an iron oxide nanoparticle medium in which cells are suspended. Applying an electromagnet to the magnetic medium through a micropen creates field gradients, which direct the cell to move in a certain direction. By varying how the micropen “tweezers” are positioned, cell movement can be manipulated in both 2 and 3 dimensions. As well as controlling a single cell, the micropen can be used to pick up several cells together and guide them into regularly shaped clusters. Although it’s a long way off, this could one day be used to make IVF processes more efficient, reducing the number of potential embryos that need to be discarded. It could also be extended to manipulating bacteria and other single-celled organisms to conduct detailed studies on their behaviour. Read the full article for free, here: Trapping, manipulation and crystallization of live cells using magnetofluidic tweezers J. V. I. Timonen, C. Raimondo, D. Pilans, P. P. Pillai and B. A. Grzybowski Nanoscale Horiz., 2016, Advance Article Susannah May is a guest web writer for the RSC Journal blogs. She currently works in the Publishing Department of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and has a keen interest in biology and biomedicine, and the frontiers of their intersection with chemistry. She can be found on Twitter using @SusannahCIMay.

2017 Global Conference on Polymer and Composite Materials (PCM 2017)

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 09:08:45 +0000

The 2017 Global Conference on Polymer and Composite Materials (PCM 2017) will be held in the beautiful city of Guangzhou, China. This well-established conference series is dedicated to cover all theoretical and experimental aspects of polymers and composite materials. Building on the hugely successful preceding Conferences (PCM 2014 in Ningbo, PCM 2015 in Beijing, and PCM2016 in Hangzhou), PCM 2017 will provide an ideal academic platform for researchers to present their latest findings, and to facilitate networking and in-depth discussion with peers from Asia, Europe and USA. The scientific program will focus not only on current advances in the research, but also in the production and use of polymers and composite materials in different fields. The conference setting has a highly focused technical program through plenary, invited, oral and poster presentations.

Keynote speakers

Abstract submission: Click here

Welcome to Issue 12 of Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers in 2016

liuy — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 09:06:13 +0000

The latest InorgChemFront issue is published online. The front cover story, Two-dimensional nanostructures of non-layered ternary thiospinels and their bifunctional electrocatalytic properties for oxygen reduction and evolution: the case of CuCo₂S₄ nanosheets is contributed by Min Han and co-authors.

Royal Society of Chemistry and ACS Publications commit to ORCID integration

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:38:32 +0000

Yesterday, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society Publications Division, ACS Publications, both signed the ORCID Open Letter committing to unambiguous identification of all authors that publish in our journals. The official press release can be found here: http://rsc.li/orcid In brief, this partnership with ORCID will resolve ambiguity in researcher identification caused by name changes, cultural differences in name presentation, and the inconsistent use of name abbreviations, thereby ensuring their contributions are appropriately recognized and credited.

Royal Society of Chemistry and ACS Publications commit to ORCID integration

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:37:51 +0000

Royal Society of Chemistry and ACS Publications commit to ORCID integration

Laurent Mathey, Development Editor — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:37:47 +0000

Congratulations to the ANNIC 2016 award winners!

Hugh Cowley, Development Editor — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 16:53:11 +0000

We are delighted to announce the winners of prizes sponsored by Molecular Systems Design & Engineering awarded at the ANNIC 2016 conference, recently held in Barcelona, Spain.

The outstanding ANNIC 2016 abstract was awarded to Prof. Won-Gun Koh from Yonsei University, Korea for the abstract "Hydrogel Micropattern Incorporating Nanostructures for Fluorescence-based Biosensing"

The best ANNIC 2016 student abstract was awarded to Mr Armandas Balcytis from the Swinburne University of Technology, Australia for the abstract "Mode control in SOI microring resonators through sub-wavelength modifications"

The best ANNIC 2016 poster presentation was awarded to Dr Sergey Dubkov from the National Research University of Electronic Technology, Russia for the abstract "CVD-growth of MWCNT arrays on Me-Ct-N-(O) thin films"

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Koh, Mr Balcytis and Dr Dubkov! The winners' abstracts can be read in the ANNIC 2016 Book of Abstracts, available from the conference website. [caption id="attachment_530" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="ANNIC 2016 General Chair Prof. Joan Ramon Morante of the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) presenting the awards to (left) Prof. Won-Gun Koh, (centre) Mr Armandas Balcytis and (right) Dr Sergey Dubkov"][/caption]

Symposium Latsis EPFL 2016: Multicellular organisms in microfluidic systems

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:22:00 +0000

The Symposium Latsis EPFL 2016 “Multicellular organisms in microfluidic systems” was held from 14 November 2016 to 16 November 2016 at the EPFL campus in Lausanne (Switzerland). The event was co-organised by Prof. Johan Auwerx andLab on a Chip Advisory Board member Prof. Martin Gijs.

[caption id="attachment_1825" align="alignright" width="162" caption="PhD student Li Dong was presented the Poster Award"][/caption]

Studies of living organisms like nematodes and invertebrate embryos in controlled spatio-temporal chemical environments on microfluidic chips are gaining momentum, as these animals offer genetic amenability, low-cost, and culture conditions that are compatible with large-scale screens, while not raising ethical issues. The Latsis Symposium wanted to bridge the gap between microfluidic systems and biological model organism research, by providing an interdisciplinary forum on the technology and applications of microfluidic systems for studies of multicellular organisms in medicine and biology. Topics covered in each of the sessions were:

Phenotyping
Imaging Techniques
High-throughput techniques
Neurobiology
Physiology and Development Studies

Among the speakers presenting at the symposium was Prof. Hang Lu (School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia, USA), Lab on a Chip Advisory Board member, who spoke on “Deep Phenotyping Enabled by Microfluidics and High-Throughput Quantitative Microscopy”.

[caption id="attachment_1827" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="Li Dong's winning poster on "On-chip biocommunication through exchange of compounds secreted by male C. elegans nematodes""][/caption]

A distinction for the best contributed poster of the Symposium was given to Ph.D. student Li Dong of the Laboratory of Microsystems of EPFL. He received an electronic subscription to the RSC journals Lab on a Chip and Integrative Biology.