Themed collection J400: Celebrating the 400th year of Japan-UK relations

This article highlights the development and applications of N-acyl derivatives of chiral auxiliaries, which are capable of functioning as latent aldehyde and ketone equivalents directly upon the cleavage of the auxiliary.

Catalytic enantioselective intramolecular cyclization of N-aryl diazoamides was achieved by using titanium–BINOLate as a chiral Lewis acid-assisted Brønsted acid.

The balanced molecular state of a guanidinium-tethered perylene-based fluorescence probe was conveniently used to achieve selective sensing of UTP, and the combination of equilibrium with molecular recognition further enhances the fluorescence sensitivity.

Cross-linked conjugated polymer assemblies by host–guest interaction were developed at the air–water interface by means of the Langmuir–Blodgett technique.

Calix[4]arene 1 cocrystallized with methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), isopropanol (iPrOH) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) to afford clathrate compounds 1·(MeOH)₄, 1·(EtOH)₄, 1·(iPrOH)₄, and 1·(BDO)₂, respectively. The unique head-to-tail polymeric columnar structures of 1 were found in the solid state.

The surface functionalization of boronate microparticles allowed us to develop white-light emissive chemosensors for detection of Cu²⁺ in HEPES buffer.

A flexible π-electron conjugated macrocycle (hexaphyrin) core with six redox active TTF fragments has been developed.

Transforming the C-terminal amide of a glycinylphenylalanine dipeptide into N-amidothiourea affords a β-turn structure in the yielded dipeptide based N-amidothioureas in which the achiral phenylthiourea chromophore exhibits an induced CD signal.

Chiral variants of amyloid fibrils prepared by chiral bifurcation of bovine insulin induced quasi-mirror-imaged CD spectra upon complexation with 2-anthracenecarboxylate and gave anti-HH-cyclodimer of the opposite absolute configurations upon irradiation.

Formation of a MPC-SH SAM resists nonspecific protein adsorption and cell adhesion on a gold electrode.

A fluorene derivative having both bromo and formyl groups exhibited bright phosphorescence emission in common organic solvents at room temperature.

Novel boron–dibenzopyrromethene dyes with thienyl-cyanoacrylic acid units were synthesized and characterized for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

A relationship between Hammett constants and redox potentials of cyclometalated iridium complexes is applied to match the properties of FIrPic without using fluorine.

Two novel polymer encapsulated silica supported palladium catalysts have been prepared and shown to be highly active, robust and recyclable catalysts for Heck and Suzuki–Miyaura cross coupling reactions under continuous flow conditions.

Unique self-assembled structures can be selectively created depending on the initial stage of the droplet. By using the droplet as a self-assembly field, we can select an appropriate self-assembly pathway by merely changing the initial state of the droplet.

The mechanism and thermodynamic functions of the self-assembly of a family of covalently linked oligomeric naphthalenediimides (NDIs) were investigated through variable-temperature NMR and CD studies.

The effects of intramolecular hydrogen bonding on the efficiency of anion transport are explored in a series of acylthioureas.

Two component thixotropic co-gels arise from rapid precipitation leading to fibre assembly.

Diimine-based V-shaped compounds which have been investigated for binding with dumbbell-shaped ammonium cations, have been characterised by NMR and fluorescent spectroscopies.

A sweet combination of synthesis and biotechnology paves the way from D-glucose towards eight of the 16 stereoisomers of homonojirimycin.

Pyrene-appended boronic acids with positive charge are assembled here onto negatively charged carbon nanoparticle aggregates to give an electrochemically active sensor film.