Themed collection Celebrating a century of chemical excellence at Nanjing University

The establishment of photo-controllable bioorthogonal chemistry is one of the most significant advances in chemical biology to perturb and study biological processes.

Editing surface motifs on gold cluster catalysts achieves high regioselectivity for the click reactions of azides and alkynes.

Compared with the prevalent metal–metal bond in transition metals, examples of the actinide–metal bond in heterometallic clusters are rare.

A concerted bending–flattening motion of the redox-active TTF within constructed one-dimensional Fe^II–TTF–Schiff-base chain with bridging 4,4′-bpy enhances the dielectric constant coupled to its spin-crossover transition above room temperature.

A photo zipper locked DNA nanomachine with an internal standard is presented, preventing nonspecific activation and providing efficient intracellular miRNA imaging.

Protease-responsive mass barcoded nanotranslators (PRMNTs) were engineered for revealing the apoptosis pathways by MS-based multiplex quantification of the intracellular activity of cascaded caspases.

Redox-active esters (RAEs) as alkyl radical precursors have demonstrated great advantages for Cu-catalysed C–C bond formation.

In situ observation of heterogeneous charge distribution at the Pt–graphite surface in the hydrogen evolution reaction is realized using scanning ion conductive microscopy.

Platinum(IV) prodrugs targeting the DNA repair mechanism downregulate myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) and homologous recombination proteins (RAD51, BRCA2), thereby enhancing cytotoxicity against cisplatin-resistant cancer cells.

A molecular-like Au₄Ru₂ cluster supported on TiO₂ with oxygen vacancies enables light harvesting to drive the fixation of N₂.

Smart DNAzyme probes realized the capture and selective release of multiple circulating tumor cells.

Stable and redox active metal–organic frameworks were constructed by incorporating Zr₆ clusters and redox-active TTF-based linkers, which allow in situ generation and stabilization of ultra-small noble metal nanoparticles for heterogenous catalysis.

A localized DNA automaton is reported for in situ visualization of a specific protein subtype with dual chemical modifications on the cell surface, which executes protein-confined computation according to an anticoding–coding propagation algorithm.

The principle of hard–soft-acid–base (HSAB) theory was first validated in single molecule by measurements with engineered Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A (MspA) nanopore reactors.

Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) as a cofactor is involved in numerous important metabolic pathways where the biological function is intrinsically related to its transient conformations.

A dual intramolecular electrochemiluminescence resonance energy transfer process is proposed with triple-component Pdots to enhance ECL emission, which greatly improves the ECL efficiency and can be used for sensitive and specific visual quantification of different targets.

An iron carbonyl-mediated Ostwald-ripening-like growth mechanism of an Fe_xC_y active phase in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis is firstly revealed by in situ mass-spectrometric and theoretical analysis.

Facet-dependent photocatalytic hydrogen generation over MOF NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) under visible light was investigated, both experimentally and theoretically.

Spatiotemporal resolved electrocatalytic activity on single 2D gold nanoplates was imaged via electrogenerated chemiluminescence microscopy.

Three red iridium(III) complexes with dithiocarbamate ligands were rapidly synthesized at room temperature with good yields, and their OLEDs exhibit an EQE_max of 30.54% with mild efficiency roll-off.

The first demonstration of direct sequencing of 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoroarabinonucleic acid (FANA) using Nanopore-Induced Phase-Shift Sequencing (NIPSS).

A metal- and photo-free method for the perfluoroalkylative pyridylation of alkenes has been developed.

Apoferritin caged a huge amount of photocatalysts and enhanced H₂ generation capability under homogeneous acidic conditions.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are chemically synthesized materials mimicking the recognition of antibodies towards antigens.

A molecule complex exhibiting reversible on–off switching between spin crossover and single-molecule magnet behaviours via a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation is reported.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the expression of mRNAs in cells. The determination of subcellular miRNAs in single living cells is essential for understanding the subcellular localizations and functions of miRNAs as well as the microheterogeneity of cells.

A decanuclear dysprosium phosphonate (I) undergoes two consecutive SC–SC transformations, associated with OFF–ON–OFF switching of its single-molecule-magnetism.

Dynamically imaging stochastic collision electrochemistry of single nanoparticles by electrochemiluminescence microscopy enables visualization of diverse collision behaviours.

A dual potential electrochemiluminescence (ECL) enhancement of graphene quantum dots is achieved through chemical and electrochemical reactions of two different coreactants.

The aggregation-induced enhanced photosensitization and emission (AIEPE) properties of spiropyrans in nanoassemblies enable reversibly controlled singlet oxygen generation.

A fluorescent τ-probe was demonstrated to quantitate ultra-trace endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H₂S_n) within cells and zebrafish through changes of fluorescence lifetime.

Monochromatic dark-field microscopy coupled with high-frequency potential modulation leads to non-faradaic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of single Au nanorods.

Tetrapod DNA quadruplexes were designed for assembly and precise modulation of light emission of an oligonucleotide-grafted fluorogen with aggregation-induced emission.

Lighting up photocatalyzed H₂ nanobubbles with fluorescent dyes allows for measurement of dynamic photocatalytic activity of single CdS nanoparticles.

The first o-carborane functionalized phosphorescent imaging probe of mitochondrial polarity was developed to monitor mitochondria-relevant cellular processes.

Synthesis of cyclic peptides with novel Cβ–Ar crosslinks has been achieved by C(sp³)–H activation, and their biological properties have been evaluated for the first time.

An unprecedented strategy for functionalized 1H-indazoles via C–C bond construction was realized by the Rh(III)-catalyzed C–H/C–H cross coupling of aldehyde hydrazones.

Plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopic metrics were developed for in situ quantitative and dynamic assays of viable, apoptotic and necrotic cells.

Diradicals, molecules with two unpaired electrons, are reactive intermediates that play an important role in many fields.

Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with Pt-prodrug payloads display MRI capability and tumor-specific cytotoxicity correlating positively with glutathione-mediated DNA cleavage and reduction.

A wavelength-resolved ratiometric photoelectrochemical technique was developed as a novel concept for designing ratiometric photoelectrochemical sensors.

The molecular assembly of anbdtiH leads to three distinct solid-state structures: anbdtiH·CH₃Cl (1), anbdtiH·2CH₃OH (2) and anbdtiH₂·CF₃COO·CH₃OH·H₂O (3), which have orange-red, blue and green emissions, respectively.