Themed collection 2021 Reviews in RSC Advances

The Pauson–Khand reaction (PKR) is a formal [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition involving an alkyne, an alkene and carbon monoxide mediated by a hexacarbonyldicobaltalkyne complex to yield cyclopentenones in a single step.

Incorporation of unnatural amino acids into protein offers wide array of applications in fundamental and applied science.

A general picture of utilization of NHCs in constructing several kinds of bioactive cyclic skeletons.

The recent applications of solid-phase strategy in total synthesis of antibiotics were summarized, and the structure–activity relationship could be established to conquer the challenge of bacterial resistance preparedness.

In this review, the latest progress of intelligent materials incorporated with acoustic metamaterials is summarized to provide an impetus for this highly interdisciplinary advancement towards low-frequency sound absorption.

This review presents an overview of different heterocyclic compounds that act as anti-virulence agents in order to overcome microbial resistance.

Cerebrosides are a group of metabolites belonging to the glycosphingolipids class of natural products.

Encapsulated ionic liquids (ILs) are candidate materials for several applications owing to the attractive properties of ILs combined with the enhanced mass transfer rate obtained through the discretization of ILs in small capsules.

The worldwide demand for additive manufacturing (AM) is increasing due to its ability to produce more challenging customized objects based on the process parameters for engineering applications.

Various materials including waste precursors used as adsorbents for water treatment (dyes and metal ions removal).

Different kind of methods utilized in expediting drug repurposing.

Natural hetisine-type C₂₀-diterpenoid alkaloids with diverse structures showed multiple pharmacological activities, indicating great potential in drug discovery.

Anthraquinones are privileged chemical motifs with diverse therapeutic applications, especially in the treatment of cancer. The extensive literature highlights the significance of anthraquinones as potent anticancer agents.

Calotropis procera is also known as Aak or Madar. The present review provides a systematic outline of phytochemistry, toxicology, pharmacology and therapeutic potential of Calotropis procera.

In this review, the membrane technologies used for the resource utilization of urine collected from toilets are divided into four categories based on their driving force.

Light-activated tumor therapy (photodynamic therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, chemo-therapy and integrated therapy) based on UCNPs and the corresponding mechanisms.

This review summarizes the synthesis strategies for MnO₂ nanowire and the influences of the phase structure, crystal facet, metal doping, and interface effect on its performance in various environmental catalysis processes.

Nanoparticles designed for gastric cancer theronostics.

A schematic representation of amino acid-functionalized graphene quantum dots.

Gold nanocomposites are being widely used in numerous biomedical applications owing to their excellent stability and miniaturization.

Photoelectron photofragment coincidence spectroscopy studies of a range of carboxylate anions are reviewed, revealing details of the decarboxylation dynamics of carboxyl radicals.

This review considers the most recent advances in sensing highly toxic ions such as CN⁻ and Hg²⁺. Specifically, probes bearing N-heterocyclic compounds for their proven versatility for applications in the development of chemosensors are analyzed.

This review constructed a framework of methodologies to summarize the recent progress of high-performance conductive hydrogels for flexible electronics and further provide novel insights about rational design of the advanced hydrogels.

In this review, we aim to highlight the synthesis of indoles as a moiety in selected alkaloids.

The difunctionalizations of alkynes have emerged as a powerful, and step-economical approach for the construction of highly substituted alkenes in a one-pot manner, without the need for isolation of intermediates.

Long term durability and moisture ingress effects on the mechanical property is highlighted where tensile strength is reduced as the moisture immersion time increases showing weak fibre matrix interfaces evidenced from SEM micrograph.

Amphiphilic natural emulsifiers form tiny droplets of oil-in-water stable emulsions and are very much effective for industries.

Isoxazole, a five-membered heterocyclic moiety commonly found in many commercially available drugs. This review article presents a comprehensive overview on metal-free synthetic routes for the synthesis of isoxazoles with significant bioactivities.

The use of bulk nanobubbles in biomedicine is increasing in recent years. This translates into new opportunities for microfluidics, which may enable the generation of higher quality nanobubbles that lead to advances in diagnostics and therapeutics.

The vicinal difunctionalization of carbon–carbon double bonds represents one of the most powerful and effective strategies in a one-pot process.

This review provides a concise overview of the synthesis of biologically and synthetically valuable sulfenamide, sulfinamide, and sulfonamide derivatives through the direct oxidative coupling of readily available low-cost thiols and amines.

The review summarized recent progress for the elucidation of the chemoreception mechanism of sweet taste receptor–sweetener interactions with photoaffinity labeling.

Nanographenes have been attracting increasing attention owing to their widespread applications in organic electronics. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are popular research subjects due to their high stability, planar structure and optical spectra.

The present article overviews the current state-of-the-art and future prospects for the use of diatomaceous earth (DE) in the continuously expanding sector of energy science and technology.

Synthesis methods for the exfoliation of BNNSs and BNNS functionalization methods are reviewed.

This review discusses the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of S. dulcis plants. S. dulcis provides new potential for medicine and can be promoted as a complementary or alternative therapy for patients with chronic conditions.

The production of novel radioisotopes on small-to-medium cyclotrons equipped with solid targets will be vital to meet the demand of theragnostics research.

This review highlights recent advances in the utilization of natural materials (clay mineral and pumice)- and waste materials (ash and foundry sand)-based metal oxide nanocomposites for photodegradation of various pollutants.

This review highlights that supramolecular associations using host–guest inclusion complexation and covalent linkages can improve the image contrast, the sensitivity, and the efficiency of MRI diagnosis.

This review highlights recent examples of multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) based on donepezil structure modification from 2010 onwards.

Piezoelectricity, a linear electromechanical coupling, is of great interest due to its extensive applications including energy harvesters, biomedical, sensors, and automobiles.

This review highlights recent advances relating to the synthesis of biomass-derived carbon-based photocatalysts in light of their potential use in the photodegradation of various pollutants.

From the environmental samples, such as waters, soils, as well as microbiome and biome, NMR data science can evaluate the exposome, namely the totality of exposure to physical/chemical/biological factors from natural environment and human society

In this review, we study potential applications of LDHs for tissue engineering and discuss some recent studies on biocompatibility, antibacterial and osteogenic differentiation behaviors of LDHs.

DDQ is the most widely used quinone with a high reduction potential and it mediates hydride transfer reactions and shows three accessible oxidation states: quinone (oxidized), semiquinone (one-electron-reduced) and hydroquinone (two-electron-reduced).

Cadmium is a heavy metal which exists widely in industrial and agricultural production and can induce a variety of diseases in organisms.

The kinetics of ruptures of giant vesicles under constant tension have been investigated under various conditions, which will help in the application of these techniques in the biomedical, bioengineering, and biotechnological fields.

The laccase–mediator is a promising biocatalyst with many possible applications, including bioremediation, chemical synthesis, biobleaching of paper pulp, biosensing, textile finishing and wine stabilization.

The discovery of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and their mechanism in regulating the cell cycle process was considered a game-changer in cancer therapy.

Lipid-based nanoparticles are lipidic nanocarriers that can encapsulate different antipsoriatic agents for topical uses, which enhance the alleviation process compared to conventional topical agents (without nanocarriers).

Due to growing concern about chemicals and their impact on the environment, cleaner reaction conditions are needed to be incorporated into chemical synthetic procedures.

In this review article, a comprehensive insight is given into current progress of electrochemical evaluation of MOFs based material as efficient anode and cathode materials for LIBs.

Applications of ferrite nanoparticles in various chemical transformations.

Future of nanopore DNA sequencing: schematic illustration shows the future of nanopore DNA sequencing by using a customized biological nanopore with appropriate fabrication.

Considering that biological macromolecules offer hydrophobic microenvironment, 3HF is a promising scaffold for the development of fluorescent imaging in cells.

Responsive switches classification by their intrinsic structures: physical switch and chemical one.

Pterocephalus hookeri (C. B. Clarke) Höeck has been used in traditional Tibetan medicine for thousands of years. The existing research results of P. hookeri are summarized, and will provide a basis for the further development of new drugs.

Hydrophobic interaction provides the essential driving force for creating diverse native and artificial supramolecular architectures.

DNA interfaces with 0–3 dimensional materials through physisorption and chemisorption mechanisms acquire unique interfacial character for novel biomedical applications.

This review article discusses developments in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of alkaloids since 2013, showcasing how modern methods of organic synthesis and biocatalysis are combined to establish novel routes towards these important natural products.

The attention towards active films has increased due to consumer demand for high-quality foods without chemical additives.

This manuscript highlights a beginner-to-intermediate level scope of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which is an indispensable, non-destructive electrochemical technique that can be applied for materials characterization.

Natural products are one of the most effective therapeutic candidates in cancer treatment. In this review, we briefly discuss the target identification of anticancer natural products in different cancer cell lines through a chemical proteomics approach.

Depiction of unusual properties of nanomaterials through DFT studies.

The review paper presents a systematic understanding of different synthesis routes to obtain holey graphene, its properties, and key applications in different fields. The article also evaluates the current progress and future opportunities of HG.

Cinnamomi Cortex (CC) is the dried bark of Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J. Presl.

Biomimetic motions are derived from the many different functional materials and/or intricate and highly organized structure of the biological material from the molecular to the nanoscale, microscale and macroscale.

Furfural is a promising renewable platform molecule derived from hemi-cellulose, which can be further converted to fossil fuel alternatives and valuable chemicals due to its highly functionalized molecular structure.

Advances in BiOX photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutants are introduced, including the controllable synthesis, heteroatom doping & surface modification, BiOX/BiOY and BiOX/Bi_mO_nX_z heterojunctions.

Structure and reported bioactivities of semi-synthetic and synthetic 6-gingerol derivatives.