Themed collection Celebrating Excellence in Research: 100 Women of Chemistry

This review compiles details of the isolation, proposed biogenesis and biological testing of a new family of marine sesterterpenoids isolated around the Pacific Rim between 2009–2017.

This highlight article focuses on the rapidly emerging area of electrocatalytic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with a particular emphasis on those systems displaying intrinsic activity.

This article describes the functions and mechanisms of particle and electron ratchets, and the interplay between theory and experiment in this field of non-equilibrium transport.

This review highlights recent efforts in using photochemistry to exert dynamic control over the properties of hydrogel biomaterials.

Herein, we review the recent advances and challenges in the field of visible-light-absorbing semiconductor/molecular catalyst photoelectrodes for H₂ and O₂ evolution.

Application of 3D multicellular tumor spheroids to the investigation of polymer nanomedicines.

Natural products targeting the bacterial Clp protease unravel key interfaces for protein–protein–interaction and long-distance conformational control.

The thermodynamic and defect chemical opportunities and challenges of perovskite oxides used for thermochemical water and carbon dioxide splitting are reviewed.

Various concentration gradient generation methods based on microfluidic systems are summarized in this paper.

1,3-N,O-Chelating ligands are ubiquitous in nature owing to their occurrence as α-chiral amino acids in metalloproteins.

The control of many biological roles exerted by nucleic acids turned them into a powerful tool for the development of advanced biotechnological materials when in combination with mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

The structural dynamics of insulin hexamer dissociation were studied by the photoinduced temperature jump technique and monitored by time-resolved X-ray scattering.

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of CO₂ from glycerol to afford formic and lactic acid is an attractive path to valorizing two waste streams. The process is significantly more thermodynamically favorable than direct CO₂ hydrogenation.

A thumb-size and precise electrochemical system is designed for sensors in size and cost sensitive applications.

Clean separation of linear, monobranched, and dibranched alkanes is achieved using a flexible, microporous metal–organic framework (MOF).

Coronatine, a virulence factor of plant bacteria, facilitates bacterial infection through an ER (endoplasmic reticulum)-mediated mechanism and works by affecting the ethylene signaling pathway.

DPEA shows good charge carrier mobility and AIE efficient luminescence.

Electrochemical water splitting using non-noble metals as catalysts is of increasing importance for the future energy sector.

A λ-orthogonal reaction system is introduced, where visible light induced radical thiol–ene and UV light induced NITEC (Nitrile-Imine mediated Tetrazole–Ene Conjugation) ligations are consecutively employed to fabricate and functionalize PEG-based hydrogels.

Sub 3 nm diamond particles show size- and shape-dependent surface reconstructions, which have significant impact to their functionality and performance.

Control of molecular recognition via living radical polymerization.

Looped flow processes are an efficient and versatile tool to synthesize cyclic macromolecular materials.

The synthesis of degradable gold core–mesoporous organosilica shell nanoparticles is described.

From an enzymatic perspective, there is a general notion that the bigger and more complex a catalytically active peptide is the more enzyme-like and the better it should become. But is this really true?

Based on electrochemically stable Ag–Ni and Ag–Fe core–shell nanowire networks, a transparent and stretchable asymmetric supercapacitor was demonstrated.

Solution-based direct assembly of centimeter-square sizes of graphene–fluorofullerene multilayers with a tunable work function, up to 5.7 eV, and a remarkable chemical stability is demonstrated.

Solid-state pressing is used to produce, in one single-step and without the need to mechanically stretch thin foils, ferroelectric structures from the commodity polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with comparable piezoelectric properties to biaxially stretched β-PVDF.

Ionic-liquid-based aqueous biphasic systems allow an efficient and selective separation of aliphatic and aromatic amino acid mixtures usually present in protein hydrolysates or fermentation broths.

A cobalt(II) complex can distinguish between anions by observing the paramagnetic ¹H NMR shift.

The chiral expression of a molecule on a surface is driven from a random solid solution on Cu(100) to a racemic crystal on a Sn/Cu(100) alloy.

A chemically targeted luminescent porous silicon–graphene oxide core–shell nanoparticle delivers siRNA for more effective gene silencing.

A molecular architecture where two vanadyl-based qubits are linked together is herein described and investigated as a platform for quantum simulation.

We demonstrate a novel hydrogel material to facilitate direct bioelectrochemistry of a wide range of redox proteins and enable ATP-independent electroenzymatic reduction of N₂ by nitrogenase.

Realization of a hitherto elusive unsupported η⁶ binding mode of benzene to a copper(I) cation employing silylene as a ligand. The back-donation from Cu to Si(II) diminishes the repulsion between d-electrons and the benzene ring and enforces the η⁶ binding mode.

Benzylic AdoMet analogs enable highly efficient enzymatic transfer of norbornenes to nucleic acids and subsequent tetrazine ligation.

Predicting ground- and excited-state properties of open-shell organic molecules by electronic structure theory can be challenging because an accurate treatment has to correctly describe both static and dynamic electron correlation.

GeoChips based on mcrA and cytochrome genes to evaluate community structure variety of methanogens and electron transfer process.

Excess PbI₂ in MAPbI₃ thin films has no direct impact on the electronic structure but changes the temperature dependence of the exciton binding energy and the phase transition behaviour.

Nanogels show long in vivo blood circulation time and high tumor accumulation.

The scattering of low kinetic energy electrons in large water clusters can be treated as an intermediate case between gas and condensed phase scattering.

A sequential enzyme-activated and light-triggered pro-prodrug has been developed for cancer biomarker detection and on-demand therapy.

Fully integrated lab-on-a-disc for cfDNA isolation allows real-time monitoring of tumor mutation status during targeted therapy.

Ionic conductivity and stability of Li-ion conductors are rationalized on the same footing using lattice-dynamics descriptors.

Comparison of intercalation of Zn²⁺ in layered V₃O₇·H₂O in non-aqueous and aqueous electrolytes reveals a much higher desolvation penalty at the non-aqueous interface, a major factor in dictating the kinetics.

Protein stability in reverse micelles is determined by local chemical interactions between the surfactant molecules and the protein groups.

Different types of mechanical treatment (tableting, grinding, milling, etc.) are important technological operations in the pharmaceutical industry.

Temporal and spatial trends of total air concentrations (gas + particle) of halogenated flame retardants at the Canadian Great Lakes Basin were assessed (2005–2014).

Physicochemical properties of manganese nanoparticles are key to adverse health effects.

The procedure for binarization of X-ray tomographic data affects the quantitative analysis of microstructural parameters in lithium ion battery electrodes.

A dissymmetric, soluble, porous organic cage from a low-cost racemic precursor.

Here we present and evaluate a method to determine PUF-PAS sampling rates (R_S), and the effective sampling volume (V_eff), for gas-phase chemical compounds deployed anywhere in the world.

A ciphertext-embedded machine-readable micro-QR code is constructed using structurally uniform visible-range SERS-active Al nanostructures with an average SERS enhancement factor of >10⁴.

MALDI-TOF imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) is a common technique used for analyzing tissue samples, as it allows the user to detect multiple different analytes simultaneously.

The dendritic catiomer using biocompatible Zr-MOFs as the core exhibited a markedly higher transfection efficiency and lower cytotoxicity than the commercial gold standard branched PEI_25k in A549 cells.

Design and development of a simple and ultrasensitive dot blot bioassay for endotoxin detection in serum.

We here describe a furan oxidation based site-specific chemical ligation approach using unprotected peptide segments.

Effective colloid–colloid interactions can be tailored through the addition of a complex cosolute.

The polymer present in the nanocomposite is degraded by microorganisms present in the wastewater.

A new developed strategy for the specific detection and quantification of cysteine sulfenic acid (SA) using molecular and elemental mass spectrometric (MS) techniques.

The atomic composition and chemical structure of polymers is fundamental to dictating properties and applications.

Charge separation in dye sensitized SnO₂–TiO₂ μm-thin films was substantially extended by an innovative patterning design strategy.

In this work, the use of complexing acids (HF and HCl) combined with HNO₃ was evaluated for lipstick digestion and further Cd and Pb determination by ICP-MS.

Polymers with different trehalose side chain regioisomers were synthesized and compared for insulin stabilization.

Eleven zinc β-quinolylenolates with varying substituents have been synthesized, and some of these complexes are excellent catalysts for the ring-opening homo- and copolymerization of ε-CL and LAs.

The aim of this research was to develop an analytical method for the detection and confirmation of 13 pesticide residues in wastewater.

Field measurements, laboratory experiments, and kinetic modeling demonstrate that photodegradation of lampricides is limited in Great Lake tributaries.

A tetraphenyl fluorene (TPF) moiety in the polyimide main chain or in the side chain has a remarkable impact on the resistive switching behaviors and fluorescence properties of the polymers.

Measurement uncertainty of Pt–GG quantification in human lung cells by species-specific double IDMS.

Although ZnO is a compatible electron transport layer (ETL) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the fact that MAPbI₃ easily undergoes thermal decomposition on a low-temperature processed ZnO surface limits the use of one-step deposition of perovskite and hence the resulting photovoltaic performance. The triple cation perovskite prepared with a one-step deposition method is demonstrated to be a stable light absorber in highly efficient PSCs with low-temperature processed ZnO as the ETL.

The reaction of a Cp*Ir(III) phosphoramidate complex with secondary amines gives amine, imine-bound Cp*Ir(III) hydride complexes resulting from amine dehydrogenation.