Themed collection Celebrating our 2019 Prize and Award winners

An update on new developments in the field of ergot alkaloid biosynthesis since 2011 is highlighted.

This perspective examines the progress that has been made in using non-covalent interactions to control regioselectivity and site-selectivity in catalysis.

This perspective discusses concepts to understand efficient photogeneration of charges in organic semiconductors, with particular emphasis on the role of excess energy.

The aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) process is examined, including the influence of deposition conditions on film characteristics and a number of materials and applications to which AACVD has been found beneficial.

Synergistic catalysis, the simultaneous activation of two reacting partners by discrete catalysts to enable new or elusive chemical transformations, is a valuable synthetic strategy that is growing in popularity. This review seeks to describe the new transformations that highlight the rapid onset of this powerful multi-catalysis concept.

We review the diversity of the electrical behaviour of NBT induced by various defect mechanisms, including A-site Na or Bi non-stoichiometry, isovalent-substitution, and acceptor- and donor-doping.

The elaboration of simple arenes in order to access more complex substitution patterns is a crucial endeavor for synthetic chemists, given the central role that aromatic rings play in all manner of important molecules.

Iron pincer complexes exhibit excellent activity in homogeneous catalysis.

This review highlights the efforts towards the realization of an artificial photosynthetic system able to convert sunlight into electricity by using a unique solvent, water, the solvent of life.

This review summarizes recent methodologies for the simultaneous formation of C–CF₃ and C–C or C–heteroatom bonds by formal addition reactions to alkenes.

This review begins with an overview of the structural features of glycopolymers that can affect their recognition by protein receptors and then highlights the use of glycopolymers as probes of signal transduction.

The biosynthetic pathways leading to the different classes of β-lactam antibiotics are reviewed. The mechanisms, structural features and biocatalytic applications of the enzymes involved are highlighted.

Halide perovskites are found to exhibit strain patterns over large areas, which influences the lifetimes of charge carriers.

We report the specific and sensitive detection of microRNA using an inverse DNA-mediated liposome fusion assay.

The catalytic activity of tris(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)borane has been explored in the 1,2-hydroboration reactions of unsaturated substrates.

Oxazoline precursors of RNA nucleosides are highly photostable molecules and could survive long-term UV-irradiation on the early Earth.

Perovskite solar cells and light-emission devices are yet to achieve their full potential owing in part to spatially heterogeneous non-radiative loss pathways that are both on, and buried beneath, the surfaces of films and crystals.

A series of alkynyl aryl conjugated aldehydes and imines were prepared and their adducts with various Lewis acidic boranes have been studied via NMR, absorption, and luminescence spectroscopies in solution.

Energetic disorder is crucial to consistently model both absorption and photoluminescence spectra of charge transfer states in organic solar cells.

Electrochemical carbon mineralisation is facilitated by the separation of the graphite and aluminium anode components.

ADOR, an unconventional synthesis strategy based on a four-step mechanism: assembly, disassembly, organization, and reassembly, has opened new possibilities in zeolite chemistry.

Electrochemical initiation of the trifluoromethylation of biaryl isonitriles verifies the electron's catalytic character in the examined cascade reaction.

We have discovered that the dba ligand in the commonly used Pd₂(dba)₃·CHCl₃ cross-coupling pre-catalyst is susceptible to bis-arylation when used in the presence of aryl iodides.

Macrocyclisation of fully non-peptidic compounds and non-heterocycle containing macrocycles using the peptidic ligase PatGmac.

The fabrication of fluorescence-based pH sensors, embedded into etched pits of an optical fibre via highly controllable and spatially selective photo-polymerisation is described and the sensors validated.

Chemoselective control of a multi-reactive system allows two sequential C–C bond formations via two distinct reactivity modes, accessing pharmaceutical and natural product scaffolds.

Aj_EasH is a non-heme iron- and α-keto-glutarate-dependent oxidase that is responsible for an unusual cyclopropyl ring formation in the biosynthesis of the fungal ergot alkaloid cycloclavine.

We employed quantitative NMR spectroscopy and spectrophotometric absorbance titration to study a quantum dot X-type ligand exchange reaction.

Based on UV-Vis, NMR, and EPR spectroscopies and DFT and molecular dynamics calculations, a model prebiotic [2Fe–2S] tripeptide was shown to accept and donate electrons.

Cysteine containing dipeptide metal affinities do not follow the Irving–Williams series but rather follow the concentration trends found in seawater.

Eight clinically relevant radiotracers were isolated applying a Cu-mediated non-carrier added nucleophilic ¹⁸F-fluorination of arylboronic ester precursors.

The cis,trans-conformer of carbonic acid (H₂CO₃), generated by near-infrared radiation, undergoes an unreported quantum mechanical tunnelling rotamerization with half-lives in cryogenic matrices of 4–20 h, depending on temperature and host material.

Redox reactions have been used to transform unreactive vinylferrocene into a powerful dienophile and reactive substrate for thiol addition reactions upon conversion to its ferrocenium state.

We describe the development of a highly tunable, physiologically stable, and ultra-bright Raman probe for in vitro and in vivo surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications.

EM∩IM enables the calculation of collision cross-sections from electron density maps obtained, for example, by means of transmission electron microscopy. This capability will further aid the integration of ion mobility mass spectrometry with modern structural biology.

Imidazolium-based ionic liquids promote MoO₂-catalyzed electrochemical reduction of CO₂.

Valence band energies of three organic–inorganic perovskites are compared from electronic structure theory.

We describe chemistry that allows synthesis and evaluation of borofragments via conjugation of boron warheads with heterocycles of biological significance.

Thin film photovoltaic cells based on hybrid halide perovskite absorbers have emerged as promising candidates for next generation photovoltaics.

A signal-on DNA bioassay-on-chip using SERS detection and a single incubation step without any washing was developed for dengue diagnosis.

Pulsed EPR methods are used to carry out nutation experiments on a S = 3/2 molecular nanomagnet doped into a diamagnetic lattice.

Site-selective nitrenoid insertions are made possible with a postfunctionalized dirhodium(II)-catalyst equipped with a remote hydrogen bonding site.

To quantify the measurable structural heterogeneity of a biopharmaceutical product and the effect of glycosylation on this we systematically evaluate three lots of Herceptin®, two mAb standards and an intact 5 Fc-hinge fragment.

Chiral cyclopentadienyl-Rh^III complexes catalyze enantioselective cyclopropanations of electron-deficient olefins with N-enoxysuccinimides and are used for syntheses of oxylipins and UPF-648.

EASI-MS is a promising technique for probing the chemical structures of inhomogeneous airborne organic particles.

Mild complexations of chiral cyclopentadienes with rhodium(I) and iridium(I) precursors enable user-friendly in situ complex formation for catalytic applications.

Phosphorus doped tin(IV) oxide (P:SnO₂) films, with resistivity values of 7.27 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and improved visible light transmission, have been synthesised by AACVD.

A palladium(II)-catalysed C(sp³)–H carbonylation of free(NH) secondary aliphatic amines to 2-pyrrolidinones is described.

The first example of direct meta-C–H arylation of fluoroarenes to provide valuable meta-fluorobiaryls is achieved by exploiting CO₂ as a transient directing group that enables complete regiochemical control of the arylation event.

A UV-IR-Vis 3-pulse study of infra-red induced changes to electron transfer (ET) rates in a donor–bridge–acceptor species finds that charge-separation rates are slowed, while charge-recombination rates are accelerated as a result of IR excitation during the reaction.

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

We describe the syntheses of [Th(III)]–[Al] and [U(III)]–[Al] bimetallics that demonstrate An→Al interactions where the actinide behaves as an electron donor.

This work broadcasts iriomoteolides as a novel and easily tunable tool for the study of actin polymerization and actin dynamics.

Development and application of chemical probes to globally map key virulence proteins of pathogenic bacteria.

Transition metal-free radical α-perfluoroalkylation with concomitant β-alkynylation of unactivated alkenes is presented.

Solid-state molecular organometallic catalysis (SMOM-cat): synthetic routes, unique structural motifs, mobility in the solid-state and very active gas/solid isomerization catalysts.

Chemoselective boronate formation and phase transfer allows chemoselective Brown oxidation of boronic acids in the presence of boronic esters.

We report the stereoselective and metal-free trifluoromethylation of alkenes followed by S-cyclization using thiourea as the S-source and SET initiator.

A synthesis of the bioactive indolocarbazole alkaloid K-252c (staurosporinone) via a sequential C–H functionalisation strategy is reported.

Targeted mutagenesis increases the activity and alters the regioselectivity of flavin-dependent halogenases.

A unique structural and biophysical characterization using crystallographic, native ion-mobility mass spectrometry and ¹⁹F NMR identifies movement of a loop as being important in SPM-1 catalysis.

A series of tetramanganese complexes is reported that spans a wide range of oxidation states utilizing a single, flexible ligand architecture.

A method for the interception of oxy-allyl cations with a diverse range of common nucleophiles is described thereby demonstrating the value of this intermediate as a generic mode of activation.

A conceptual framework for incorporating machine learned ligand prediction into predictive route comparisons, to enable greener chemistry outcomes.

The present work describes an expedient approach for the direct conversion of indole-3-carboxaldehyde to 3-chlorooxindoles.

Experiments, kinetics modeling and quantum chemical calculations are combined to probe both initial uptake and equilibrium partition coefficients for organic nitrates into various organic films.

Large acceptor ions on B-sites are less effective in trapping oxygen vacancies and consequently less effective to suppress the oxide-ion conduction in NBT.

The benefits of adding data from ion mobility measurements to a mass spectrometry based metabolomics workflow are assessed using a panel of small molecules. Data is presented as collision cross section values and distributions.

Silver–silica Janus rods synthesized via a pickering emulsion display pronounced self-propelled motion even at ultralow fuel concentrations.

Aldehyde dehydrogenases enable the chemospecific oxidation of structurally diverse aldehydes to carboxylic acids in aqueous environment and using only air.