Themed collection Celebrating the 2016 RSC Prize and Award Winners

In the developing world, multi-drug resistant malaria is an epidemic that claims the lives of 1–3 million people per year. Artemisinin, a naturally occurring small molecule, is a valuable weapon in the fight against this disease. This review highlights interdisciplinary efforts to access artemisinin, with an emphasis on the key role of synthetic chemistry.

To date, both transition metal complexes and organomediators have been employed for enantiocontrolled ¹⁸F-incorporation as an alternative to conventional resolution of S_N2-based radiochemistry.

This Feature Article discusses several classes of lipopeptide with important biomedical applications as antimicrobial and antifungal agents, in immune therapies and in personal care applications among others.

This feature article highlights the opportunities presented by ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) as a controlled route to prepare polyesters and polycarbonates.

This feature article showcases the use of pyridynes and indolynes to construct functionalized heterocycles and complex natural products.

The syntheses, structures and magnetic properties of giant molecular 3d and 3d/4f paramagnetic metal clusters are surveyed. Such complexes combine fascinating crystal structures, interesting magnetic properties and sizes comparable to those of classical magnetic nanoparticles providing a powerful bottom-up approach to nanoscale magnetic materials.

The past decade has witnessed some remarkable advances in our appreciation of the structural and reaction chemistry of the heavier alkaline earth (Ae = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) elements.

A review of synthetic routes to tin chalcogenides and CTZS, promising materials for sustainable photovoltaics.

Improving the cooling power of the magnetic materials through sophisticated molecular design is viable, with a huge expansion in this area in recent years. This review provides an overview of recent developments and suggests some possible future directions.

Natural products provide privileged scaffolds for transient receptor potential (TRP) channel engagement and a source for chemical probe and/or lead development.

A wide variety of de novo designed building blocks (or tectons) can be used to produce both fibrous, effectively infinite, and discrete materials with potential biological applications.

Many radical reactions exhibit large kinetic solvent effects that have to be carefully considered if good product yields are to be achieved.

1550 nm SERS nanotags have been developed to provide effective SERS with picomolar detection limits when excited with a retina-safe laser.

A sterically demanding N-aryl carbodiimide reacts with magnesium 1,4-dihydropyridides to initiate heterocyclic ring contraction and pyrrolide formation under unprecedentedly mild conditions.

A dichotomy in carbon versus bromide reductive elimination in Cu^III–NHC complexes is rationalized by computational methods (DFT).

Methylation followed by fluorination of the ethano-Tröger's base affords a novel N–F reagent more reactive than Selectfluor bis(tetrafluoroborate). This study provides ¹J_FN coupling constants to characterize the N–F group.

Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is detected sensitively in samples of synthetic freshwater by measuring changes in the SERS intensity of the glyconanoparticles upon their binding of CTB and subsequently aggregating. The particles are coated in both galactose and sialic acid.

Planar perovskite solar cells exhibit a conduction band misalignment of the perovskite with TiO₂, but not with SnO₂. The system using the latter yielded power conversion efficiencies over 18%.

A metal–organic framework is reported which is formed from reacting a heterometallic ring, which is functionalised to act as a 4,4′-bipyridyl linear linker, and an oxo-centred metal-triangle.

Fluorescent nanogels with radii ranging from 12–17 nm, high quantum yield, concentration-independent emission, and fluorescent lifetimes of ca. 25 ns have been synthesised in a one-pot process.

We report the liquid exfoliation of black phosphorus to form few-layer phosphorene nanosheets.

An operationally simple and environmentally benign formal hydrogenation protocol has been developed using a highly abundant iron(III) salt and an inexpensive, bench stable, stoichiometric reductant, NaBH₄, in ethanol, under ambient conditions.

Earth-abundant Na_0.67[Mn_1−xMg_x]O₂ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) cathode materials with the P2 structure have been synthesized as positive electrodes for sodium-ion batteries.

Two coumarin derivatives obtained by structure-based design are potent transthyretin kinetic stabilizers (amyloid inhibitors) and sensitive fluorescent transthyretin folding sensors.

Integer numbers of ion layers give rise to discrete friction regimes.

A boronate-assisted fluorogenic chemosensor in a solid phase is developed, selectively to detect the mycolactones produced by the human pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans.

A branching synthetic strategy was used to efficiently generate structurally diverse scaffolds, which span a broad area of chemical descriptor space, and their biological activity against MRSA was demonstrated.

Strikingly different TRIR spectra are recorded for the complex in D₂O or CD₃CN or when DNA-bound.

A stepwise assembly method, using a combination of kinetically inert and kinetically labile components, allows formation of a coordination cage based on four types of component with each component directed to a specific site.

The one-electron reduction of a cationic (allenylidene)[cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene]gold(I) complex leads to the corresponding neutral, paramagnetic, formally gold(0) complex.

A portable optoelectronic nose for the identification of explosives uses a highly cross-reactive colorimetric sensor array and a handheld scanner.

The trans : cis isomer ratio of Xaa–Pro bonds is significantly affected by the polarity of the environment. Computational and NMR spectroscopic studies revealed an intricate balance between polarity effects and interactions of carbonyl groups.

An oligoamide helix mimicking foldamer with well-defined conformation is shown to recognize its target protein hDM2 in a manner that depends upon the composition, spatial projection and stereochemistry of functional groups appended to the scaffold.

The synthesis and surface-based self-assembly of thymine-functionalised porphyrins is described.

Novel role for methionine in enzyme catalysis.

Mechanistic features of the trapping reaction of an HDDA-generated aryne by pendant silyl ethers were probed using, e.g., an intramolecular clock reaction (cf. k₂).

The synthesis of a full series of group 4/nickel complexes supported by a 2-(diphenylphosphino)pyrrolide (NP) ligand is reported.

Electrochemical X-ray fluorescence for the quantitative analysis of trace level Pd in solution in the presence of excess electroactive species.

Top-down surface patterning technique, interferometric lithography, is combined with bottom-up magnetite nanoparticle biomineralisation using Mms6 to form magnetic nanoscale arrays.

Surface quenching of triplet excitons at the film interface is investigated in iridium-cored phosphorescent dendrimer films.

Computational and experimental investigation of interfacial self-assembly between peptide amphiphiles and polyelectrolytes into microstructured membranes.

The antibacterial properties of a Cu–ZrO₂ film grown via aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition are presented.

After non-linear annihilation in semiconducting carbon nanotubes a doubly-excited exciton relaxes directly to its E₁₁ state bypassing the intermediate E₂₂ manifold.

Stability of a reference material characterised by proficiency test is monitored inexpensively by a participant-blind issue of the same material in two rounds of the test separated by a suitable period.

A range of experimental approaches are used to understand the HIF-1α/p300 interface – an important anticancer drug development target – in greater detail.

Combined analysis of ¹³C′ and ¹⁵N R₁ and R_1ρ relaxation rates measured at two magnetic fields leads to improved modeling of backbone dynamics in crystalline protein and provides unique insights into how the same motions contribute differently to relaxation rates in solution and solid state.

Niobium doped TiO₂ thin films were deposited on silica coated glass substrate using aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) from hexane solution, at 500 °C.

Pharmaceutical chemicals are complex, high value added products that typically impose significantly greater impacts on the environment per kilogram compared to basic chemicals.

A pair of [¹²³I]/[⁶⁴Cu]-copper bis(thiosemicarbazonates), radiolabelled at either the metal or at the ligand, was used to examine the roles of the copper metal and the ligand in the in vitro and in vivo behaviour of this class of hypoxia PET imaging agent.

Direct production of BuOH from EtOH is compared over four Cu catalysts, supported on different solid acids. The activity of these catalysts to perform the Guerbet reaction was assessed using a continuous flow reactor and the effect of using scCO₂ was also monitored. Cu on high surface area CeO₂ showed the best activity for BuOH formation, with yields above 30%.

The selective synthesis of aromatic and heteroaromatic amides through base-catalysed hydration of nitriles was achieved using inexpensive and commercially available NaOH as the only catalyst.

A cysteine-mutated biomineralisation protein (Mms6) patterned onto gold biotemplates magnetic nanoparticle arrays of magnetite and higher coercivity cobalt-doped magnetite. This demonstrates an adaptable, green approach for the future of nanofabrication.

The valence and local structures of Fe during battery cycling of Li₂FeSiO₄ and Li_2.2Fe_0.9SiO₄ are studied by in situ (XAS) measurements.

We report here the use of methylaluminoxane (MAO) modified aqueous miscible organic solvent treated (AMOST) layered double hydroxide, Mg₆Al₂(OH)₁₆CO₃·4H₂O (AMO-Mg₃Al-CO₃) as a catalyst support system for the slurry phase polymerisation of ethylene using immobilised metallocene and non-metallocene metal complexes.

Bioactivity of RGDS epitopes presented on the surface of the supramolecular nanofibers is highly dependent on their spatial presentation, which dictates the interaction with cell-surface integrin receptors.

Regulating exocytosis of AuNPs by using host–guest interactions between AuNPs and CB[7] molecules.

CO₂ can react with various propargylic amines to form 3,4,5-trisubstituted oxazolones catalyzed by the active, selective and stable ionic liquids.

We present a new spectroscopic technique to characterise a model chemical compass. The data obtained inform the interpretation of animal behaviour studies into the origin of avian magnetoreception.

An assessment of simultaneous airborne measurements of dinitrogen pentoxide by a CIMS and BBCEAS.

A His–aryl interaction in a beta-hairpin catalyst provides rate enhancements of up to 18 000 for acyl transfer catalysis.

A quick, comprehensive surface/bulk analysis of mesoporous and coated nanoparticles by (T-)SEM, EDX and SAM.

The [Rh(xantphos)]⁺ fragment acts as an effective catalyst for the hydroboration of the alkene TBE (tert-butyl ethene) using the amine–borane H₃B·NMe₃ at low (0.5 mol%) catalyst loadings to give the linear product.

1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrahalobismuthates. Chlorobismuthates are colourless. Upon substitution of chloride for bromide or iodide the liquids become progressively more yellow or red.

A cobalt-based material catalyzes anodic water oxidation in neutral and alkaline solutions, and is most active in borate electrolyte.

The variable properties of archaeological pottery and complex chemical nature of absorbed organic residues deposited during use demands new analytical methods to answer major questions concerning how people lived in the past.