Nature bestows many gifts upon us, among which countless biomolecules have the ability to bridge metal ions and exert important functions in biology. By taking advantage of specific interactions between metal ions and biomolecules, this article highlights a novel concept for the construction of nanoscale biocoordination polymers through replacement of synthetic organic molecules with natural biomolecules as building blocks. The most recent advances are summarized and future challenges are discussed.

[Concept]
Yaling Liu, Zhiyong Tang
Chem. Eur. J. 2012, 18, No. 4, 1030. Read article.

Uracil is a common form of DNA damage resulting from hydrolysis of cytosine, and cellular uracil DNA glycosylases (UDG) have evolved to remove it specifically. The use of nonnatural pyrene deoxyriboside in short DNA oligomers to directly report on UDG enzymatic activity is described. The mechanism relies on the use of uracil as a strong quencher of pyrene, and enzyme repair activity can be directly imaged with bacterial cells in real time.

[Communication]
Toshikazu Ono, Shenliang Wang, Chi-Kin Koo, Lisa Engstrom, Sheila S. David, Eric T. Kool
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, No. 7, 1689. Read article.

Three phases are a charm: The electroactive nature of Ce and its renowned CeIII/IV couple make it the keystone of this investigation at the intersection of separation science and electrochemistry. The CeIII/IV couple has been probed to disclose its physical and spectroscopic behaviors in organic phases of relevance to solvent extraction, thus affording original insights into third phase phenomena and ion transfer across the aqueous–organic liquid interface in the title system (see figure).

[Full Paper]
Ross J. Ellis, Mark R. Antonio
ChemPlusChem 2012, 77, No. 1, 41. Read article.

One for all, all for one: A self-assembled M4L6 cage, incorporating small amounts of enantiopure subcomponents at the peripheries, forms predominantly with a one-handed twist at all metal centers. Strong stereochemical coupling between metal centers in the cage amplifies energy differences between the ΔΔΔΔ and ΛΛΛΛ diastereomers as compared to analogous mononuclear metal complexes (see picture; red and gray bars denote chiral and achiral subcomponents, respectively).

[Communication]
Naoki Ousaka, Jack K. Clegg, Jonathan R. Nitschke
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, No. 6, 1464. Read article.

A mechanically interlocked antenna: Two rotaxanes consisting of six naphthyl units appended to the stoppers and a pyrene chromophore attached to the wheel perform as light-harvesting antennae (see figure). Upon excitation of the naphthyl units energy transfer to the pyrene acceptor takes place with an efficiency higher than 90 %.

[Full Paper]
Maria E. Gallina, Bilge Baytekin, Christoph Schalley, Paola Ceroni
Chem. Eur. J. 2012, 18, No. 5, 1528. Read article.

Quite materialistic: The dye CB-PSP exhibited Jsc (14.63 mA cm−2), Voc (0.685 V), and FF values (0.67), which corresponded to a conversion efficiency of 6.70 %. The overall performance was reduced by about 16–18 % with addition of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). This result indicated that the presence of tert-butylphenyl substituents can effectively inhibit self-aggregation, even without CDCA.

[Full Paper]
Yuan Jay Chang, Po-Ting Chou, Szu-Yu Lin, Motonori Watanabe, Zhi-Qian Liu, Ju-Ling Lin, Kew-Yu Chen, Shih-Sheng Sun, Ching-Yang Liu, Tahsin J. Chow
Chem. Asian J., December 23, 2011, DOI: 10.1002/asia.201100777. Read article.

Small but smart: Miniproteins are scaffolds for the development of alternative non-immunoglobin binding entities. Their structural characteristics and excellent stability support the use of this peptide format for the engineering of novel diagnostic agents. Herein we present the total chemical synthesis of the disulfide-constrained scaffold Min-23 and its functionalization for in vitro and in vivo application.

[Full Paper]
Frederic Zoller, Thimon Schwaebel, Annette Markert, Uwe Haberkorn, Walter Mier
ChemMedChem 2012, 7, No. 2, 237. Read article.

It's all under control: High-yield production of Fe3O4 (10–15 nm) was realized by using a simple solution-phase method at room temperature. The Fe3O4 nanocrystals were continually synthesized by controlling the pH value of the reaction solution. The SEM, TEM, and XRD studies reveal the particles to be single nanocrystals. New adsorbents of FNBC are better at removing Cd2+ than BC and Fe3O4 nanocrystals.

[Full Paper]
Xiao-Hui Guan, Bo-Tian Zheng, Min Lu, Xin Guan, Guang-Sheng Wang, Lin Guo
ChemPlusChem 2012, 77, No. 1, 56. Read article.

A series of core/shell magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MMSN) materials were prepared. The loading and release of anticancer drugs, 9-aminoacridine (9AA) and camptothecin (CPT), as well as cytotoxic activity of drug loaded materials, is influenced by the presence of phenylethyl functionalization inside the MMSN mesopores (see figure). An externally applied magnetic field accelerates the drug release from the materials.

[Full Paper]
Nikola Ž. Knežević, Igor I. Slowing, Victor S.-Y. Lin
ChemPlusChem 2012, 77, No. 1, 48. Read article.

Capacity management: Gold nanoparticle (AuNP) spacers have been used to increase the capacitance of electrochemically reduced graphene (ER-GO) to values of approximately 174 F g−1. By the careful and systematic optimization of nanospacers loadings, the capacitance can be dramatically enhanced because these spacers prevent the graphene sheets from stacking (see picture: yellow=AuNP, green=purple=ER-GO).

[Full Paper]
Lucia Buglione, Alessandra Bonanni, Adriano Ambrosi, Martin Pumera
ChemPlusChem 2012, 77, No. 1, 71. Read article.

Make the switch: Poly(N-vinylcarbazole) derivatives with pendant donor–trap–acceptor structures exhibit electrical effects. The origin of the electrical bistability, which arises from the intramolecular charge transfer, trapping, and conformational relaxation of the electrostatic energy of the Al/polymer/indium tin oxide sandwich structure (see figure), was established by spectroscopic, microscopic, and molecular computational techniques.

[Full Paper]
Bin Zhang, Gang Liu, Yu Chen, Cheng Wang, Koon-Gee Neoh, Ting Bai, En-Tang Kang
ChemPlusChem 2012, 77, No. 1, 74. Read article.

Nanopods functionalized with anti-HER2 antibodies (ImmunoPods, see scheme) have been synthesized by adsorbing the proteins onto gold nanoparticles and catalytically cross-linking them with a coadsorbed polymer through pendant propargyl ether groups. Upon dissolution of the gold template, the hollow polymer nanopod–protein conjugates remain. ImmunoPods are bioactive and can target cancer cells that express the HER2 antigen.

[Communication]
Ke Zhang, Dan Zheng, Liangliang Hao, Joshua I. Cutler, Evelyn Auyeung, Chad A. Mirkin
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, No. 5, 1169. Read article.

Tracing the infection: The binding of human norovirus particles to blood group antigens was investigated using NMR spectroscopy. Binding epitopes were determined at atomic resolution, information on the binding specificity was obtained, and the bioactive conformation of various sugars was revealed. This provides valuable information for the design of entry inhibitors against this important class of human pathogenic viruses.

[Communication]
Brigitte Fiege, Christoph Rademacher, Jonathan Cartmell, Pavel I. Kitov, Francisco Parra, Thomas Peters
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, No. 4, 928. Read article.

The reactions of the metallocene alkyne complexes [Cp2Ti(η2-Me3SiC2SiMe3)] and [Cp2Zr(pyridine)(η2-Me3SiC2SiMe3)] with the sulfurdiimide Me3SiN=S=NSiMe3yields metallacyclic metallocene sulfurdiimide complexes. The molecular structure and DFT analysis of the titanocene product revealed the presence of a butterfly coordination of the diimide along with two Ti–N σ-bonds.

[Full Paper]
Katharina Kaleta, Martin Ruhmann, Oliver Theilmann, Subhendu Roy, Torsten Beweries, Perdita Arndt, Alexander Villinger, Eluvathingal D. Jemmis, Axel Schulz, Uwe Rosenthal
Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2012, No. 4, 611. Read article.

A great sense of achievement! The performance of nanoporous carbon as an electrode material was investigated and compared with that of bare glassy carbon, graphite microparticles, and carbon nanotubes. Nanoporous carbon was found to exhibit the highest heterogeneous electron transfer (HET) rate among these materials, thus sensing analytes such as NADH, DNA bases, and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) with an improved electrochemical response.

[Full Paper]
Hwee Ling Poh, Martin Pumera
Chem. Asian J. 2012, 7, No. 2, 412. Read article.

Bridging inhibition: A series of 12- to 22-membered bicyclic bridged β-lactams were synthesized with the aim of developing new inhibitors of penicillin-binding proteins and feature a planar amide function and no carboxy group (see picture; Boc=tert-butyloxycarbonyl).

[Full Paper]
Aline Sliwa, Georges Dive, Jacqueline Marchand-Brynaert
Chem. Asian J. 2012, 7, No. 2, 425. Read article.

Onkel Fritz: In his lecture at the Centennial Celebration of The Fritz Haber Institute, Fritz Stern reflects on the strengths and flaws of the Institute's founder. Can we judge a person without considering the historical and cultural context? In a sense, Haber's life encompassing triumph and tragedy is a reflection of his country at that time.

[Essay]
Fritz Stern
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, No. 1, 50. Read article.

The quest for the etiology of a biomolecular structure acquires special significance when the questions asked refer to molecules, the existence of which are fundamental to life, and in particular to the origin of life. In a search for the chemistry of the emergence of life, one needs to pay strict heed to molecular guides—nucleic acids, proteins, cofactors—that all carry a message, which is our job to decipher.

[Review]
Albert Eschenmoser
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, No. 52, 12412. Read article.

A galacturonic acid based macrocycle containing an amide group and a triazole ring has been synthesized by a procedure involving a copper-catalysed intramolecular cycloaddition reaction as the key step. The results of a preliminary study of the complexation properties of this macrocycle towards CuII cations are described.

[Full Paper]
Anas Allam, Laurent Dupont, Jean-Bernard Behr, Richard Plantier-Royon
Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2012, No. 4, 817. Read article.

Step by step: Due to its extraordinary potential, N-H bond activation and C-N coupling processes have formed the focus of broad research activities. This Minireview will describe examples of these processes mediated by gaseous “bare” or ligated ions and provide detailed insights into the underlying mechanisms and elementary steps.

[Minireview]
Robert Kretschmer, Maria Schlangen, Helmut Schwarz
Chem. Eur. J. 2012, 18, No. 1, 40. Read article.