US chemists have attached polymer chains to a small, robust molecule and used ultrasound to grab the chains and literally pull the molecule apart. The technique can reverse click chemistry reactions, a popular transformation in which simple starting materials are snapped together under mild conditions. Reversing this process, or ‘unclicking’ the components, could be used […]
bonds
iChemLabs has announced ChemDoodle 4 It looks interesting but I wanted iChemLabs’ Kevin Theisen to tell me about ChemDoodle’s unique selling point. Apparently, it has at least 6! 1. ChemDoodle is, he tells me, the only chemical drawing brand across desktop, web and mobile. 2. ChemDoodle is fully supported on Windows, Mac and Linux. […]
Pi-stacking better without the aromatics? - Scientists in the US have discovered that electrons confined to their double bonds can sometimes deliver stronger pi-stacking interactions than those roaming free in aromatic systems. The discovery could have a big impact on the design of receptors and supramolecular assemblies that rely on delocalised systems, they say. Chemist […]
Fluorine in organic chemistry is an important topic across the synthetic pharmaceutical, agrochemical and materials areas because switching out hydrogen atoms selectivity for this element allows chemists to tune the reactivity of specific groups within a given molecule. Now, chemists in Switzerland have turned to fluorine to help them make specific carbon-carbon bonds. The formation […]
Starting a new metabolic path: Researchers develop technique to help metabolic engineering - Efforts to engineer new metabolic pathways into microbes for the inexpensive production of valuable chemical products, such as biofuels or therapeutic drugs, should get a significant boost in a new development from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). […]
Crime scene DNA testing on the move - A microfluidic chip that can come up with a DNA profile in less than three hours has been designed by US scientists for use at crime scenes. The mystery of the disappearing crystals - A particular crystal form of the female steroid hormone progesterone can no longer […]