Nature Chemistry Contents February 2012 Volume 4 Number 2 pp 67-140

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To register and for more information, visit: www.nature.com/natureconferences/fem2012   Editorial Top In praise of posters p67 doi:10.1038/nchem.1266 Can you imagine scientific meetings without poster sessions? Full Text | PDF Research Highlights Top Nitrogenase: Carbon in the middle | Semiconductor nanocrystals: An atomic search party | Cellulose conversion: A promising pyrolysis | Photoredox catalysis: Rapid reaction discovery | Interlocked molecules: Switching spin Blogroll Top Blogroll: Better by design p69 doi:10.1038/nchem.1262 Full Text | PDF News and Views Top Small-molecule libraries: Naturally inspired oligomers pp71 - 72 Jeffrey Aubé doi:10.1038/nchem.1254 The design of a small-molecule library for drug discovery attempts to combine the favourable diversity of natural product structures with the modularity of peptide synthesis. Full Text | PDF See also: Article by Aquino et al. Laser control: Manipulating molecules pp72 - 73 Katharine Moore and Herschel Rabitz doi:10.1038/nchem.1252 Valuable insight into the use of lasers to control electron dynamics can be gained by simulations, but these are often limited by the uncertainty in the model systems used. Now, accurate calculations of controlled electron motion in benzene improve on this, while showing that its aromaticity could potentially be 'switched off'. Full Text | PDF Molecular solids: Co-crystals give light a tune-up pp74 - 75 James D. Wuest doi:10.1038/nchem.1256 Stacking of a chromophoric molecule in the solid state has been altered rationally by the formation of co-crystals, allowing fine control of luminescence. Full Text | PDF Neurochemistry: Lighting up with azobenzenes pp75 - 77 G. Andrew Woolley doi:10.1038/nchem.1255 The chemical introduction of a photoswitchable ligand into ion channel structures should make it possible to study the diverse roles of neurotransmitters and receptors in the brain. Full Text | PDF See also: Article by Tochitsky et al. Mechanochemistry: Measuring the force of sound pp77 - 78 Pedro Cintas and Giancarlo Cravotto doi:10.1038/nchem.1248 The action of ultrasound on mechanically responsive functional groups — so-called mechanophores — embedded in a polymer chain often permits unusual chemical transformations. There is now a systematic effort to quantify the reactivity of mechanophores in relation to their structure. Full Text | PDF DNA nanotechnology: The world's smallest assembly line pp79 - 80 Greg van Anders and Sharon C. Glotzer doi:10.1038/nchem.1251 Two separate studies show how DNA tiles can be used in automated assembly processes: one system self-replicates, the second assembles the output of a molecular computation. Full Text | PDF Dynamic materials: The chemistry of self-healing pp80 - 82 Marek W. Urban doi:10.1038/nchem.1249 A reversible covalent reaction in which two oxygen-insensitive radicals combine to form a carbon-carbon bond provides the mechanism by which a polymer gel can self-heal at room temperature without the need for any external stimulus. Full Text | PDF Chemistry JOBS of the week Development Chemist- Northern Ireland Paramount Recruitment Chemist / Chemical Engineer – Switzerland Paramount Recruitment PhD position in Biological Chemistry University of Basel QC Associate, Analytical Chemistry Genentech Analytical Chemist Kelly Scientific Resources More Science jobs from Chemistry EVENT Nanolaboratories: Physics and Chemistry of Small-Molecule Endofullerenes 15th - 16th March 2012 UK More science events from Articles Top Large-scale screening of hypothetical metal–organic frameworks pp83 - 89 Christopher E. Wilmer, Michael Leaf, Chang Yeon Lee, Omar K. Farha, Brad G. Hauser, Joseph T. Hupp and Randall Q. Snurr doi:10.1038/nchem.1192 Chemists are able to prepare a wide variety of metal–organic frameworks by connecting together inorganic and organic building blocks of all sorts of shapes and properties. Now, a large-scale computational screening approach that simulates thousands of hypothetical MOFs from previously synthesized ones can help identify just which materials should be pursued. Abstract | Full Text | PDF Quantifying the chemical beauty of drugs pp90 - 98 G. Richard Bickerton, Gaia V. Paolini, Jérémy Besnard, Sorel Muresan and Andrew L. Hopkins doi:10.1038/nchem.1243 Drug-likeness is a key consideration when selecting compounds during the early stages of drug discovery, but its evaluation in absolute terms does not adequately reflect the spectrum of compound quality. Here, an intuitive and transparent quantitative measure of drug-likeness is proposed that attempts to capture the abstract notion of aesthetics in medicinal chemistry. Abstract | Full Text | PDF A biomimetic polyketide-inspired approach to small-molecule ligand discovery pp99 - 104 Claudio Aquino, Mohosin Sarkar, Michael J. Chalmers, Kimberly Mendes, Thomas Kodadek and Glenn C. Micalizio doi:10.1038/nchem.1200 The design and synthesis of a family of chiral and conformationally constrained oligomers is described. Asymmetric synthesis of the monomers is presented and the preparation of a 160,000-member library of diverse tetramers via split-and-pool methods is discussed. From this library, a non-covalent ligand to the DNA-binding domain of p53 was discovered. Abstract | Full Text | PDF | Chemical compounds See also: News and Views by Aube Optochemical control of genetically engineered neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors pp105 - 111 Ivan Tochitsky, Matthew R. Banghart, Alexandre Mourot, Jennifer Z. Yao, Benjamin Gaub, Richard H. Kramer and Dirk Trauner doi:10.1038/nchem.1234 Light-sensitive ligands can be used to regulate neurobiological receptors with high spatiotemporal precision. Here, the optochemical control of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, using both photoswitchable tethered agonists and antagonists, is described. These rationally designed hybrid photoreceptors will facilitate the investigation of the physiological and pathological functions of nicotinic receptors in the brain. Abstract | Full Text | PDF | Chemical compounds See also: News and Views by Woolley Broken symmetry and the variation of critical properties in the phase behaviour of supramolecular rhombus tilings pp112 - 117 Andrew Stannard, James C. Russell, Matthew O. Blunt, Christos Salesiotis, María del Carmen Giménez-López, Nassiba Taleb, Martin Schröder, Neil R. Champness, Juan P. Garrahan and Peter H. Beton doi:10.1038/nchem.1199 Assembling random networks on a surface is an intriguing — and potentially useful — phenomenon, but partial order is difficult to control. Researchers have now altered two-dimensional tetracarboxylic acid networks through only small chemical changes. This phase behaviour reveals that entropy, alongside energy, plays a crucial role in the order–disorder balance. Abstract | Full Text | PDF Hydrolytic catalysis and structural stabilization in a designed metalloprotein pp118 - 123 Melissa L. Zastrow, Anna F. A. Peacock, Jeanne A. Stuckey and Vincent L. Pecoraro doi:10.1038/nchem.1201 A designed metalloprotein containing an Hg(II) trithiolate centre that provides structural stability, and a Zn(II) tris histidine centre serving as a catalytic mimic of carbonic anhydrase, is shown to display rates that are comparable to the natural enzyme for ester hydrolysis and CO2 hydration. Abstract | Full Text | PDF Binary fluorous tagging enables the synthesis and separation of a 16-stereoisomer library of macrosphelides pp124 - 129 Dennis P. Curran, Mantosh K. Sinha, Kai Zhang, Jesse J. Sabatini and Dae-Hyun Cho doi:10.1038/nchem.1233 A 16-member diastereoisomer library known to contain macrosphelides A and E is synthesized as a mixture with the aid of a new encoding strategy for fluorous mixture synthesis. A simple process of sequential demixing and tag removal provides each of the isomers in individual, pure form. Analysis of the other library members ultimately leads to a structural reassignment for macrosphelide D. Abstract | Full Text | PDF | Chemical compounds Enantioselective construction of quaternary N-heterocycles by palladium-catalysed decarboxylative allylic alkylation of lactams pp130 - 133 Douglas C. Behenna, Yiyang Liu, Taiga Yurino, Jimin Kim, David E. White, Scott C. Virgil and Brian M. Stoltz doi:10.1038/nchem.1222 Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are ubiquitous in natural products, pharmaceuticals and in materials science. Here, the stereoselective synthesis of a wide array of structurally diverse, functionalized lactams by palladium-catalysed enantioselective enolate alkylation is described. Abstract | Full Text | PDF | Chemical compounds Non-lattice surface oxygen species implicated in the catalytic partial oxidation of decane to oxygenated aromatics pp134 - 139 Sivaram Pradhan, Jonathan K. Bartley, Donald Bethell, Albert F. Carley, Marco Conte, Stan Golunski, Matthew P. House, Robert L. Jenkins, Rhys Lloyd and Graham J. Hutchings doi:10.1038/nchem.1245 Mixed-metal oxide catalysts oxidize hydrocarbons into CO and CO2 through surface oxygen species that have yet to form lattice oxide ions. The one-step oxidation of decane into a range of oxygenated aromatics by a fully oxidized iron molybdate catalyst has now revealed that these species can also be involved in selective oxygen insertion. Abstract | Full Text | PDF In Your Element Top Cool as helium p140 Christine Herman doi:10.1038/nchem.1247 Owing to peculiar properties, helium has taken both the main and supporting roles in scientific discoveries over the years. Christine Herman explores just what makes it such a cool element. Full Text | PDF Top Advertisement Subscribe to Nature Chemistry Make sure you receive your own personal copy of Nature Chemistry. Your personal subscription gives you either 12 or 24 monthly print issues plus online access to the journal for 12 or 24 months. - subscribe online here today   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available here. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on natureevents.com. For event advertising opportunities across the Nature Publishing Group portfolio please contact natureevents@nature.com More Nature Events

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