Nature Chemistry Contents July 2015 Volume 8 Number 7 pp 611 - 680

If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view.

TABLE OF CONTENTS August 2015 Volume 7, Issue 8 Thesis Research Highlights Blogroll News and Views Articles In Your Element Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Thesis Top Stretching the comfort zone   pp611 - 612 Bruce C. Gibb doi:10.1038/nchem.2312 Bruce C. Gibb is organizing a workshop for two groups of scientists that study a similar topic, but rarely get together. The different perspectives they bring and the unusual set up of the meeting will hopefully lead to new ideas, but, as he suggests, they will also lead to the attendees leaving their comfort zones. Research Highlights Top Polymer chemistry: Put a ring on it | Metal-metal bonding: Zinc on the line | Energy storage: Better together | Tetrahydrofuran synthesis: Carbene reaction re-routed Blogroll Top Blogroll: Chemistry education   p615 Michael Seery doi:10.1038/nchem.2309 News and Views Top Perovskite solar cells: Brighter pieces of the puzzle   pp616 - 617 Udo Bach doi:10.1038/nchem.2310 Hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites have recently emerged as ground-breaking photovoltaic materials. A recent confocal fluorescence microscopy study now raises hopes that perovskite solar cells can reach efficiencies beyond the recent record of 20%. Synthetic biology: Six pack and stack   pp617 - 619 Cheulhee Jung and Andrew D. Ellington doi:10.1038/nchem.2313 A pair of artificial DNA bases have now been shown to adopt an edge-to-edge geometry in DNA which is similar that found in Watson-Crick base pairing. Aptamers containing these bases have also been shown to bind more strongly to a target than those developed using only the four naturally occurring bases. Cheminformatics: Computing target complexity   pp619 - 620 Johann Gasteiger doi:10.1038/nchem.2311 How complex is it to synthesize a given molecular target? Can this be answered by a computer? Now, a model of synthetic complexity that factors in methodology developments has resulted in a complexity index that evolves alongside them. Charge transfer: Interfering with interference   pp621 - 622 Gemma C. Solomon doi:10.1038/nchem.2314 Molecules can transfer charge between electron donors and acceptors, and can also transport charge when connected between metallic electrodes. These processes are assumed to show generally similar trends, however, a significant departure from this has now been observed in a series of biphenyl bridges. Chemistry JOBS of the week Professor in Environmental Chemistry 715851 Aarhus University Professor / Associate Professor in Environmental Chemistry Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture of Shizuoka University Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture of Shizuoka University Principal Investigator- Chemistry (#79009) California Institute for Biomedical Research Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry for Cancer Drug Discovery University of Michigan More Science jobs from Chemistry EVENT International Symposium on Applied Chemistry 5th Oct 2015 - 7th Oct 2015 Bandung, Indonesia More science events from Articles Top On-surface generation and imaging of arynes by atomic force microscopy   pp623 - 628 Niko Pavliček, Bruno Schuler, Sara Collazos, Nikolaj Moll, Dolores Pérez et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2300 Based initially on the outcome of certain reactions but later backed up by spectroscopic evidence, chemists have proposed — for more than a century — the existence of arynes as extremely reactive intermediates in chemical transformations. Now, with the help of atomic force microscopy, it is finally possible to generate and directly visualize this elusive intermediate. Chemical compounds Sub-50-fs photoinduced spin crossover in [Fe(bpy)3]2+   pp629 - 633 Gerald Auböck and Majed Chergui doi:10.1038/nchem.2305 Fe(II) complexes display transitions between spin states that can be triggered externally. Now the light-induced ΔS = 2 transition upon excitation of the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer states of Fe(II)-polypyridine complexes has been investigated at high time-resolution in the visible and the ultraviolet range. It has been shown to occur in less than 50 fs — that is, on a sub-vibrational timescale. Photoinduced reversible switching of porosity in molecular crystals based on star-shaped azobenzene tetramers   pp634 - 640 Massimo Baroncini, Simone d'Agostino, Giacomo Bergamini, Paola Ceroni, Angiolina Comotti et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2304 Rigid star-shaped azobenzene tetramers form a porous molecular crystal when the azobenzene moieties are in the trans configuration, and a non-porous amorphous material on their isomerization to the cis configuration. These two forms are reversibly interconverted in the solid state by light irradiation, thus enabling the photoswitching of optical and gas-capture properties. Chemical compounds Diels–Alderase-free, bis-pericyclic, [4+2] dimerization in the biosynthesis of (±)-paracaseolide A   pp641 - 645 Tao Wang and Thomas R. Hoye doi:10.1038/nchem.2281 The facile, spontaneous dimerization of a simple alkenylbutenolide monomer is relevant to the biosynthesis of racemic paracaseolide A. As supported by computation, a fully (C2-)symmetric, bis-pericyclic Diels–Alder cycloaddition transition state structure is invoked to account for the atypical exo-selectivity and room-temperature reactivity. Chemical compounds Light-controlled self-assembly of non-photoresponsive nanoparticles   pp646 - 652 Pintu K. Kundu, Dipak Samanta, Ron Leizrowice, Baruch Margulis, Hui Zhao et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2303 Controlling the self-assembly of nanoparticles using light has been demonstrated in many systems where the particle surfaces are functionalized with photoswitchable ligands. Now, it has been shown that the light-controlled self-assembly of non-photoresponsive nanoparticles can be achieved in a quantitative and reversible fashion by placing them in a photoresponsive medium. Enzymatic hydroxylation of an unactivated methylene C–H bond guided by molecular dynamics simulations   pp653 - 660 Alison R. H. Narayan, Gonzalo Jiménez-Osés, Peng Liu, Solymar Negretti, Wanxiang Zhao et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2285 The reactivity of a monooxygenase (P450 PikC) has been modified through protein and substrate engineering, and applied to the oxidation of unactivated methylene C–H bonds. The protein engineering was guided by using molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical calculations to develop a predictive model for substrate scope, site selectivity and stereoselectivity of the C–H hydroxylation. Quantum interference between H + D2 quasiclassical reaction mechanisms   pp661 - 667 Pablo G. Jambrina, Diego Herráez-Aguilar, F. Javier Aoiz, Mahima Sneha, Justinas Jankunas et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2295 Often reactions can be described by classical mechanics; however, this is prohibited in cases in which quantum phenomena emerge. Now angular distributions measured for the H + D2 reaction have been seen to display characteristic oscillation patterns in backward scattering — theory shows that they are caused by quantum interferences between classical mechanisms similar to those found in the double-slit experiment. An oxazetidine amino acid for chemical protein synthesis by rapid, serine-forming ligations   pp668 - 672 Ivano Pusterla and Jeffrey W. Bode doi:10.1038/nchem.2282 The total chemical synthesis of large proteins requires the development of methodology that rapidly couples unprotected peptide fragments. Here a highly strained four-membered-ring amino acid is described that enables such couplings by the formation of serine residues. Chemical compounds Optimization of a whole-cell biocatalyst by employing genetically encoded product sensors inside nanolitre reactors   pp673 - 678 Andreas Meyer, René Pellaux, Sébastien Potot, Katja Becker, Hans-Peter Hohmann et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2301 A method for high-throughput analysis of whole-cell biocatalysts for industrial biotechnology has been developed. The process relies on a combination of specifically tailored bacterial sensor cells that are incubated with biocatalyst variants within nanolitre-sized compartments. The product is secreted by the whole-cell biocatalysts and taken up by the sensor cells, which initiates a sequence of reactions that finish with the synthesis of green fluorescent protein. In Your Element Top Magically magnetic gadolinium   p680 Pekka Pyykkö doi:10.1038/nchem.2287 Pekka Pyykkö discusses the history and characteristics of gadolinium. Top Advertisement Nature Energy: Call for Papers Launching in January 2016, Nature Energy is now open for submissions and inviting high-quality research from across the natural and social sciences. The journal will be dedicated to exploring all aspects of the on-going discussion of energy provision; from the generation and storage of energy, to its distribution and management, the needs and demands of the different actors, and the impacts that energy technologies and policies have on societies. Submit your next research paper to the journal.     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

You have been sent this Table of Contents Alert because you have opted in to receive it. You can change or discontinue your e-mail alerts at any time, by modifying your preferences on your nature.com account at: www.nature.com/myaccount (You will need to log in to be recognised as a nature.com registrant) For further technical assistance, please contact our registration department For print subscription enquiries, please contact our subscription department For other enquiries, please contact our customer feedback department Nature Publishing Group | One New York Plaza, Suite 4500 | New York | NY 10004-1562 | USA Nature Publishing Group's worldwide offices: London - Paris - Munich - New Delhi - Tokyo - Melbourne San Diego - San Francisco - Washington - New York - Boston Macmillan Publishers Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 785998 and whose registered office is located at Brunel Road, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. © 2015 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.