Nature Chemistry Contents September 2015 Volume 7 Number 9 pp 681 - 760

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TABLE OF CONTENTS September 2015 Volume 7, Issue 9 Research Highlights Blogroll News and Views Articles Erratum Corrigendum In Your Element Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Research Highlights Top Nickel photoredox catalysis: Doubling up | Hydrogels: Coordination driven gelation | Synthetic biology: Caught in a TRAP | Nickel catalysis: Amide activation Blogroll Top Blogroll: Better online science   p682 Matthew Partridge doi:10.1038/nchem.2333 News and Views Top State-specific electron transfer: Shake it off   pp683 - 684 Igor V. Rubtsov doi:10.1038/nchem.2332 Electron transfer is ubiquitous across both life and modern technologies, and thus being able to control it is an attractive goal. Now, targeted infrared excitation has been used to modulate the efficiency of electron transfer in a series of donor-bridge-acceptor molecules. See also: Article by Delor et al. Perovskite solar cells: Crystal crosslinking   pp684 - 685 Licheng Sun doi:10.1038/nchem.2323 Solid-state perovskite solar cells have recently emerged and have already reached efficiencies of 20%. Now, a simple solution-processing step that crosslinks neighbouring perovskite grain surfaces has been found to increase their stability, an important issue for future potential commercialization. See also: Article by Li et al. C-H activation: Following directions   pp686 - 687 Lutz Ackermann and Jie Li doi:10.1038/nchem.2334 Controlling the site-selectivity of C-H activation reactions is a major obstacle for the development of synthetically useful methodology. Now, meta-C-H functionalizations of arenes have been achieved by exploiting weak secondary interactions of a metal-coordinating ligand with the substrate. See also: Article by Kuninobu et al. Metalloproteins: The long and the short of it   pp687 - 688 Ilia G. Denisov and Stephen G. Sligar doi:10.1038/nchem.2335 Preparation and structural characterization of the catalytic intermediates of two similar thiolate-ligated haem proteins (cytochrome P450 Compound-I and chloroperoxidase Compound-I) has explained the structural basis for the difference in their reactivity. See also: Article by Krest et al. Chemistry JOBS of the week Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry Princeton University Environmental Chemistry University of Windsor Assistant Professor in Chemistry Washington University in St. Louis Faculty Positions in Chemistry The Scripps Research Institute Professor or Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Theoretical Molecular Quantum Dynamics ETH Zurich More Science jobs from Chemistry EVENT Trends in Medicinal Chemistry 3rd Dec 2015 London, UK More science events from Articles Top On the mechanism of vibrational control of light-induced charge transfer in donor–bridge–acceptor assemblies   pp689 - 695 Milan Delor, Theo Keane, Paul A. Scattergood, Igor V. Sazanovich, Gregory M. Greetham et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2327 The ultrafast and mode-specific infrared excitation of several donor–bridge–acceptor (DBA) assemblies in solution has been shown to modulate their light-induced electron transfer properties. New insights are afforded into the role of vibrational processes immediately following light absorption in charge-transfer molecules and a recipe for efficient ‘vibrational control’ of electron transfer is proposed. See also: News and Views by Rubtsov Significantly shorter Fe–S bond in cytochrome P450-I is consistent with greater reactivity relative to chloroperoxidase   pp696 - 702 Courtney M. Krest, Alexey Silakov, Jonathan Rittle, Timothy H. Yosca, Elizabeth L. Onderko et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2306 Cytochrome P450 (P450) and chloroperoxidase (CPO) are both thiolate-ligated haem proteins that form a ferryl radical species called compound I. P450-I is, however, significantly more reactive than CPO-I. Variable-temperature Mössbauer and X-ray absorption measurements have now shown that increased electron donation from the axial thiolate ligand in P450-I may explain its greater propensity for C–H bond activation. See also: News and Views by Denisov & Sligar Improved performance and stability of perovskite solar cells by crystal crosslinking with alkylphosphonic acid ω-ammonium chlorides   pp703 - 711 Xiong Li, M. Ibrahim Dar, Chenyi Yi, Jingshan Luo, Manuel Tschumi et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2324 Perovskite materials show great promise for solar cell devices, owing in particular to their high power conversion efficiency. Now, the addition of butylphosphonic acid 4-ammonium cations during a one-step process has been shown to improve both the efficiency and moisture stability of perovskite photovoltaics, through the formation of hydrogen-bonding crosslinks between neighbouring grains. Chemical compounds See also: News and Views by Sun A meta-selective C–H borylation directed by a secondary interaction between ligand and substrate   pp712 - 717 Yoichiro Kuninobu, Haruka Ida, Mitsumi Nishi and Motomu Kanai doi:10.1038/nchem.2322 Directing groups in a substrate are frequently used to direct the regioselectivity of C–H activation reactions. Now it has been shown that regioselectivity can be directed by a ligand, which binds to both the catalysing metal centre and a distal hydrogen-bond acceptor in the substrate. This secondary interaction places the metal in close proximity to the reacting C–H bond. Chemical compounds See also: News and Views by Ackermann & Li Catalytic living ring-opening metathesis polymerization   pp718 - 723 Amit A. Nagarkar and Andreas F. M. Kilbinger doi:10.1038/nchem.2320 Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) offers good control over dispersity, but the requirement of one initiator per chain can be expensive and problematic for purification. Now, a reversible cyclohexenyl-containing chain-transfer agent is described, thus allowing a catalytic living ROMP process to produce narrow dispersity polymers and block copolymers. Chemical compounds Asymmetric assembly of aldose carbohydrates from formaldehyde and glycolaldehyde by tandem biocatalytic aldol reactions   pp724 - 729 Anna Szekrenyi, Xavier Garrabou, Teodor Parella, Jesús Joglar, Jordi Bujons et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2321 Forged by evolution, the natural enzymatic pathways to aldose carbohydrates are complex. Now, a biocatalytic stereoselective one-pot assembly of these carbohydrates from formaldehyde and glycolaldehyde using engineered D-fructose-6-phosphate aldolase (FSA) variants has been developed that circumvents this complexity. Chemical compounds Ultrahigh-throughput exfoliation of graphite into pristine ‘single-layer’ graphene using microwaves and molecularly engineered ionic liquids   pp730 - 736 Michio Matsumoto, Yusuke Saito, Chiyoung Park, Takanori Fukushima and Takuzo Aida doi:10.1038/nchem.2315 Graphene possesses numerous interesting properties yet the preparation of pristine sheets has remained challenging, hindering practical applications. Now, a rapid, highly efficient step has been devised that uses microwave irradiation in oligomeric ionic liquids to exfoliate graphite into pristine ‘single layer’ sheets (<1 nm thick). A concentrated dispersion of the resulting material behaves as a physical gel. Chemical compounds Use of a biosynthetic intermediate to explore the chemical diversity of pseudo-natural fungal polyketides   pp737 - 743 Teigo Asai, Kento Tsukada, Satomi Ise, Naoki Shirata, Makoto Hashimoto et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2308 The complexity and diversity of natural product structures make them an ideal starting point for the creation of chemical libraries. Now it is shown that a semi-synthetic process can combine heterologous expression of a multipotent biosynthetic intermediate with multiple non-enzymatic steps to produce libraries of pseudo-natural products. Chemical compounds Synthesis of marmycin A and investigation into its cellular activity   pp744 - 751 Tatiana Cañeque, Filipe Gomes, Trang Thi Mai, Giovanni Maestri, Max Malacria et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2302 Marmycin A is an anthraquinone natural product with antiproliferative properties. Now the chemical synthesis of marmycin A—through a Diels–Alder cycloaddition, an Ullmann aromatic amination and a Friedel–Crafts cyclization—has enabled a study of its biological activity. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that marmycin A accumulates in lysosomes and promotes cell death independently of genome targeting. Chemical compounds Organocatalytic removal of formaldehyde adducts from RNA and DNA bases   pp752 - 758 Saswata Karmakar, Emily M. Harcourt, David S. Hewings, Alexander F. Lovejoy, David M. Kurtz et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2307 Formaldehyde is universally employed in the fixation of tissue specimens, where it forms adducts with biomolecules, but this hinders the analysis of nucleic acids in the specimen. Bifunctional organocatalysts that speed the reversal of formaldehyde adducts of RNA and DNA are now reported, and show promise for general use in clinical specimens. Erratum Top Erratum: Chemoselective conversion of biologically sourced polyols into chiral synthons   p759 Laura L. Adduci, Trandon A. Bender, Jennifer A. Dabrowski and Michel R. Gagne doi:10.1038/nchem.2331 Corrigendum Top Corrigendum: Cloud-based simulations on Google Exacycle reveal ligand modulation of GPCR activation pathways   p759 Kai J. Kohlhoff, Diwakar Shukla, Morgan Lawrenz, Gregory R. Bowman, David E. Konerding et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2272 In Your Element Top Seaborgium's complex studies   p760 Christoph E. Dullmann doi:10.1038/nchem.2328 Christoph E. Dullmann reflects on the excitement, and implications, of probing the reactivity of heavy element seaborgium. 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. 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