Nature Chemistry Contents February 2016 Volume 8 Number 2 pp 91 - 192

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TABLE OF CONTENTS February 2016 Volume 8, Issue 2 Editorial Thesis News and Views Perspectives Articles In Your Element Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Editorial Top A little less conjugation, a little more accuracy   p91 doi:10.1038/nchem.2448 The modification of proteins with fluorophores, drugs and polymers is required for many applications, yet conjugation reactions often generate a heterogeneous mixture of products. A collection of articles in this issue focuses on methods to modify proteins in a site-selective manner. Thesis Top The tip of the iceberg   pp93 - 95 Bruce C. Gibb doi:10.1038/nchem.2440 A day in the life of an academic, as told by Bruce C. Gibb. News and Views Top Molecular machines: Molecules bearing robotic arms   pp97 - 99 Ivan Aprahamian doi:10.1038/nchem.2435 Mass production at the nanoscale requires molecular machines that can control, with high fidelity, the spatial orientation of other reactive species. The demonstration of a synthetic system in which a molecular robotic arm can be used to manipulate the position of a chemical cargo is a significant step towards achieving this goal. See also: Article by Kassem et al. Carbohydrate reactivity: Glycosyl cations out on parole   pp99 - 100 Luis Bohé and David Crich doi:10.1038/nchem.2436 The reactivity of glycosyl donors is often explained by invoking putative glycosyl cation intermediates but, until now, they have not been observed in the condensed phase. See also: Article by Martin et al. Protein modification: Standing out from the crowd   pp101 - 102 Yichao Huang and Lei Liu doi:10.1038/nchem.2443 The discovery of a tetrapeptide containing a reactive cysteine provides a method to site-selectively modify peptides and proteins, even if other cysteine residues are present in the polypeptide chain. See also: Article by Zhang et al. Chemistry JOBS of the week Lecturer (above the bar) in Organic Chemistry / Chemical Biology University College Dublin Ladder Faculty Search in Atmospheric Chemistry UCLA More Science jobs from Chemistry EVENT 4th Annual International Conference on Chemistry 18.07.16 Atheens, Greece More science events from Perspectives Top Site-selective protein-modification chemistry for basic biology and drug development   pp103 - 113 Nikolaus Krall, Filipa P. da Cruz, Omar Boutureira and Goncalo J. L. Bernardes doi:10.1038/nchem.2393 A wide range of different aqueous chemistries for the site-selective modification of proteins have been described over the past decade. This Perspective discusses the scope and potential of chemical site-selective protein-modification methods in the context of their biological and therapeutic applications. Recent advances in the construction of antibody-drug conjugates   pp114 - 119 Vijay Chudasama, Antoine Maruani and Stephen Caddick doi:10.1038/nchem.2415 Antibody-drug conjugates have shown considerable promise for treating disease. However, in order to deliver their full potential, sophisticated site-specific conjugation technologies are needed. This Perspective provides an overview of the different methods used for the site-specific attachment of cytotoxic agents to antibodies. Articles Top π-Clamp-mediated cysteine conjugation   pp120 - 128 Chi Zhang, Matthew Welborn, Tianyu Zhu, Nicole J. Yang, Michael S. Santos et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2413 Incorporation of a π-clamp—a four-residue sequence (Phe-Cys-Pro-Phe)—into a protein enables the site-specific modification of the π-clamp cysteine side-chain. The π-clamp can be genetically encoded and does not require protecting-groups or catalysts to provide selective conjugation. See also: News and Views by Huang & Liu Phosphorylation-mediated RNA/peptide complex coacervation as a model for intracellular liquid organelles   pp129 - 137 William M. Aumiller Jr and Christine D. Keating doi:10.1038/nchem.2414 Intracellular bodies called liquid organelles are rich in nucleic acids and proteins, and are thought to occur by liquid–liquid phase coexistence. Now, enzymatic control over the phosphorylation state of a simple cationic peptide, thereby altering its electrostatic interaction with RNA, has been shown to drive formation and dissolution of droplets that mimic these intracellular liquid bodies. Pick-up, transport and release of a molecular cargo using a small-molecule robotic arm   pp138 - 143 Salma Kassem, Alan T. L. Lee, David A. Leigh, Augustinas Markevicius and Jordi Solà doi:10.1038/nchem.2410 Factory assembly lines often feature robots that pick up, reposition and connect components in a programmed manner. Now, it has been shown that a molecular machine is able to pick up a cargo, reposition it, set it down and release it at a site approximately 2 nm away from the starting position. Chemical compounds See also: News and Views by Aprahamian A direct approach to amines with remote stereocentres by enantioselective CuH-catalysed reductive relay hydroamination   pp144 - 150 Shaolin Zhu, Nootaree Niljianskul and Stephen L. Buchwald doi:10.1038/nchem.2418 Single operation transformations that enantioselectively install a stereogenic centre while introducing a distal functional group are synthetically valuable but rare processes. Now, a copper-catalysed reductive relay hydroamination process that simultaneously creates a remote chiral centre is described. The resulting γ- and δ-chiral amines are important structural elements in many pharmaceutical agents and natural products. Chemical compounds Influence of the leaving group on the dynamics of a gas-phase SN2 reaction   pp151 - 156 Martin Stei, Eduardo Carrascosa, Martin A. Kainz, Aditya H. Kelkar, Jennifer Meyer et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2400 Little is known about how the identity of a leaving group affects the dynamics of a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution reaction. A study of the reaction of F− with CH3Cl, and comparison to its reaction with CH3I, now reveals key insights into such effects, with reactant orientation considered a key factor in understanding the behaviour observed. Conversion of alkanes to linear alkylsilanes using an iridium–iron-catalysed tandem dehydrogenation–isomerization–hydrosilylation   pp157 - 161 Xiangqing Jia and Zheng Huang doi:10.1038/nchem.2417 The selective conversion of abundant and inexpensive alkane feedstocks into value-added speciality chemicals is a significant and challenging goal, and methods for catalytically converting alkanes into useful linear alkylsilanes are unknown, to date. Now, a strategy combining alkane dehydrogenation with regioselective olefin isomerization–hydrosilylation to produce linear alkylsilanes is described. Chemical compounds Transfer of molecular recognition information from DNA nanostructures to gold nanoparticles   pp162 - 170 Thomas G. W. Edwardson, Kai Lin Lau, Danny Bousmail, Christopher J. Serpell and Hanadi F. Sleiman doi:10.1038/nchem.2420 DNA nanostructures are typically used as molecular scaffolds. Now, it has been shown that they can also act as reusable templates for ‘molecular printing’ of DNA strands onto gold nanoparticles. The products inherit the recognition elements of the parent template: number, orientation and sequence asymmetry of DNA strands. This converts isotropic nanoparticles into complex building blocks. Incorporation of well-dispersed sub-5-nm graphitic pencil nanodots into ordered mesoporous frameworks   pp171 - 178 Biao Kong, Jing Tang, Yueyu Zhang, Tao Jiang, Xingao Gong et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2405 Doping mesoporous materials is an attractive way to tune their properties, but typically disrupts the host materials’ structures. Ultrasmall graphitic pencil nanodots have now been prepared, doped with heteroatoms, and inserted in a well-dispersed manner within the ordered structure of mesoporous materials including TiO2, carbon and silica, by a co-assembly approach. Self-assembling biomolecular catalysts for hydrogen production   pp179 - 185 Paul C. Jordan, Dustin P. Patterson, Kendall N. Saboda, Ethan J. Edwards, Heini M. Miettinen et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2416 The encapsulation and stabilization of an oxygen tolerant [NiFe]-hydrogenase, sequestered within the bacteriophage P22 capsid, has now been achieved through a directed self-assembly process. Probing the catalytic activity and infrared spectroscopic signatures of the bio-inspired assembly shows that the capsid provides stability and protection to the hydrogenase cargo. Catching elusive glycosyl cations in a condensed phase with HF/SbF5 superacid   pp186 - 191 A. Martin, A. Arda, J. Désiré, A. Martin-Mingot, N. Probst et al. doi:10.1038/nchem.2399 Glycosyl cations are universally accepted as key intermediates in the mechanism of glycosylation—the reaction that covalently links carbohydrates to other molecules—but their high reactivity makes them difficult to characterize. Using HF/SbF5 superacid, two glucosyl cations have been generated and stabilized, then characterized by NMR spectroscopy aided by computation and their conformation elucidated. See also: News and Views by Bohe & Crich In Your Element Top Yttrium from Ytterby   p192 Peter Dinér doi:10.1038/nchem.2442 Peter Dinér describes the journey of yttrium from its discovery in a remote mine to high-temperature superconductors and light-emitting diodes. Top 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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