Volume 6 Issue 8, August 2023

Enzymes are capable of controlling the reactivity and selectivity of catalytic mechanisms involving highly reactive intermediates. Now, flavine mononucleotide-dependent ene-reductases have been repurposed as photobiocatalysts for generating and taming unstable N-centred radicals, enabling their application in asymmetric radical C–N couplings.

Progress in the field of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction has been constrained by a lack of comparability between studies. This Perspective provides recommendations for best practices in the undertaking and reporting of experimental data in this promising research area.

The activation of light alkanes under mild conditions is a challenging task. Now the conversion of alkanes into the corresponding olefins and oxygenates is achieved in solution using Cu powder at ambient temperature and pressure.

Deployment of fuel-cell-based heavy-duty vehicles requires a complete understanding of cathode degradation. Now, identical-location micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is performed on realistic membrane electrode assemblies to identify the degradation mechanisms of the platinum catalyst.

The generation of nitrogen-centred radicals and their subsequent reaction with control of stereoselectivity is a difficult task in synthetic chemistry. Now, the photoenzymatic production of nitrogen-centred radicals and their use in challenging enantioselective intermolecular radical hydroaminations is reported.

The large size of nucleases of commonly used CRISPR-Cas systems reduces the delivery efficiency of these gene-editing tools for therapeutic applications. Now, the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the miniature Acidibacillus sulfuroxidans Cas12f1 reveals the determinants for its activity despite its small size.

Spillover phenomena are crucial in heterogeneous catalysis, yet remain elusive to quantitative characterization. Here the authors measure the surface concentration of hydrogen spilling-over onto TiO₂ using Au/TiO₂ catalysts and explain the underlying factors governing the process.

Chemical synthesis of biodegradable stereoregular polyhydroxyalkanoates has the potential to reduce production costs, but achieving high isotacticity and molecular weight is challenging. Now efficient spiro-salen catalysts are developed to synthesize such polymers with high stereoselectivity from rac-β-butyrolactone.

Metabolic inactivation of pharmaceuticals has not been sufficiently addressed in the field of drug delivery. Now, a hydrogen-bonded organic framework bioorthogonal platform has been designed, which in situ simultaneously activates an anticancer drug and an inhibitor of a catabolic enzyme.