Reviews & Analysis

Light-driven artificial molecular switches and motors afford dynamic control of various molecular systems, ranging from catalytic to biological. This Perspective provides insight into the challenges that must be addressed to transition the field from the proof-of-concept stage to realization of its myriad applications.

Blue energy can be cleanly and renewably harvested from a salinity gradient. The large-scale viability of this non-intermittent source is restricted by certain challenges, including the inefficiency of present harvesting technologies. This Perspective describes how nanofluidics can afford membranes better able to convert chemical potentials to electrical potentials.

Reviewing the applications of a solvent would ordinarily be an unusual thing to do, but the unique properties of hexafluoroisopropanol and its applications across a huge swathe of chemistry make that both a viable and interesting undertaking.

Mechanical forces can be used as an alternative source of energy to increase chemical reactivity. This Review reports on the latest single-molecule measurements and how they have improved the current understanding of single-bond mechanochemistry.

Redox reactions related to renewable energy challenges can be mediated by molecular electrocatalysts. Intelligent design of these catalysts calls for systematic catalyst benchmarking. This Perspective presents examples of analysing catalytic Tafel plots, noting through-structure and through-space effects on the performance and mechanism. This approach is preferred to oversimplifications inherent in using volcano plots.

This Review considers cascade reactions initiated by single electron transfer. Open-shell intermediates are highly reactive but undergo reactions with high selectivity. They are thus ideal intermediates in cascade reactions that generate complex, high-value products from simple starting materials

Aptamers are nucleic acid molecules that can be evolved to bind to specific molecular targets and have found applications in technologies such as sensors and actuators. This Review provides a critical analysis of the first 25 years of aptamer research.

Owing to their programmable ability to cut specific nucleic acid sequences, CRISPR–Cas systems have been used for precise genome engineering. In this Review, the authors discuss the chemistry and molecular mechanisms of interference by single-effector CRISPR–Cas proteins.

The unusual electronic characteristics of boron atoms lead boron clusters to adopt a wide variety of structural arrangements, most of which are 2D. This Perspective discusses the possibility of expanding the range of boron-based 2D structures by metal doping, as well as the use of the resulting clusters for conceptualizing metalloborophenes.

Research into naturally occurring chemically modified DNA bases has been invigorated by new chemical and enzymatic methods that, when coupled with sequencing approaches, enable us to detect and decode them. These techniques will support a better understanding of the role of chemically modified DNA bases in normal physiology and disease.

The unique properties of ferrocene-containing compounds make them useful for treating many diseases. The most notable drug candidates — the antimalarial ferroquine and the anticancer agent ferrocifen — have been studied for more than two decades but have not yet met clinical approval. This Review describes the design of ferrocene-containing drugs as well as the challenges faced in bringing them into clinical use.

DNA polymerases are responsible for DNA replication, repair and mutation. Although these processes occur through conserved mechanisms, this Review highlights how large differences in the fidelity of DNA replication arise from subtle structural differences between individual DNA polymerases. These differences enable polymerases to perform diverse functions that are important to nature as well as technology.

The cross-electrophile coupling approach to stereocontrolled C–C bond formation provides a complementary alternative to traditional cross-coupling methods. This Perspective provides an overview of the recent development of nickel-catalysed asymmetric cross-electrophile coupling reactions. Both stereoconvergent and stereospecific examples are considered and mechanistic details are highlighted.

Polymeric nanomaterials have a rich history of applications in the selective delivery of small-molecule drugs to their biological targets. This Review discusses the evolution of drug delivery using such polymers and explores how these approaches have evolved in parallel with the ability to prepare ever more architecturally complex macromolecular structures.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a physical phenomenon first discovered in 1974. SERS has since been exploited for bioanalysis because of its high sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities. This Review describes the progress made and problems faced with respect to using in vivo SERS in humans.

The active template approach to interlocked molecules uses metal ions to both pre-organize reaction components and catalyse the final covalent bond formation that captures the interlocked structure. This Review looks at the history of the method, its application in the synthesis of ever more complex interlocked molecules and future directions.

Bis(β-diketiminato)dimagnesium(I) complexes are low-valent reagents that can each deliver two electrons in a selective and stoichiometric manner. Easily handled and dissolved, these species effect reduction of many inorganic and unsaturated organic substrates. This Perspective covers the development of magnesium(I) dimers and the scope of their reactivity.

Transition metal catalysis is well established as an enabling tool in synthetic organic chemistry. Photoredox catalysis has recently emerged as a method to effect reactions that occur through single-electron-transfer pathways. Here we review the combination of the two to show how this provides access to highly reactive oxidation states of transition metals and distinct activation modes that further enable the synthetic chemist.

An untargeted mass spectrometry analysis of a biological sample will detect both biological molecules and compounds that are derived from, for example, diet and the environment. This Review examines the design of such experiments, how to process and interpret the vast amount of data that are produced, and how far we are from being able to use mass spectrometry to inventory the world around us.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have potential applications in, for example, gas storage and separation. The pore sizes in these materials are tunable by selection of the building blocks, and materials with multiple pore sizes are desirable. This Perspective considers synthetic approaches to 2D COFs that rely on tessellation to prepare such multiporous materials.