Get the lead out : The title fluorescence receptor exhibits a high affinity and selectivity for Pb2+ over competing metal ions in water (see picture) with an overall emission change of approximately 8‐fold at the emission maximum for Pb2+. The fluorescence receptor can remove 96 % of 100 ppb Pb2+ from human blood, and can be useful and effective for the selective and rapid removal of Pb2+ in vivo.
Seeing is sensing : Calsequestrin (CSQ) functionalized gold nanoparticles undergo calcium‐dependent CSQ polymerization, which results in a clear color change (see picture) together with precipitation. The sensing system is specific for Ca2+ ions and the differences between normal and disease‐associated abnormal (hypercalcemia) Ca2+ ion levels in serum can be distinguished with the naked eye.
Bioinspired dual activation : Dual activation within the bimetallic pocket of a bioinspired dicopper(II) complex suitably places two phenolato substrates for preferred ortho–ortho coupling. Spectroscopic data and the molecular structure of a unique Cu6 complex isolated from the reaction mixture reveal a novel terphenolato ligand and provide a clue about the activation mechanism (see picture).
Bridging the gap between high‐vacuum soft X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and real systems under ambient conditions probes chemical reactions in situ during deposition and annealing processes. The origin of highly efficient buffer layers in Zn(S,O) is the complex formation between Zn2+ and the S?C group of thiourea (see schematic), which allows ligand‐to‐metal and metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (LMCT and MLCT).
Round and round : Covalently bound spokes induce an efficient template‐directed cyclization towards a rigid molecular wheel (see figure) and afford dramatically increased shape‐persistence properties compared with non‐strutted macrocycles.
