It's not easy being green : Real‐time visualization of labeled ribosomes and de novo synthesized green fluorescent protein molecules using single‐molecule‐sensitive fluorescence microscopy demonstrates that the mutant GFPem is produced with a characteristic time of five minutes. Fluorescence of the fastest GFP molecules appears within one minute (see picture).
Just add it! Ruthenium initiators functionalized with hydrogen‐bonding sites were utilized in ring‐opening metathesis polymerization to prepare heterotelechelic polymers with hydrogen‐bonding and metal‐coordination units in a single step. Supramolecular ABC triblock copolymers were then self‐assembled in one pot by simply adding complementary telechelic polymers to a solution of the heterotelechelic polymer (see picture).
Recognize this! A hydrogen‐bonding motif based on hexafluorinated alcohol derivatives (see picture; O red, F yellow) activates electrophilic substrates. The catalytic activity of the hydrogen‐bonded systems was demonstrated for the ring‐opening polymerization of a variety of strained heterocycles. Narrowly dispersed polymers with predictable molecular weights were obtained with end‐group fidelity.
Similarities and differences : Far‐infrared spectra of protic ionic liquids could be assigned to intermolecular bending and stretching modes of hydrogen bonds. The characteristics of the low‐frequency spectra resemble those of water. Both liquids form three‐dimensional network structures, but only water is capable of building tetrahedral configurations. EAN: ethylammonium nitrate, PAN: propylammonium nitrate, DMAN: dimethylammonium nitrate.
How deep is your orbital? Density functional theory studies on the axial ligand effect of aliphatic versus aromatic hydroxylation of ethylbenzene by iron–oxo complexes with a variable axial ligand show that strong (anionic) ligands pull the metal inside the plane of the haeme and destabilise cationic intermediates through orbital interactions (see picture).
The missing link : Ferrocene and porphyrin monolayers are tethered on silicon surfaces with short (see picture, left) or long (right) linkers. Electron transfer to the silicon substrate is faster for monolayers with a short linker.
The next generation : The grafting of titanocene complexes on the surfaces of MCM‐41 and SBA‐15 led to a new generation of anticancer drugs, which are very active against human cancer cells.
