Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-28DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01033
Hadas Peled-Zehavi*, Reut Yemini and Nir Fluman*,
{"title":"Membrane Protein Insertion in Cells: Principles, Pathways, and Quality Control","authors":"Hadas Peled-Zehavi*, Reut Yemini and Nir Fluman*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01033","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01033","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Integral membrane proteins comprise at least a quarter of every proteome. To fold and function properly, these proteins must insert into the correct membrane with the proper topology and orientation. Although their transmembrane helices are chemically compatible with the bilayer, insertion inside cells is not a simple spontaneous event. It must occur in a crowded environment, at the correct membrane, and it often involves challenges such as transferring hydrophilic segments across the bilayer or accommodating helices that are only marginally compatible with it. Cells therefore rely on dedicated systems that direct membrane proteins to the membrane, mediate their insertion, and monitor the process to ensure that it occurs correctly. This review outlines the principles that govern membrane protein insertion in cells and explains how transmembrane sequence features interact with the machineries that mediate their entry into the bilayer. We highlight the major insertion systems of bacteria and eukaryotes and the auxiliary factors that support them, and describe how these pathways accommodate the broad range of membrane protein architectures found in cells, from single-pass proteins to complex multispanning transporters. We also discuss how cells maintain accuracy when insertion fails, through mechanisms that detect and resolve misinsertion. Together, these concepts present membrane protein insertion as a coordinated, adaptable, and safeguarded process, shaped by the interplay between sequence properties, membrane environments, and the machinery responsible for building the membrane proteome.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6526–6549"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01033","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148040122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Catalytic Hydrodimerization of Alkenes","authors":"Wen Xia, Muneer-ul-Shafi Bhat, Perla Bharath Kumar, Yu-Long Li*, Qiong Yu*, Han-Tong Zhao and Wei Shu*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00007","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00007","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Alkyl–alkyl bonds comprise the majority of the framework of organic molecules, which are ubiquitous in natural products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional materials. Consequently, developing catalytic methods to construct alkyl–alkyl bonds from readily available, cost-effective, and bench-stable precursors is of great importance across organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and materials science. Catalytic hydrodimerization of alkenes is among the most direct, atom- and step-economical approaches for forming alkyl–alkyl bonds, using alkenes as the sole precursors. This review systematically discusses advances in catalytic hydrodimerization of alkenes. Various catalytic modes enable hydrodimerization of alkenes under different conditions to access <i>sp</i><sup>3</sup>-rich architectures with stereochemical control. Notably, cross-hydrodimerization has recently emerged as a promising strategy for asymmetric alkyl–alkyl bond-forming events. Moreover, remaining challenges are highlighted and future directions are outlined in the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6728–6775"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147830468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01110
Vincent Fourmond, Andrea Di Giuliantonio, Miriam Malagnini, Laura Opdam, Nils Ostermann, Sophie Webb, Ross D. Milton* and Christophe Léger*,
{"title":"Direct Electrochemistry of Hydrogenase, Formate Dehydrogenase, CO Dehydrogenase, and Nitrogenase: Wiring Strategies and Mechanistic Insights into Metalloenzymes That Produce Solar Fuels","authors":"Vincent Fourmond, Andrea Di Giuliantonio, Miriam Malagnini, Laura Opdam, Nils Ostermann, Sophie Webb, Ross D. Milton* and Christophe Léger*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01110","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01110","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Direct electrochemistry (DET), whereby a redox enzyme exchanges electrons with an electrode without the intervention of any mediator, has emerged at the turn of the XXI<sup>st</sup> century as a powerful tool to investigate redox enzymes. In this review we focus on the electrochemistry of metalloenzymes that are involved in the conversion of biological solar fuels. We summarize the strategies that made it possible to wire them to electrodes, from their mere physisorption onto friendly electrodes to more sophisticated covalent attachment. We then describe a number of qualitative and quantitative electrochemical investigations of their mechanisms. These studies have disclosed the functional diversity within each family of enzymes considered here, suggesting that structural features that are remote from the active site play a major role in determining catalytic properties such as catalytic directionality, reversibility, and resistance to oxygen. DET electrochemistry contributed to elucidating some of these outer sphere effects, which are crucial in molecular catalysis, and also to discovering and characterizing new enzymes, which have the properties and robustness required in solar fuel devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6550–6679"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147979501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00928
Jeremy Money, Seyed Mostafa Tabatabaei, Pattuwe A. A. L. D. Pattuwearachchi, Jose A. Martinez-Gonzalez, Reza Foudazi, Nader Taheri-Qazvini and Monirosadat Sadati*,
{"title":"Programmable Anisotropy: From Mesophase Order to Functional Architectures","authors":"Jeremy Money, Seyed Mostafa Tabatabaei, Pattuwe A. A. L. D. Pattuwearachchi, Jose A. Martinez-Gonzalez, Reza Foudazi, Nader Taheri-Qazvini and Monirosadat Sadati*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00928","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00928","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Across biology, structural hierarchy converts bottom-up self-assembly into macroscopic function, yielding emergent mechanical, transport, and optical behaviors. Liquid crystals (LCs) are uniquely positioned in this realm by coupling fluidity with long-range orientational order, providing a physics-grounded toolkit: director fields, elasticity, chirality, and topological defects for sculpting free-energy landscapes that organize matter with molecular precision. Crucially, these <i>soft</i> blueprints can be transduced into solids, preserving order and programming function, which offers a route to nanofabrication that can surpass conventional top-down manufacturing. Here, we formulate LC-physics design rules that translate equilibrium and far-from-equilibrium mesophase phenomena into manufacturing with programmable nanoscale order. We emphasize how elasticity and anchoring set length scales; how defect networks act as programmable sites for trapping, nucleation, and guided growth; and how chirality and curvature encode photonic and transport responses. We survey advances in LC-based assembly spanning polymers, colloids, biomolecules, perovskites, and inorganic hybrids, from mesophase and boundary design to functionalization and property activation. We also identify a bioinspired frontier in which external fields and confinement can inscribe nonequilibrium LC textures. By identifying current challenges and future opportunities, we highlight how LC physics insights could revolutionize scalable nanofabrication with molecular order precision.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6101–6187"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147979523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-27DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00960
Tetiana Serdiuk*, Johannes Thoma* and Daniel J. Müller*,
{"title":"Monitoring Membrane Protein Folding Assisted by Insertases and Translocases Using AFM-Based Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy","authors":"Tetiana Serdiuk*, Johannes Thoma* and Daniel J. Müller*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00960","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00960","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In this review we discuss how atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) approaches can be applied to monitor the unfolding and folding pathways of individual membrane proteins. Particularly, we focus on the insertion and folding of prokaryotic α-helical and β-barrel membrane proteins and compare their unassisted insertion and folding pathways with those assisted by insertases, translocases, and chaperones. We highlight examples in which SMFS is applied to detect the misfolding of membrane proteins such as induced by the lipid composition of the membrane or resulting from unassisted folding. While SMFS can monitor how soluble and transmembrane chaperones reduce misfolding of structural segments, it can also monitor how insertases and translocases guide their stepwise insertion and folding into membranes until the membrane protein has completed folding. Examples show that the inner membrane insertase YidC inserts structural segments in a random order, whereas the SecYEG translocon inserts transmembrane α-helices sequentially. However, when acting together, SecYEG dominates over YidC, consistent with the role of the translocon in directing membrane protein insertion and folding. Finally, we discuss β-barrel membrane protein folding in the bacterial outer membrane, including the β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM) complex, and how SMFS applied to native outer membrane vesicles provides access to monitor the insertion and folding of membrane proteins in the native-like membrane environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6260–6282"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00960","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148040200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00012
Yue Li, Shurui Wang, Jianping Wang, Liu Qian* and Jin Zhang*,
{"title":"Artificial Intelligence for Materials Science: Transforming Research Paradigms","authors":"Yue Li, Shurui Wang, Jianping Wang, Liu Qian* and Jin Zhang*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00012","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00012","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The evolution of materials science is undergoing a profound paradigm shift driven by artificial intelligence (AI), transitioning from traditional intuition-driven trial-and-error to an accelerated, data-centric, and algorithmically guided discipline. This review examines this transformation through the lens of the materials discovery workflow, structured around two parallel and complementary trajectories. First, we discuss task-specific AI for materials science. We detail its role in distinct stages of the materials discovery pipeline, including hypothesis generation, experimental planning and optimization, characterization, and knowledge discovery. Second, we explore generalist AI for materials science, designed to handle universal scientific tasks. We examine how these systems advance knowledge representation, enable agentic workflows that orchestrate autonomous laboratories, and facilitate human-AI collaborative reasoning. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future ecosystem of AI for materials science (AI4Mat), outlining the critical challenges and strategic directions that must be addressed to realize the full potential of this evolving discipline.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6776–6803"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147979540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-21DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00996
Yoon Cho, Yu-Hsiang Chang, Weijia Shen and Michael J. Krische*,
{"title":"Metal-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling of Aryl Halides beyond Premetalated Reagents or Metallic Reductants: Biaryl Formation","authors":"Yoon Cho, Yu-Hsiang Chang, Weijia Shen and Michael J. Krische*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00996","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00996","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Biaryl motifs figure prominently in commercial pharmaceutical and agrochemical ingredients and are used widely in organic optoelectronic materials. Traditional palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, such as Suzuki, Negishi and Stille couplings, are powerful methods for aryl–aryl bond formation, but their reliance on premetalated reagents poses practical limitations. As most arylmetal reagents derive from the corresponding aryl halides, considerable effort has been devoted to the development of direct catalytic aryl halide reductive couplings. However, most methods require metallic reductants. In this monograph, metal-catalyzed aryl halide reductive homocouplings (Ullmann reactions) and cross-couplings mediated by nonmetallic reductants are surveyed.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6497–6525"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147985548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-Entropy Alloy Nanocrystals: From Synthesis to Characterization and Catalytic Application","authors":"Jianlong He, Yueh-Chun Hsiao, Chia-Ying Wu, Younan Xia* and Tung-Han Yang*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00030","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00030","url":null,"abstract":"<p >High-entropy alloy (HEA) nanocrystals, characterized by four core effects, including high entropy, lattice distortion, sluggish diffusion, and cocktail mixing, represent a transformative class of catalytic materials that combine compositional diversity with nanoscale complexity. By combining five or more elements into single-phase solid solutions, HEA nanocrystals offer unique opportunities to tailor local atomic environments, electronic structures, and catalytic properties. This Review offers a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the syntheses, compositional and structural controls, and catalytic applications of these materials, with a focus on achieving uniform atomic mixing and well-defined surface structures. We start with key synthetic methodologies, including both top-down and bottom-up approaches, and highlight wet-chemical synthesis that allows for precise regulation of reduction, nucleation, growth, and alloying dynamics to overcome challenges such as reduction kinetics, elemental immiscibility, and crystallographic incompatibility. We then discuss advanced characterization techniques and theoretical modeling approaches used to probe the multicomponent solid-solution phases, local coordination environments, interelement interactions, and synergistic effects that collectively govern the catalytic behaviors of HEA nanocrystals. We further highlight how these fundamental features manifest at the nanoscale to enhance performance across diverse catalytic reactions, including electro-, thermo-, and photocatalysis. Finally, we identify 15 critical aspects that provide a roadmap for the rational design of next-generation HEA catalysts for sustainable energy conversions and chemical transformations.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6804–6897"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00030","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147968601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-22DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00905
Yunxuan Li, Tim Karrasch, Ulrich F. Keyser* and Kerstin Göpfrich*,
{"title":"Membrane-Spanning Nanopores Formed from Nucleic Acids","authors":"Yunxuan Li, Tim Karrasch, Ulrich F. Keyser* and Kerstin Göpfrich*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00905","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00905","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Transmembrane-spanning nanopores have emerged as powerful tools in a wide range of technological applications, particularly in single-molecule sensing. This review explores recent advancements in creating synthetic, membrane-spanning nanopores constructed from nucleic acids, focusing on DNA nanopores. These self-assembled nanochannels offer a highly programmable and versatile alternative to traditional protein-based nanopores. We summarize the rational design principles and examine advantages and disadvantages of diverse architectures ranging from subnanometer channels for selective ion translocation to customizable geometries for the transport of macromolecules. Key aspects of this emerging field are discussed, including methods for membrane anchoring, the influence of lipid rearrangements on ionic conductance, and the dynamic control of nanopore function. Nucleic acid nanopores are further highlighted as functional components for synthetic cell signaling, single-molecule detection, and cellular manipulation. This review concludes with an outlook on the field, focusing in particular on the unique opportunities of RNA origami for creating genetically encodable nanopores for bottom-up synthetic biology.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6081–6100"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00905","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148003840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chemical ReviewsPub Date : 2026-06-10Epub Date: 2026-05-21DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00994
Tzong-Hsien Lee, Patrick Charchar, Marc-Antoine Sani, Dang-Huy Le, Tu C. Le*, Irene Yarovsky*, Frances Separovic* and Marie-Isabel Aguilar*,
{"title":"Structure, Interactions, and Assembly of Membrane-Active Antimicrobial Polypeptides","authors":"Tzong-Hsien Lee, Patrick Charchar, Marc-Antoine Sani, Dang-Huy Le, Tu C. Le*, Irene Yarovsky*, Frances Separovic* and Marie-Isabel Aguilar*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00994","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00994","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as potential antibacterial drugs in the face of rapidly increasing bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics. These peptides target the microbial membrane, and numerous models are used to describe their mechanism of action, causing cell content release and membrane disruption leading to cell death. The interaction between AMPs and target membranes is critical to their specificity and activity. However, a precise understanding of the relationship between AMP structure and their cytolytic function in a range of organisms remains elusive. The challenges in the field reside in the complex nature of AMP interactions with cell membranes, the mechanism of which varies considerably between different AMP classes. Biophysical techniques are widely used to study the influence of peptide structures and membrane properties on AMP cytolytic activity in model membrane systems and, recently, in live cells. In this review, we discuss high-resolution techniques that are employed to study the mechanism of membrane disruption and provide structural and functional insights into AMPs. Our aim is to provide a compendium of experimental and theoretical modeling approaches that can be used to characterize the folding and interactions of AMPs and synergistically advance the development of a new generation of effective antimicrobial therapeutics.</p>","PeriodicalId":32,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Reviews","volume":"126 11","pages":"6311–6408"},"PeriodicalIF":55.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147985526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}