ChimiaPub Date : 2025-12-17DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.865
Kevin Salzmann, Esaie Reusser, Nicolas Lentz, Alexander J Bukvic, Martin Albrecht
{"title":"New Ligands Beyond N-Heterocyclic Carbenes for Application in Homogeneous Catalysis.","authors":"Kevin Salzmann, Esaie Reusser, Nicolas Lentz, Alexander J Bukvic, Martin Albrecht","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.865","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.865","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Building on the success of N-heterocyclic carbenes, extended versions comprised of an exocyclic metal bonding site have become increasingly popular. Pyridinium amidates (PYAs) belong to these ligand systems, as they contain a N-donor site that is formally stabilized by a pyridine-derived carbene. These PYAs are characterized by a unique donor flexibility, which imparts in some settings extraordinarily high catalytic activity, and in other settings remarkable stability of (catalytic) intermediates, which allows for deciphering mechanistic pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 12","pages":"865-868"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145809597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.765
Yang Yao
{"title":"Transport, Dynamics, and Phase Behavior of Soft Matter Under Nanoconfinement.","authors":"Yang Yao","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.765","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.765","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nanoscale confinement strongly alters the behavior of soft matter, from polymer crystallization to lipid self-assembly. In this mini review, we summarize recent progress on how confinement impacts molecular transport, crystallization, dynamics, and phase behavior in two distinct media: hard confinement in inorganic nanopores and soft confinement in lipidic mesophases. In the first part, we highlight polymer transport and dynamics in rigid nanopores, emphasizing how chain topology (linear, star-shaped, hyperbranched) governs confined crystallization and relaxation dynamics. In the second part, we turn to lipidic mesophases as biomimetic soft confining media, where phase transitions and molecular transport are intricately coupled to hydration and interfacial interactions. Together, these studies reveal that confinement effects arise not only from geometry but also from surface interactions, and that their interplay determines the structure and dynamics of confined matter. Understanding these principles opens avenues for applications in drug delivery, cryo-enzymology, and nanofabrication of functional materials and devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"765-769"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.770
Wenxian Tang, David Fuentenebro Navas, Benjamin Vermeer, Sonja Schmid
{"title":"Disentangling a Complex Biomolecular World with Single-Molecule Resolution.","authors":"Wenxian Tang, David Fuentenebro Navas, Benjamin Vermeer, Sonja Schmid","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.770","DOIUrl":"10.2533/chimia.2025.770","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biological systems rely on a complex and precisely controlled mix of biomolecules to sustain life as we know it. In addition to their compositional heterogeneity, individual biomolecules undergo dynamic rearrangements to fulfil their cellular function: they move, reversibly interact, and alternate between multiple conformations. Disentangling these compositional and dynamic complexities of biological systems poses a formidable challenge to established ensemble techniques. In this review, we discuss two single-molecule techniques - nanopore recordings and single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET) measurements - and highlight their powerful abilities to unravel mixtures and resolve biomolecular dynamics with the ultimate resolution of single molecules. Applications range from identifying the vast sequence space populated by nucleic acids and stoichiometries observed in small messenger molecules, to detecting time-varying conformations and interactions of large multi-domain proteins. This non-exhaustive review aims to introduce non-expert readers to the unique benefits of single-molecule experiments, which can overcome ensemble and time averaging as well as dynamic range limitations, and therefore offer unique, quantitative descriptions of the intriguingly complex biomolecular mechanisms found within and around us.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"770-779"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.797
Eléonore Moore, Amy E Fraley
{"title":"Bio-Based Approaches for Selective Cyclization.","authors":"Eléonore Moore, Amy E Fraley","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.797","DOIUrl":"10.2533/chimia.2025.797","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cyclic natural products offer important, unique scaffolds and functionalities for the pharmaceutical industry. They are produced by enzymes catalyzing a wide range of cyclization reactions. This large family of enzymes creates distinctive cyclic structures via a variety of mechanisms naturally evolved for selectivity. In this review, we aim to present an overview of these natural catalysts, the therapeutic compounds for which they are involved in the production, as well as engineering efforts to tune them for anthropogenic needs in human medicine. Biochemical methodologies commonly used for the discovery and engineering of enzymes will also be highlighted, with an emphasis on enzymatic terpene cyclization and Pictet-Spengler-type cyclization.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"797-802"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.749
Elias Dressler, Michelle S Frei
{"title":"Chemigenetic Approaches for the Development of Fluorescent Biosensors for Biological Imaging.","authors":"Elias Dressler, Michelle S Frei","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.749","DOIUrl":"10.2533/chimia.2025.749","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fluorescent biosensors are essential for probing analyte dynamics and enzyme activities with high spatial and temporal resolution in living cells by functional microscopy. Recently hybrid, or so called chemigenetic, biosensors have emerged, that integrate the strengths of synthetic fluorophores - such as spectral diversity, high brightness and photostability - with the specificity and sensitivity of genetically encoded sensing units. Beyond enhancing optical performance, synthetic chemistry can also expand the repertoire of sensing units themselves, creating opportunities for novel biosensor designs sensing previously inaccessible analytes. In this review, we summarize the protein-labeling strategies used in chemigenetic biosensor design with particular emphasis on self-labeling protein tags. We further discuss biosensor design principles, representative applications, and emerging advances that highlight the growing impact of chemigenetic biosensors in functional microscopy.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"749-758"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.759
Nathalie M Grob
{"title":"Beyond the Canonical 20: Peptide Discovery with Non-Canonical Amino Acids.","authors":"Nathalie M Grob","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.759","DOIUrl":"10.2533/chimia.2025.759","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amino acids are central to biology as signaling molecules and as the building blocks of peptides and proteins, which represent an expanding class of drugs with vast therapeutic potential. The precise modulation of individual residues in therapeutic peptides and proteins is crucial to enhance their pharmacological properties. Expanding beyond the twenty proteinogenic amino acids to include non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) offers powerful strategies to optimize the stability, selectivity, and potency of peptides. Including ncAAs in the early discovery phase can significantly accelerate lead development and clinical translation. This review examines how diverse platforms integrate ncAAs in early discovery and compares the capabilities and limitations of these discovery technologies. Finally, key challenges are outlined that must be addressed to drive future innovations and explore new therapeutic avenues. Together, these approaches mark a shift towards peptide drug discovery where non-canonical chemistry is not an exception but a necessity.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"759-764"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.780
Minghan Hu
{"title":"Multi-Responsive Microrobots Enabled by Chemistry and Materials Design.","authors":"Minghan Hu","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.780","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.780","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>At the microscale, robotic intelligence cannot rely on circuits or processors; instead, it must emerge directly from responsive materials. Chemistry provides the means: polymers, catalytic and magnetic materials enable single responsive mechanisms such as propulsion and sensing, forming the foundations of physical intelligence. Yet these functions remain limited in isolation. The next step is multiple responsiveness, where combined mechanisms create richer, autonomous behaviours. Conventional monolithic designs often suffer from interference and poor tunability, but modular assembly strategies now offer a solution by integrating discrete functional units without cross-talk. This review traces the progression from single to modular multi-responsive microrobots and highlights how such systems could achieve life-like adaptability for biomedical and environmental applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"780-783"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.803
Giuseppe Zuccarello
{"title":"Chiral Bifunctional Photocatalysts with Aromatic Ketones as Photosensitizers.","authors":"Giuseppe Zuccarello","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.803","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Because the biological activity of a molecule is directly linked to its three-dimensional configuration, the preparation of chiral compounds is a central discipline in synthetic organic chemistry. With the exploitation of photoredox catalysis that gives access to open-shell (radical) intermediates under mild and sustainable conditions, unprecedented molecular architectures can now be synthesized. However, the parent enantioselective transformations have been developed at a slower pace because suppressing non-catalyzed background reactivities has presented a major hurdle. Designer bifunctional photocatalysts containing a H-bonding motif for substrate recognition and a diaryl ketone as the photosensitizer embedded in a chiral scaffold are useful catalysts in asymmetric radical transformations. Herein, an overview of enantioselective transformations in which this class of catalysts has been successful and future directions are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"803-808"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.744
Ricardo J Fernández-Terán
{"title":"Ultrafast Multidimensional Spectroscopy: A Window into Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer and its Control.","authors":"Ricardo J Fernández-Terán","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.744","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This perspective discusses the application of multidimensional spectroscopies in the study of electron transfer, proton transfer, and proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) processes in the excited state. By addressing vibrational modes intimately tied to the reaction coordinate, these techniques aim to probe, perturb, and ultimately steer photochemical reactions. Simultaneously, multidimensional spectroscopies will provide unparalleled insight into these processes, accessing observables not available to conventional ultrafast spectroscopy. Altogether, this approach allows us to move beyond simple observation towards active manipulation of fundamental chemical reactions in the excited state.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"744-748"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChimiaPub Date : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2025.809
Nikolay V Shcherbakov, Josep Mas-Roselló
{"title":"Advancing Metal-Free Asymmetric Hydrogenation: From FLP Catalyst Design to Synthetic Innovations.","authors":"Nikolay V Shcherbakov, Josep Mas-Roselló","doi":"10.2533/chimia.2025.809","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.809","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Asymmetric hydrogenation (AH) is one of the most important transformations in organic synthesis, enabling efficient access to enantioenriched molecular building blocks used in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and fine chemicals. AH is largely dominated by catalysts based on precious transition-metals. However, concerns over cost, supply, and toxicity have intensified interest in developing metal-free alternatives. Frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) - combinations of sterically encumbered Lewis acids and bases - have emerged as a promising metal-free platform for AH, yet they face significant challenges that must be addressed to enable widespread adoption. Our group aims to contribute to this effort by developing new chiral FLP catalysts for AH and exploring FLP-mediated transformations beyond hydrogenation. In this perspective, we summarize the state-of-the-art, outline current challenges, and discuss opportunities to advance the field towards sustainable catalysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":9957,"journal":{"name":"Chimia","volume":"79 11","pages":"809-813"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145630642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}