/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Understanding how molecular arrangements within crystals influence their thermal behavior is a fundamental question in solid-state chemistry. This topic is especially relevant in pharmaceuticals existing as enantiomers, molecules in two forms that are mirror images of one another but cannot be superimposed, which can exhibit distinct physical and chemical properties depending on their crystalline form. /news/2025-06-decoding-thermal-behavior-crystals-insights.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 25 Jun 2025 14:22:53 EDT news670080163 In a collaborative effort, researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the HFML-FELIX institute in Nijmegen have been able to provide detailed insights in the molecular structure of a thiourea-based organocatalyst, as well as the precise structural changes it undergoes when binding with reactants. They elucidated the precise geometry of the catalyst and of the catalyst-reactant complex using infrared radiation of the FELIX free electron laser, combined with molecular beam experiments and quantum chemical calculations. /news/2025-06-infrared-spectroscopy-captures-action-organocatalyst.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:42:03 EDT news669307321 Enantiomers, or molecule pairs that are mirror images of each other, make up more than half of FDA-approved drugs in use today, including those used in treatments for cancer, neurologic diseases and arthritis. Separating enantiomers is critical for drug manufacturing because the effect of each molecule in the pair can be very different—for example, one enantiomer might cure a headache while its mirror-image could cause a headache. /news/2025-05-custom-polymers-path-electrochemical-sustainable.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Fri, 30 May 2025 13:50:03 EDT news667831801 A team of chemists at Southern University of Science and Technology, working with a colleague from Zhejiang University, both in China, has engineered a metal–ligand complex that incorporates a reactive pocket to pre-organize prochiral substrates. Their paper is published in the journal Science. /news/2025-05-catalyst-asymmetric-radical-reactions-ligand.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 01 May 2025 10:00:01 EDT news665312099 Chemists and chemical engineers at California Institute of Technology, working with a pair of colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, have developed a new light-activated catalyst that can be used for photoinduced deracemization of tertiary and secondary alkyl halides. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how the new catalyst works and possible uses for it. /news/2025-04-catalyst-enables-chiral-synthesis-higher.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 10 Apr 2025 06:40:01 EDT news663478283 Mature or nearly mature fruits of Piper longum are used as a spice, valued for their commercial and industrial applications, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine for their multiple effects, such as dispelling cold and relieving pain. /news/2025-03-compounds-piper-longum-fruits-potential.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 28 Mar 2025 12:53:11 EDT news662385187 Researchers at Leipzig University have developed a new process for reversing the polarity of chemical compounds, also known as umpolung, for the precise synthesis of pharmaceuticals. /news/2025-01-technique-flips-chemical-polarity-drug.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 21 Jan 2025 10:34:04 EST news656678041 When you look in a mirror, the reflection is fundamentally you, but with a perfect reversal of all your features. This illustrates a phenomenon we also see in the tiny world of molecules. /news/2024-12-scientists-careless-experimentation-mirror-life.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 17 Dec 2024 12:22:26 EST news653660535 A team of chemists at the University of Cambridge has developed a metal-free way to convert symmetrical diols selectively into one of two mirror-image isomers. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group took advantage of the ability of chiral versions of quinuclidine—which were derived from Cinchona alkaloids—to catalyze the dememorization of meso-diols under a blue light in conjunction with a photocatalyst and extract hydrogen atoms from symmetrical molecules. /news/2024-10-chemists-metal-free-symmetrical-diols.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 25 Oct 2024 11:30:01 EDT news649074437 The vast majority of organic molecules (based on a carbon structure) are not flat, but have a three-dimensional geometry. Various results can be obtained depending on the way the atoms are arranged inside each molecule. In some cases, a molecule and its mirror image may have completely different properties; we are talking about two symmetric molecules that have the same relationship that an object has with its image in a mirror. /news/2024-10-newly-methodology-molecular-symmetry-theory.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:57:26 EDT news648917844 Barcodes are commonly used to track items like groceries or clothing, but University of Central Florida researchers have developed a special "barcode" to identify much smaller objects: molecules. /news/2024-10-unique-barcodes-molecules-medical-advancements.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:15:03 EDT news648213301 A University of Texas at Dallas chemist and his colleagues have developed a new chemical reaction that will allow researchers to synthesize selectively the left-handed or right-handed versions of "mirror molecules" found in nature and assess them for potential use against cancer, infection, depression, inflammation and a host of other conditions. /news/2024-10-mirror-molecules-medicines.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 10 Oct 2024 16:25:51 EDT news647796340 The strength of a coupling between nuclear spins depends on chirality, or handedness, of the molecule, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA, Arizona State University, Penn State, MIT and Technische Universität Dresden. /news/2024-10-chirality-strength-coupling-nuclear.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 09 Oct 2024 11:27:50 EDT news647692066 Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Voxalytic GmbH have developed a new method that allows, for the first time, the elucidation of the chiral structure of molecules—the exact spatial arrangement of the atoms—by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. /news/2024-09-nmr-spectroscopy-method-faster-chiral.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 10 Sep 2024 14:15:03 EDT news645196501 In a study titled "Near-complete chiral selection in rotational quantum states" published in Nature Communications, the Controlled Molecules Group from the Molecular Â鶹ÒùÔºics Department of the Fritz Haber Institute has made a significant leap forward in the field of chiral molecules. The team, led by Dr. Sandra Eibenberger-Arias, achieved near-complete separation in quantum states for these essential components of life. /news/2024-08-chiral-molecule-quantum-states.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:07:02 EDT news644148421 Z-alkenes are organic compounds with a double bond between two carbon atoms and two substituents attached to the carbon atoms on the same side of the double bond. They are ubiquitous structural components of organic compounds in chemistry and biology. /news/2024-07-breakthrough-alkene-synthesis-scientists-efficient.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 30 Jul 2024 09:58:59 EDT news641552336 Versatile molecular frameworks called discrete supramolecular structures act like microscopic building blocks customizable for a wide variety of applications. The structures can serve in drug delivery, provide unique environments for catalytic reactions or plug into a molecular machine. /news/2024-07-methodology-advances-dual-functional-supramolecular.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:11:03 EDT news639137461 A research team led by Prof Zhang Guoqing from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have presented a novel molecular-solid sensor that enables rapid chiral recognition of natural amino acids through room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP), overcoming the limitations of structural complementarity and generality in traditional luminescence-based methods. Their findings are published in Nature Communications. /news/2024-05-team-rapid-reliable-room-temperature.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 16 May 2024 11:48:03 EDT news635078881 Biomolecules such as amino acids and sugars occur in two mirror-image forms—in all living organisms, however, only one is ever found. Why this is the case is still unclear. Researchers at Empa and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany have now found evidence that the interplay between electric and magnetic fields could be at the origin of this phenomenon. /news/2024-02-magnetic-effects-life-difference.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 20 Feb 2024 10:05:03 EST news627645901 In contrast to conventional mirrors, light can be reflected on surfaces known as metasurfaces without changing its polarization. This phenomenon has now been proven by physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL). The discovery enables circulating light to be used to reliably detect chiral molecules. /news/2024-01-physicists-concept-chiral-molecules.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 31 Jan 2024 11:18:02 EST news625922281 A team of pioneering researchers from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) has made a significant leap forward in the complex world of molecular chemistry. /news/2023-11-boundaries-eco-friendly-chemical-production-azaarenes.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:21:23 EST news619366876 Chiral molecules can have dramatically different functional properties while sharing identical chemical formulae and almost identical structures. The molecular structure of two types of a chiral molecule—so-called enantiomers—are mirror images of each other where one cannot be superposed on the other any more than your right hand can fit front-to-back on the left. While a lot of chiral molecules are traditionally considered fixed as left- or right-handed, chiral molecules based on helices are known to be able to switch in response to changes in their environment. /news/2023-11-tune-chirality.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 16 Nov 2023 09:12:03 EST news619348321 Hops-derived constituents not only increase shelf-life and bitterness of beer, but can also significantly influence aroma. An important hop odorant is linalool, which has a floral and citrus-like scent. /news/2023-09-year-old-assumption-beer-aroma.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 28 Sep 2023 11:09:06 EDT news615118141 Have you ever accidentally ruined a recipe in the kitchen by adding salt instead of sugar? Due to their similar appearance, it's an easy mistake to make. Similarly, checking with the naked eye is also used in chemistry labs to provide quick, initial assessments of reactions; however, just like in the kitchen, the human eye has its limitations and can be unreliable. /news/2023-08-surpassing-human-eye-machine-image.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 30 Aug 2023 11:31:03 EDT news612613861 A team of chemists from the University of Münster have developed a novel concept in which a mixture of molecules that behave like mirror images is converted to a single form using light as external energy source. The conversion has applications in the preparation of drugs. /news/2023-08-chemists-successfully-conversion-chiral-molecules.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 24 Aug 2023 09:55:03 EDT news612089701 Using energy from light to activate natural enzymes can help scientists create new-to-nature enzymatic reactions that support eco-friendly biomanufacturing—the production of fuels, plastics, and valuable chemicals from plants or other biological systems. /news/2023-07-exploring-eco-friendly-enzyme-key-chemical.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 31 Jul 2023 11:39:03 EDT news610022341 Enantioselection with neither chiral catalysis nor chiral ingredients (absolute enantioselection) has been one of the most active topics in biology, but its experimental realizations have been challenging. A team led by researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) have demonstrated the enantioselectivity of helical supramolecules consisting only of achiral molecules solely by exploiting chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. /news/2023-07-effect-molecular-chirality-universal-applications.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:35:04 EDT news609759301 Chemists at King's College London have made a breakthrough in the way they develop artificial helix shapes for the amino acids that constitute proteins. These new synthetic shapes have the potential to transform processes such as chemical reactions through catalysis and advance medicine through novel drug development techniques. /news/2023-07-scientists-revolutionary-approach-catalysts-chemical.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 19 Jul 2023 10:34:02 EDT news608981636 Findings published in Nature settle the dispute: phonons can be chiral. This fundamental concept, discovered using circular X-ray light, sees phonons twisting like a corkscrew through quartz. /news/2023-06-phonons-chiral-debate.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 09 Jun 2023 10:02:31 EDT news605523748 A group of researchers at Leipzig University has developed a new method for synthesizing cis-tetrahydrocannabinol (cis-THC)—a natural substance found in the cannabis plant that produces the characteristic psychoactive effect and has many potential applications, including in the pharmaceutical industry. /news/2023-05-method-cannabis-compound.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 17 May 2023 11:10:34 EDT news603540631