We will continue coming across new viral proteins and viruses, so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for those. The work of White et al helps in giving a starting point for medicines against the Influenza viruses.
Category: Organic
Upcycling Plant Matter
Avocado peels and uprooted invasive plants can become a source for anti-inflammatories. I’ll toast to that!
Working out what worked (or didn’t) in a work-up
In organic chemistry, once your reaction is over you generally “work-up” the mixture. But what happens if the work-up changes the outcome?
Another side (product) of synthesising antibiotic, daptomycin
Finding new antibiotics is difficult. Synthesising those new antibiotics can be just as hard, and sometimes is takes a long time to find a good approach. And sometimes the most important step in synthesis optimisation is characterising your side-products.
DISGUISING PEPTIDES FOR BETTER ANTI-DIABETIC MEDICINES
In diabetics, insulin production is reduced as a protease inactivates GLP1 responsible for insulin production. Administration of GLP1 could help, but it needs to be altered to sneak past the protease.
Biosensors from graphene-wrapped nanofibers
Using nanofibers to create biosensors decreases cost and wrapping them in graphene increases their conductivity.
Harnessing bacteria to become royalty
Engineering bacteria to make the dye ‘royal purple’
Masked Entry – Increasing cell permeability of large molecules
Developing a drug that is able to enter the cell and interact with its target is no mean feat, especially for large molecules. Read about how this group ‘masked’ large molecules to improve their cell permeability.
Molecular tweezers pick viral membranes apart
While most scientists search for specific treatments for viruses like Ebola, Zika and SARS-Cov-2, non-specific methods can have broad impact. Researchers from the United States and Germany joined forces to make non-specific molecular “tweezers” that pluck pieces out of its membrane, leading to disintegrating and dead viruses.
Release the molecule! Photolabile protecting groups
How do you design a “cage” for a molecule? And how do you release it again, selectively? Find out about a rationally designed red-light labile protecting group.
Monitoring plant maturation with a Wack reaction
When the authors’ blurb about their own work is “Okay, bloomer,” you know you have to read it.
Chemistry & COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is consuming our news feed at the moment – while you’re self-isolating read about some of the great science research going on to combat our newest virus.
Tackling Diabetes with Nanoparticles
Diabetes Mellitus affects 8.5% of the world adult population and tackling it requires systematic dosing. Researchers have developed a unique NP that can substantially decrease the dosage of insulin and increase patient compliance.
Seeing the Invisible
Ever wondered how scientists know what is going on inside a cell, or how you could design a chemical probe to tell you more? There’s a lot of things to consider, find out more here.
Seeking inspiration from nature to treat opioid addiction
Researchers have looked at the biosynthetic pathways in plants to help them synthesise the potential anti-addiction agents ibogaine and voacangine.
Development of Sensors for Amino Acids
Researchers develop an easy to use method to identify the chirality of the amino acids, amines and alcohols.
Detergents are for more than washing dishes
Studying membrane-bound proteins requires stabilizing their structure outside of the membrane – otherwise they fall apart. But our analytical techniques have not risen to the challenge. Sadaf et al. pushes us forward by developing novel detergents for stabilizing membrane proteins.
Enzymes Get Closer to Traditional Organic Chemistry – The Case of Reductive Amination
A clever, two-part biocatalytic strategy grants access to products of reductive amination that can be troublesome to obtain through more traditional synthetic methods.
Manipulating actinomycetes for unusual antibiotics
Scientists genetically modify bacteria to overproduce uncommon antibiotics, revealing information on how bacteria regulate and modify its metabolites.
Did life come from the depths of the ocean?
Amino acids were found in the Atlantis Massif, under the ocean floor. Is their non-biological synthesis the origin of life?
Stay young with Zinc!
We might have heard that antioxidants are good for our health. They help us to fight against oxidizing agents in our body and help us to stay young!
Recently, researchers have made a new breakthrough to help us fight against the oxides even with the inactive zinc!
Painting a Fuller Picture in Medicinal Chemistry
Title: Synergistic effects of stereochemistry and appendages on the performance diversity of a collection of synthetic compounds Authors: Stu Schreiber et al. Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.8b07319 Year: 2018 The ability to rapidly evaluate what a chemical compound does to a cell, and…
Crystal Clear Chemistry
In this article you can learn about how researchers have taken images as crystals form out of a liquid.
Photocages: Using Light to Deliver Medicine
What will medicine look like 10 years from now? Well, your doctor might be shining a light on you to help target drug delivery in your body. Read more about drug delivery using molecules called photocages inside!
Mood Lighting: Colorful Coatings for Smart Windows
Feeling blue? The chemistry of new “smart windows” could help – with a coating that adjusts to the outside temperature and a color filter that you can switch at will, they could be the perfect mood lighting for your energy-efficient home.