An exceptionally large size cuboctahedral imine cage is obtained from small size organic molecules in a thermodynamically driven [8+12] cyclocondensation. This is a demonstration of the role of entropy of symmetry as a driving force in reversible reactions.

Dynamic covalent imine chemistry has been utilized to synthesize a fluorescent [3+2] self-assembled nanoscopic organic cage. The fluorescent nature of the reduced analogue of the cage was further exploited for the highly selective detection of the explosive picric acid (PA).

Dual phospho/dephosphorylation cycles, as well as covalent enzymatic-catalyzed modifications of substrates are widely diffused within cellular systems and are crucial for the control of complex responses such as learning, memory, and cellular fate determination. Despite the large body of deterministic studies and the increasing work aimed at elucidating the effect of noise in such systems, some...

A dithienylethene (1o) undergoes a two-electron chemical oxidation to a singlet diradical as an open-isomer (1o(2+)) in solution, which cyclizes to a closed-form (1c(2+)) upon cooling. The latter crystallizes out and its structure is analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Equilibrium between 1o(2+) and 1c(2+) in solution is observed by NMR and UV spectroscopy at various temperatures and ...

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A one-step procedure has been developed for the preparation of [3H]bilirubin IX-alpha in good yield from unlabelled bilirubin. Irradiation of an aqueous solution of [3H]bilirubin IX-alpha in the presence of human serum albumin results in the covalent attachment of the bilirubin to the protein. Preliminary degradation studies have been carried out to locate the site of attachment of the bilirubi...

This paper discusses the recent developments of protein engineering using both covalent and noncovalent bonds to constrain peptides, forcing them into designed protein secondary structures. These constrained peptides subsequently can be used as peptidomimetics for biological functions such as regulations of protein-protein interactions.

Antimicrobial peptides are promising candidates for anti-infective pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, because of their low proteolytic and chemical stability, their usage is generally narrowed down to topical formulations. Until now, numerous approaches to increase peptide stability have been proposed. One of them, peptide hydrocarbon stapling, a modification based on stabilizing peptide secondary...

To design two-dimensional (2D) organocatalysts, three series of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are constructed using bottom-up strategies, i.e. molecular selection, tunable linkage, and functionalization. First-principles calculations are performed to confirm their photocatalytic activity under visible light. Two of our constructed 2D COF models (B1 and C3) are identified as a sufficiently ...