Phys.org Chemistry

• Researchers report the first-ever total synthesis of a promising mushroom-derived compound

  Natural compounds from plants and animals have long been used in drug development, but mushrooms remain underexplored despite their rich chemical potential. Now, researchers from Japan have successfully developed the first method to synthesize inaoside A, a compound derived from the edible mushroom Laetiporus cremeiporus. This achievement will help better understand more of its bioactive properties and pave the way for similar mushroom-derived compounds in pharmaceuticals and functional foods.

• Copper-detection tool discovers possible chelation target for lung cancer

  The Chang Lab at Princeton Chemistry continues in its mission to elucidate the role of metal nutrients in human biology: last year, iron; this year, copper. The lab's first paper of 2025 showcases its development of a revelatory sensing probe for the detection of copper in human cells and then wields it to uncover how copper may be regulating cell growth in lung cancer.

• Scientists synthesize biodegradable nylon precursor through artificial photosynthesis

  Nylon, the durable and elastic material, is like other plastics made from chemicals found in fossil fuels. Biodegradable plastics based on biomass-derived compounds are attracting attention as an alternative to conventional plastics, and Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have now synthesized biodegradable nylon precursors.

• New materials could advance OLED display development

  An international research collaboration has developed promising new materials that could improve the manufacturing of electronic displays.

• Superalloys resist wear at nearly forge-level heat using new process

  Finding lubricants that work at exceptionally high temperatures challenges researchers and industries alike. A Virginia Tech team may have uncovered a promising candidate by happenstance: transition metal spinel oxides formed on nickel-chromium-based superalloys.

• Ceramic catalyst uses sodium and boron to drive sustainable industrial reactions

  Heterogeneous catalysts speed up chemical reactions by being in a different state than the reactants. They are efficient and stable, even under challenging conditions such as high temperature or pressure. Traditionally, metals like iron, platinum, and palladium have been widely used in industries like petrochemicals and agriculture for important reactions such as hydrogenation and Haber's process.

• Electrochemical process recycles CO₂ from flue gases with just 2% concentration

  Design and process control are the be-all and end-all when it comes to reducing CO2 from flue gases or the atmosphere. In order to protect the climate, the aim is to recover CO2 from combustion processes for valuable materials. This is challenging because there are other gases in flue gases besides CO2.

• Water boosts catalytic recycling efficiency for plastic waste

  Plastics are undeniably useful materials that have found their way into virtually all human activities. However, with yearly global plastic production exceeding 400 million tons, the environmental threat posed by increased plastic consumption and disposal, contributing to its pollution, is also bigger than ever. Considering that only one-tenth of all plastic waste is recycled, new technologies that can help tackle this growing problem are urgently required.

• Innovative technique flips chemical polarity for targeted drug creation

  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.

• Chemical research often contains inaccurate mass measurement data, according to AI analysis

  AI-powered data analysis tools have the potential to significantly improve the quality of scientific publications. A new study by Professor Mathias Christmann, a chemistry professor at Freie Universität Berlin, has uncovered shortcomings in chemical publications.

• Using infrared heat transfer to modify chemical reactions

  In a joint experimental-theoretical work, a team of researchers, including theorists from UC San Diego, have shown for the first time that heat transfer in the form of infrared radiation can influence chemical reactions more strongly than traditional convection and conduction methods.

• Predictive descriptor unlocks high-performance nanozymes for peroxidase-like activity

  In a new study, Professor Hui Wei and coworkers have introduced a predictive descriptor—t2 occupancy—to guide the design of spinel oxide-based nanozymes with enhanced peroxidase-like (POD) activity.

• How a pervasive microorganism generates a greenhouse gas

  Cornell researchers have discovered a way for ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), one of the most abundant types of microorganisms on Earth, to produce nitrous oxide, a potent and long-lasting greenhouse gas.

• Polymer editing can upcycle waste into higher-performance plastics

  By editing the polymers of discarded plastics, chemists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have found a way to generate new macromolecules with more valuable properties than those of the starting material. Upcycling may help remedy the roughly 450 million tons of plastic discarded worldwide annually, of which only 9% gets recycled; the rest is incinerated or winds up in landfills, oceans or elsewhere.

• Heavy dipnictogen chemistry: Researchers create heterocycles with more than one antimony atom

  An international team of chemists has successfully created methylenedistibiranes, which are three-membered rings that have two antimony atoms and one carbon atom. In their paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the group describes how they were able to make the rings using just a three-step process.

• Stronger, greener superglue: Biodegradable polymer outperforms commercial options

  Researchers at Colorado State University and their partners have developed an adhesive polymer that is stronger than current commercially available options while also being biodegradable and reusable. The findings, described in Science, show how the common, naturally occurring polymer P3HB can be chemically re-engineered for use as a strong yet sustainable bonding agent.

• Drum mills achieve kilogram-scale ibuprofen synthesis with green technique

  For the first time, researchers used drum mills to make kilograms of ibuprofen-nicotinamide, a formulation that improves therapeutic efficacy and stability. This is part of European project IMPACTIVE, focused on studying mechanochemical methods to make pharma manufacturing more sustainable, reducing both carbon emissions and chemical waste. Now, the team have produced over 3 kilograms of racemic ibuprofen-nicotinamide co-crystals, pioneering the use of this green technique for large-scale synthesis.

• Advanced composites: High entropy crystalline and amorphous nanolaminates as promising candidates for nuclear materials

  A research team from the Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science, Austrian Academy of Sciences, has unveiled an approach to improve irradiation resistance through high entropy crystalline and amorphous nanolaminates.

• Researchers propose a novel method to shed light on PFOS-induced neurotoxicity

  The term "omics" refers to the study of the entirety of molecular mechanisms that happen inside an organism. With the advent of omics technologies like transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics, our understanding of molecular pathways of toxic environmental pollutants has deepened.

• A new approach to building 3D molecules for better drugs

  A report in the journal Science from researchers in the UW–Madison Department of Chemistry represents a significant advance in making the types of molecules needed in drug development. Molecules with three-dimensional complexity are known to be better for drug development than flatter molecules, but accessing molecular complexity has historically been challenging. The work in this paper sets the stage for addressing this long-standing problem.

• Engineered enzyme could transform how essential chemicals and medicines are made

  Researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and the Department of Chemistry at The University of Manchester have described a novel enzyme that could significantly change the way essential chemicals and medicines are made.

• Copper radical mimics enzyme for highly efficient C-H oxidation

  Optically pure alcohols are prevalent motifs in natural products and pharmaceuticals, driving the development of effective methods for their synthesis. Since the first reports of the Kharasch-Sosnovsky reaction in 1958, the copper-catalyzed radical-mediated sp3 C-H oxidation has emerged as an important method for the selective oxidation of allylic, propargylic, and other sp3 C-H bonds.

• Nature-inspired MOF membrane offers durable solution for gas separation challenges

  Polymer-grade propylene (>99.5%) is an important raw material in the chemical industry. Producing propylene inevitably generates propane as a byproduct in the product steam. And producing polymer-grade propylene requires the critical step of separating propylene from propane. Due to extremely similar physical and chemical properties of the two molecules, this step is energy-intensive.

• How nature optimizes hydrogen-producing biocatalysts

  Oxygen can destroy hydrogen-producing enzymes. Researchers from Bochum and Osaka have discovered how an extraordinary protein survives in the presence of oxygen.

• Synthesizing polymers with an unprecedented structure

  For more than two decades, the Ihara research group has been focusing on the development of new methods for polymer syntheses using diazocarbonyl compounds as monomers. They found that diazoacetate can be polymerized by a palladium(Pd)-based initiator to afford carbon–carbon (C–C) main chain polymers bearing an alkoxycarbonyl group (ester) on each main chain carbon atom. The findings are published in the Polymer Journal.