LongLarf

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 16 December 2022; doi:10.1038/s41929-022-00905-0

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference placed the risks of greenwashing under the spotlight. In this Editorial, we reflect on the implications of this phenomenon for science and peer review.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 23 December 2022; doi:10.1038/s41929-022-00888-y

Hydrogenolysis of unactivated C(aryl)–C(alkyl) bonds is a challenging task even in the presence of metal catalysts. Now, an approach using a boron catalyst is described that facilitates the hydrogenolysis of alkylarenes under mild conditions, and its utility is demonstrated by degrading polystyrene waste into benzene and phenylalkanes.

The first di- and multi-carbonylations of olefins with di- or polyols provide a general and straightforward access to a variety of di- or multiesters with high efficiency and selectivity. Representative diesters show potential performance (T _g) as novel plasticizers.

Abstract

Diesters are of fundamental importance in the chemical industry and are used for many applications, e.g. as plasticizers, surfactants, emulsifiers, and lubricants. Herein, we present a straightforward and efficient method for the selective synthesis of diesters via palladium-catalyzed direct carbonylation of di- or polyols with readily available alkenes. Key-to-success is the use of a specific palladium catalyst with the “built-in-base” ligand L16 providing esterification of all alcohols and a high n/iso ratio. The synthesized diesters were evaluated as potential plasticizers in PVC films by measuring the glass transition temperature (T _g) via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

“My favorite thing about my lab group is how funny they are (aside from being fantastic and creative chemists, that is)! The memes on our group twitter page are not my doing … My favorite name reaction is the Beckmann Rearrangement. Single-atom skeletal editing traces back to carbonyl rearrangements, and you can't beat a reaction that gave us Azithromycin and Nylon …” Find out more about Mark Levin in his Introducing … Profile.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 28 November 2022; doi:10.1038/s41929-022-00875-3

Carbonyl catalysis is mainly limited to strongly activated primary amines. Now, a chiral bifunctional pyridoxal organocatalyst is developed that enables the activation of the inert α C(sp3)–H bond of NH2-unprotected benzylamines affording chiral β-aminoalcohols with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities.

Nature Chemistry, Published online: 14 November 2022; doi:10.1038/s41557-022-01083-z

Expanding the biocatalysis toolbox for C–N bond formation is of great value. Now, a biocatalytic amination strategy using a new-to-nature mechanism involving nitrogen-centred radicals has been developed. The transformations are enabled by synergistic photoenzymatic catalysis, providing intra- and intermolecular hydroamination products with high yields and levels of enantioselectivity.

Science, Volume 378, Issue 6621, Page 773-779, November 2022.

Science, Volume 378, Issue 6621, Page 779-785, November 2022.

Simple ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA) reagent enables a facile and broadly applicable bioconjugation strategy via hetero-selective clamping of two different endogenous amino handles such as ϵ-NH₂ of lysine and α-NH₂ of α-amino acids without any pre-functionalization.

Abstract

Amino groups are common in both natural and synthetic compounds and offer a very attractive class of endogenous handles for bioconjugation. However, the ability to differentiate two types of amino groups and join them with high hetero-selectivity and efficiency in a complex setting remains elusive. Herein, we report a new method for bioconjugation via one-pot chemoselective clamping of two different amine nucleophiles using a simple ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA) reagent. Various α-amino acids, aryl amines, and secondary amines can be crosslinked to the ϵ-amino side chain of lysine on peptides or proteins with high efficiency and hetero-selectivity. This method offers a simple and powerful means to crosslink small molecule drugs, imaging probes, peptides, proteins, carbohydrates, and even virus particles without any pre-functionalization.