Chemistry - A European Journal

All lit up: The title compound operates as a fluorescent light-up probe that enables the detection of different biologically relevant hosts at different fluorescence maxima. It is demonstrated that this chemosensor also allows the fluorimetric multicolor analysis of different components in living cells (see figure).

Iron(ic) phosphination: The iron-promoted hydrophosphination of alkenyl arenes with diphenylphosphine as phosphinating agent has been established. This method provides efficient access to diarylalkylphosphines. The regioselectivity of the reaction can be fine-tuned by the choice of the iron salts, offering highly selective access to both the β and the α adducts (see scheme).

Pick the right isomer! The generation of three positively charged para-benzyne analogues was attempted in an FT-ICR mass spectrometer. The experimental and quantum chemical findings indicate that the monoradical precursors for the para-benzynes undergo ring-opening faster than formation of the para-benzyne by iodine atom elimination, thus generating enediyne isomers of the para-benzynes (see scheme).

Showing some backbone: Bisguanidines with flexible biaryl backbones are proton sponges and ligands in a series of new mono- and dinuclear Group 10 metal complexes (see picture). The spin-density distribution in paramagnetic Ni^II complexes was studied by using NMR spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations.

Curtains up! Salimabromide (1) is the first natural product from the Plesiocystis/Enhygromyxa clade of obligatory marine myxobacteria. Salimabromide has a new tetracyclic carbon skeleton, comprising a brominated benzene ring, a furano lactone residue, and a cyclohexane ring bridged by a seven-membered cyclic moiety (see figure). The absolute configuration was deduced from experimental and calculated circular dichroism (CD) data.