ChemistryOpen

Off-line amplification: A low-cost inkjet-printed gold nanoparticle immunoarray was integrated into a microfluidic device for multiple protein determinations. The use of heavily labeled magnetic beads allows optimization either for ultrasensitive detection of biomarker proteins (low fg mL⁻¹ levels) or for rapid 8 min assays within clinically relevant detection ranges.

Choices, choices: A conjugate of cyclam and the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor marimastat was synthesized to give a compound with two potential zinc-binding groups (ZBGs). The first equivalent of Cu(II) or Zn(II) was chelated by the cyclam-triazole moiety rather than the hydroxamic acid. Both the conjugate and its metal complexes exhibited potent and selective MMP inhibitory activity, and displayed no cytotoxicity, suggesting future applications in the imaging of MMP activity.

Catch 23: An extensive benchmark for evaluating modern density functionals in transition-metal-catalyzed bond-activation reactions is presented. The study focuses on the class of sophisticated double-hybrid functionals and finds dispersion-corrected PWPB95 and PBE0 as the most robust and well-performing methods.

The sum of its parts: Nanocomposites of Fe¹⁰BO₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ and GdFeO₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂, synthesized by a gel combustion technique using citric acid as fuel and chelation, exhibited strong magnetic properties indicating that they might have potential applications in diagnostic analysis of cancer through use in neutron capture therapy.

π Electrons can do that! They can bend the otherwise linear d¹⁰-ML₂ complexes through backbonding. Bonding analyses reveal that the second π-accepting ligand is, in a sense, hunting for “fresh” (not yet stabilized) d_π electrons. The magnitude of the effect depends on the nature of both metal and ligand; LML angles adopt values as small as 128.6°.

Glowing sandwich! Self-organized TiO₂-nanotube layers can be used for immunoassay-type sensing. TiO₂ nanoparticles coated with CdTe quantum dots are used as signal amplification elements. We show that this, in combination with the advantages of a TiO₂-nanotube electrode, leads to an outstanding detection limit in electrochemiluminescent techniques.