Phys.org May 13, 2022 Even the simplest form of life (a single cell), can sense various chemical and physical stimuli and process this information through their intrinsic complex intracellular logic to perform complicated cellular functions such as cell division, cell motility, and cargo transport. Harnessing the complete potential of such systems, regarding their ability to process information from multiple external stimuli and perform programmable spatiotemporal functions remains unexplored. An international team of researchers (South Korea, India) has developed out-of-equilibrium chemical systems, which can sense multiple external stimuli ( light, sound, atmospheric oxygen) and process this information to execute programmable life-like […]
Tag Archives: Chemistry
Before geoengineering to mitigate climate change, researchers must consider some fundamental chemistry
Phys.org November 22, 2021 Geoengineering using sulfuric acid would happen in the stratosphere. The major inputs for the creation of sulfuric acid are sulfur dioxide, hydroxyl radicals which create hydroxysulfonyl radical (HOSO2). This in turn reacts with oxygen to create sulfur trioxide (SO3) which results in sulfuric acid when it reacts with water. Aerosols formed from the sulfuric acid can reflect sunlight. These reactions create acid rain in the troposphere. If the same chemistry would work in the stratosphere is unknown. An international team of researchers (USA -University of Pennsylvania, Spain) has shown that the photodissociation of HOSO2 occurs primarily […]
Tiny, self-assembling traps capture dangerous pollutants, PFAS
Science Daily May 27, 2020 To find out whether molecular cages could help trap PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) a team of researchers in the US (SUNY Buffalo) screened about a dozen different types of self-assembling cages that contain metals. This process led the team to the iron-based cages, which captured a subset of PFAS with chains of six or more fluorinated carbon atoms, including perfluorocarboxylic acids, sulfonic acids and fluorotelomers. Through analysis they found that the PFAS stick strongly to the outside of the cages instead of getting caught inside. The study gives scientists new knowledge that could help them […]
Chemistry breakthrough with nanodroplets could speed up drug development
Nanowerk May 8, 2020 Researchers in the UK have developed a new method called Encapsulated Nanodroplet Crystallisation (ENaCt), that can set up hundreds of crystallisation experiments within a few minutes. Each experiment involves a few micrograms of molecular analyte dissolved in a few nanolitres of organic solvent. The process is automated allowing for rapid set up of hundreds of unique experiments. Concentration of these nanodroplet experiments results in the growth of the desired high quality single crystals that are suitable for modern X-ray diffraction analysis. Tthe ability to do so with such small quantities of analyte is ground-breaking. The technique has […]
Better chemistry through tiny antennae
Phys.org August 29, 2019 Selective bond cleavage via vibrational excitation is the key to active control over molecular reactions. However, the practical implementation in condensed phases have been hampered to date by poor excitation efficiency due to fast vibrational relaxation. Researchers in Japan fabricated tiny gold antennae, each 300 nanometers wide, and illuminated them with infrared lasers. When infrared light of the right frequency was present, the electrons in the antennae oscillated back creating plasmonic resonance. The plasmonic resonance focused the laser’s energy on nearby molecules, which started vibrating. The vibration was further boosted by shaping the waveform of the […]
Chemists harness artificial intelligence to predict the future (of chemical reactions)
Eurekalert February 15, 2018 To manufacture medicines, chemists must find the right combinations of chemicals to make the necessary chemical structures. A team of researchers in the US (Princeton University, industry partner) has developed a software to accurately predict reaction yields while varying up to four reaction components. Reaction yields can be accurately predicted using the results of ‘only’ hundreds of reactions (instead of thousands). The code extracts descriptors for each chemical used in the model calculating quantitative descriptors for each chemical, to use as inputs for the model. The software can work for any reaction, any substrate. The idea […]