Pub Date : 2025-08-29DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00755-x
Johannes Kreutzer
A puzzling mismatch between a molecule's light absorptivity and its photochemical reactivity can now be explained by considering the microenvironment around the absorbing molecules and the effect this has on quantum yield, which becomes wavelength dependent.
{"title":"Tune in for maximum reactivity","authors":"Johannes Kreutzer","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00755-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00755-x","url":null,"abstract":"A puzzling mismatch between a molecule's light absorptivity and its photochemical reactivity can now be explained by considering the microenvironment around the absorbing molecules and the effect this has on quantum yield, which becomes wavelength dependent.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 9","pages":"576-576"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144915413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-28DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00753-z
April A. Hill
Digital content can hinder the accessibility of chemistry to people with disabilities. Fortunately, accessible digital content can be created easily and without cost. Learning basic digital accessibility skills can help to make chemistry more welcoming for all.
{"title":"Inclusive chemistry begins with you","authors":"April A. Hill","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00753-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00753-z","url":null,"abstract":"Digital content can hinder the accessibility of chemistry to people with disabilities. Fortunately, accessible digital content can be created easily and without cost. Learning basic digital accessibility skills can help to make chemistry more welcoming for all.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 9","pages":"571-572"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144915414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-20DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00749-9
Anthony Thai, Thomas E. Lockwood, Ioannis Kohilas, Rosemary J. Bergin, Andrew M. McDonagh, David P. Bishop
In situ imaging of proteins, RNA, immune cells and other biomolecules is necessary to determine their function, interactions and roles in disease pathology. Increasingly, this is achieved via metal-conjugated probes in conjunction with elemental mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). This targeted technique is capable of simultaneously imaging up to 40 analytes, in comparison to the traditional bioimaging techniques that use fluorescent or chromogenic reagents that are typically restricted to less than four analytes without complex sample handling and analysis workflows. These analyses, however, are not straightforward, with a number of factors that require optimization. They require the use of probes specific to the target biomolecules, which are conjugated with analytes detectable by elemental MSI. Here, we summarize the MSI technology, the types of biological probes used for identification, and the forms of metal analytes used. We provide examples of their application including understanding cancer cell heterogeneity to direct clinical trials, which may impact clinical diagnostics and personalized medicine. We conclude with future perspectives on the potential of the technique and what is required to meet it. Elemental mass spectrometry imaging of biomolecules provides detailed knowledge of their abundance and location within tissue samples. This Review highlights the analytical instrumentation and strategies used to bring this technique from a research tool to clinical studies.
{"title":"Elemental mass spectrometry imaging of biomolecules using metal-conjugated probes","authors":"Anthony Thai, Thomas E. Lockwood, Ioannis Kohilas, Rosemary J. Bergin, Andrew M. McDonagh, David P. Bishop","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00749-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00749-9","url":null,"abstract":"In situ imaging of proteins, RNA, immune cells and other biomolecules is necessary to determine their function, interactions and roles in disease pathology. Increasingly, this is achieved via metal-conjugated probes in conjunction with elemental mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). This targeted technique is capable of simultaneously imaging up to 40 analytes, in comparison to the traditional bioimaging techniques that use fluorescent or chromogenic reagents that are typically restricted to less than four analytes without complex sample handling and analysis workflows. These analyses, however, are not straightforward, with a number of factors that require optimization. They require the use of probes specific to the target biomolecules, which are conjugated with analytes detectable by elemental MSI. Here, we summarize the MSI technology, the types of biological probes used for identification, and the forms of metal analytes used. We provide examples of their application including understanding cancer cell heterogeneity to direct clinical trials, which may impact clinical diagnostics and personalized medicine. We conclude with future perspectives on the potential of the technique and what is required to meet it. Elemental mass spectrometry imaging of biomolecules provides detailed knowledge of their abundance and location within tissue samples. This Review highlights the analytical instrumentation and strategies used to bring this technique from a research tool to clinical studies.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 10","pages":"672-687"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144961940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-18DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00747-x
Shi Xuan Leong, Caleb E. Griesbach, Rui Zhang, Kourosh Darvish, Yuchi Zhao, Abhijoy Mandal, Yunheng Zou, Han Hao, Varinia Bernales, Alán Aspuru-Guzik
The past decade has witnessed remarkable advancements in autonomous systems, such as automobiles that are evolving from traditional vehicles to ones capable of navigating complex environments without human intervention. Similarly, the rise of self-driving laboratories (SDLs), which leverage robotics and artificial intelligence to accelerate discovery, is driving a paradigm shift in scientific research. As SDLs evolve to expand the scope of chemical processes that can be performed, it is essential to bring safety to the forefront to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place to mitigate against potential accidents that range from near-misses to catastrophic failures. This Perspective examines the development trajectory of SDLs, juxtaposing their development with those of other autonomous technologies, with a particular focus on safety. We explore current safety status and concerns, identify opportunities for innovation to shape this rapidly evolving landscape, and reflect on the actions the SDL community can take moving forward. Self-driving laboratories promise accelerated discovery. As the scope of chemical processes and level of autonomy in these laboratories expand, a comprehensive safety framework is essential. We discuss here the safety development trajectory of SDLs, identifying opportunities for innovation to shape this rapidly evolving landscape.
{"title":"Steering towards safe self-driving laboratories","authors":"Shi Xuan Leong, Caleb E. Griesbach, Rui Zhang, Kourosh Darvish, Yuchi Zhao, Abhijoy Mandal, Yunheng Zou, Han Hao, Varinia Bernales, Alán Aspuru-Guzik","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00747-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00747-x","url":null,"abstract":"The past decade has witnessed remarkable advancements in autonomous systems, such as automobiles that are evolving from traditional vehicles to ones capable of navigating complex environments without human intervention. Similarly, the rise of self-driving laboratories (SDLs), which leverage robotics and artificial intelligence to accelerate discovery, is driving a paradigm shift in scientific research. As SDLs evolve to expand the scope of chemical processes that can be performed, it is essential to bring safety to the forefront to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place to mitigate against potential accidents that range from near-misses to catastrophic failures. This Perspective examines the development trajectory of SDLs, juxtaposing their development with those of other autonomous technologies, with a particular focus on safety. We explore current safety status and concerns, identify opportunities for innovation to shape this rapidly evolving landscape, and reflect on the actions the SDL community can take moving forward. Self-driving laboratories promise accelerated discovery. As the scope of chemical processes and level of autonomy in these laboratories expand, a comprehensive safety framework is essential. We discuss here the safety development trajectory of SDLs, identifying opportunities for innovation to shape this rapidly evolving landscape.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 10","pages":"707-722"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144874129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-18DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00752-0
Sibo Chetry, Jing Liu, Mahnaz Bakhtian
Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy connects isotopic mass and confinement geometry to vibrational shifts in H2 and D2, highlighting quantum behaviour in simple molecules and enabling atomic-scale understanding of reactivity, catalysis, and surface interactions.
{"title":"Tipping the isotopic scales","authors":"Sibo Chetry, Jing Liu, Mahnaz Bakhtian","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00752-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00752-0","url":null,"abstract":"Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy connects isotopic mass and confinement geometry to vibrational shifts in H2 and D2, highlighting quantum behaviour in simple molecules and enabling atomic-scale understanding of reactivity, catalysis, and surface interactions.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 10","pages":"653-653"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144874130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-14DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00750-2
N. M. Anoop Krishnan, Kevin Maik Jablonka
Standardized tasks and data sets have enabled machine learning experts to contribute to chemistry. However, current practices tend to reward incremental improvements in benchmark performance that do not necessarily translate into meaningful advances. We propose a framework for collaboration between artificial intelligence and domain experts to genuinely accelerate discovery.
{"title":"Real AI advances require collaboration","authors":"N. M. Anoop Krishnan, Kevin Maik Jablonka","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00750-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00750-2","url":null,"abstract":"Standardized tasks and data sets have enabled machine learning experts to contribute to chemistry. However, current practices tend to reward incremental improvements in benchmark performance that do not necessarily translate into meaningful advances. We propose a framework for collaboration between artificial intelligence and domain experts to genuinely accelerate discovery.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 9","pages":"573-574"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144840213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-13DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00732-4
Benjamin L. L. Réant, Cameron N. Deakin, Ross E. MacKenzie, Conrad A. P. Goodwin
Coordination chemistry is a tool to reveal the hidden nature of elements through controlled manipulation of their environment, and the benefits that this understanding has brought society are numerous. For a chemist, the actinide series represents an intriguing frontier wherein conventional chemical intuition yields to relativistic effects and atypical technical challenges influence the pace of progress. Much of the chemical understanding of transuranium elements was developed during and shortly after the Manhattan Project and was borne out of practical needs. Although theoretical interest in their fundamental bonding and behaviour has always existed, synthesis-led exploration was often not possible. Synthetic, analytical and computational advancements in the twenty-first century have changed this, and contemporary synthetic transuranium coordination chemistry has begun to reveal that their properties are more nuanced than previously appreciated. In this Review, we discuss the discovery of transuranium elements, their history and the logistical demands inherent to chemical advancement in the area, and present key progress in transuranium organometallic and selected metal–organic chemistry, with a focus on how the field has begun to mature. Advances in laboratory-scale characterization have spurred a revival in transuranium organometallic chemistry. This Review discusses the field up to early 2025, framed alongside fundamental properties, past landmarks and future challenges. These exotic species are contrasted against lanthanide and earlier actinide examples.
{"title":"Transuranium organometallic chemistry","authors":"Benjamin L. L. Réant, Cameron N. Deakin, Ross E. MacKenzie, Conrad A. P. Goodwin","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00732-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00732-4","url":null,"abstract":"Coordination chemistry is a tool to reveal the hidden nature of elements through controlled manipulation of their environment, and the benefits that this understanding has brought society are numerous. For a chemist, the actinide series represents an intriguing frontier wherein conventional chemical intuition yields to relativistic effects and atypical technical challenges influence the pace of progress. Much of the chemical understanding of transuranium elements was developed during and shortly after the Manhattan Project and was borne out of practical needs. Although theoretical interest in their fundamental bonding and behaviour has always existed, synthesis-led exploration was often not possible. Synthetic, analytical and computational advancements in the twenty-first century have changed this, and contemporary synthetic transuranium coordination chemistry has begun to reveal that their properties are more nuanced than previously appreciated. In this Review, we discuss the discovery of transuranium elements, their history and the logistical demands inherent to chemical advancement in the area, and present key progress in transuranium organometallic and selected metal–organic chemistry, with a focus on how the field has begun to mature. Advances in laboratory-scale characterization have spurred a revival in transuranium organometallic chemistry. This Review discusses the field up to early 2025, framed alongside fundamental properties, past landmarks and future challenges. These exotic species are contrasted against lanthanide and earlier actinide examples.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 9","pages":"578-600"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144825928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00745-z
Helmut Schwarz, Stephanie Greed
Ahead of his 82nd birthday, Helmut Schwarz, recent recipient of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry at Technische Universität Berlin, looks back on his career in science.
最近获得沃尔夫化学奖（Wolf Prize in Chemistry）的赫尔穆特•施瓦茨（Helmut Schwarz）是柏林理工大学（Technische Universität Berlin）的化学教授，在他82岁生日前夕，他回顾了自己的科学生涯。
{"title":"A life of adventures into the foundations of chemistry","authors":"Helmut Schwarz, Stephanie Greed","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00745-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00745-z","url":null,"abstract":"Ahead of his 82nd birthday, Helmut Schwarz, recent recipient of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry at Technische Universität Berlin, looks back on his career in science.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 8","pages":"499-500"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144787365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-01DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00746-y
Hyuenwoo Yang, Seoyeon Kim, Pablo Fernandez
A new study highlights how interfacial design and retaining intermediate species can unlock a new performance window in electrocatalysis — transforming a reactive gas into a tethered partner for selective carbon–carbon coupling reactions.
{"title":"Caging carbon for chemistry","authors":"Hyuenwoo Yang, Seoyeon Kim, Pablo Fernandez","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00746-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00746-y","url":null,"abstract":"A new study highlights how interfacial design and retaining intermediate species can unlock a new performance window in electrocatalysis — transforming a reactive gas into a tethered partner for selective carbon–carbon coupling reactions.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 9","pages":"577-577"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144756663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-23DOI: 10.1038/s41570-025-00737-z
Aled M. Edwards, Dafydd R. Owen, The Structural Genomics Consortium Target 2035 Working Group
Target 2035 is a global initiative that aims to develop a potent and selective pharmacological modulator, such as a chemical probe, for every human protein by 2035. Here, we describe the Target 2035 roadmap to develop computational methods to improve small-molecule hit discovery, which is a key bottleneck in the discovery of chemical probes. Large, publicly available datasets of high-quality protein–small-molecule binding data will be created using affinity-selection mass spectrometry and DNA-encoded chemical library screening. Positive and negative data will be made openly available, and the machine learning community will be challenged to use these data to build models and predict new, diverse small-molecule binders. Iterative cycles of prediction and testing will lead to improved models and more successful predictions. By 2030, Target 2035 will have identified experimentally verified hits for thousands of human proteins and advanced the development of open-access algorithms capable of predicting hits for proteins for which there are not yet any experimental data. Target 2035 aims to develop a potent and selective pharmacological modulator for every human protein by 2035 with the results made publicly available. This Roadmap article sets out how that will be achieved.
{"title":"Protein–ligand data at scale to support machine learning","authors":"Aled M. Edwards, Dafydd R. Owen, The Structural Genomics Consortium Target 2035 Working Group","doi":"10.1038/s41570-025-00737-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-025-00737-z","url":null,"abstract":"Target 2035 is a global initiative that aims to develop a potent and selective pharmacological modulator, such as a chemical probe, for every human protein by 2035. Here, we describe the Target 2035 roadmap to develop computational methods to improve small-molecule hit discovery, which is a key bottleneck in the discovery of chemical probes. Large, publicly available datasets of high-quality protein–small-molecule binding data will be created using affinity-selection mass spectrometry and DNA-encoded chemical library screening. Positive and negative data will be made openly available, and the machine learning community will be challenged to use these data to build models and predict new, diverse small-molecule binders. Iterative cycles of prediction and testing will lead to improved models and more successful predictions. By 2030, Target 2035 will have identified experimentally verified hits for thousands of human proteins and advanced the development of open-access algorithms capable of predicting hits for proteins for which there are not yet any experimental data. Target 2035 aims to develop a potent and selective pharmacological modulator for every human protein by 2035 with the results made publicly available. This Roadmap article sets out how that will be achieved.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"9 9","pages":"634-645"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41570-025-00737-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144699090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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