Science China Chemistry最新文献

Peptide drugs are gaining increasing attention in biomedical research due to their unique advantages of customized sequence, high biosafety, exceptional selectivity and adjustable tissue accumulation. However, the widespread applications of peptide drugs are hindered by properties such as susceptibility to oxidation and hydrolysis, short half-life, and challenges in cellular membrane penetration. To promote the clinical application, modification strategies of peptides have been developed to enhance performance. In this review, the characteristics, development history, and wide applications of peptide drugs are systematically summarized, their advantages and limitations are highlighted, and the optimized performances of peptides are elucidated. Moreover, a detailed description of the modification methods for peptides is provided, encompassing both chemical and enzymatic modification strategies. The chemical modifications are divided into terminal modifications (C-terminus and N-terminus), cyclization, and residue modifications, and enzymatic modifications are categorized into natural enzymes and artificially modified enzymes. The advantages and limitations of these modification strategies are discussed in depth. In the end, the prospects of modified peptide drugs are proposed. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of modified peptide drugs, which can benefit scientists in the interdisciplinary fields of chemistry, biomedicine, and pharmaceuticals.

Macrocyclic arenes, constructed from electron-rich aromatic rings as building blocks, have attracted increasing interest in recent years owing to their unique structures, facile functionalization and wide range of applications. Consequently, a growing number of macrocyclic arenes composed of diverse aromatic building blocks have been designed and constructed by research groups worldwide. Especially, the development of novel macrocyclic arenes is currently becoming one of the most frontiers and intensely studied topics in macrocyclic and supramolecular chemistry. This review summarizes the recent progress of new kinds of macrocyclic arenes, particularly focusing on the important contributions made by Chinese researchers to new macrocyclic arenes and beyond over the past decade, encompassing their synthesis, properties and applications in molecular recognition, self-assembly, molecular machines, biomedical science, and functional materials. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future development of this dynamic field, with the aim of inspiring cross-disciplinary collaborations to fully unlock the potential of macrocyclic arenes across diverse scientific fields.

Carbon dots (CDs), as emerging zero-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterials, demonstrate immense potential across optical displays, bioimaging, chemical sensing, information anti-counterfeiting, and optoelectronic devices. This promise stems from their exceptional tunable photoluminescence, low toxicity, biocompatibility, and abundant raw material sources. Since their discovery, research has centered on resolving controversies regarding classification, formation mechanism, microstructure, and luminescence principles while achieving controllable optoelectronic properties. Applications have evolved from basic fluorescent labeling to advanced domains including multimodal theranostics, high-sensitivity (bio/chemical) sensing, stable optoelectronic devices, intelligent anti-counterfeiting systems, and environmental/energy catalysis. Future challenges demand breakthroughs in structural homogeneity/scalable eco-fabrication, universal structure-opto/electronic-property models, stability/efficiency in complex environments, and multifunctional synergy (e.g., photo-electro-catalysis). This comprehensive review systematically examines milestone advances in CDs research over the past decade—spanning synthesis methodologies, photo/electronic property modulation mechanisms, and innovative applications—while dissecting key challenges and envisioning future pathways as versatile intelligent nano-platforms.

The development of efficient alkyne-based polymerization techniques is of great significance due to their broad applications in synthetic chemistry, biomedicine, and materials science. Among these, the polymerization of dual-activated alkynes has emerged as a powerful strategy for synthesizing multifunctional polymers with tailored properties. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in polymerization methodologies involving dual-activated alkynes, including mechanistic insights, optimization strategies, and structural diversification approaches. Representative examples are provided to illustrate the design principles and reaction pathways of each polymerization approach. Furthermore, the unique physicochemical properties of the resulting polymers, such as aggregation-induced emission (AIE), high refractive index, and stimuli-responsiveness, as well as their applications in optoelectronics, bioimaging, drug delivery, and energy storage, were highlighted. By establishing clear correlations between synthetic approaches and functional outcomes, this review aims to inspire the rational design of novel polymeric materials.

The development of C–H activation-based polymerization strategies for the facile and efficient construction of novel functional fused heterocyclic polymers is an important but challenging task. Herein, we report a facile and atom-economical C–H activation/annulation polymerization (CAAP) approach that enables the in-situ formation of unique diheterocycle-fused polymers from readily available monomers based on the C–H activation of olefins. The rhodium-catalyzed polymerizations of fumaric acid and internal diynes proceed smoothly under mild conditions, producing a series of multisubstituted poly(dilactone)s with high molecular weights (M_w up to 109,600) in moderate to high yields of up to 98.4%. The presence of multiple aryl substituents around the dilactone units endows the resulting polymers with good solution processibility and readily tunable fluorescent properties. Most of the synthesized poly(dilactone)s exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, showing efficient aggregate-state fluorescence. The AIE-active poly(dilactone) can function as a good lysosome-specific fluorescent probe in biological imaging with low cytotoxicity. It is anticipated that these straightforward and economic CAAP reactions together with the structure-property relationship study in this work could promote the exploration of fused heterocyclic polymer materials with more diversified structures and advanced functionalities.