Topics in Current Chemistry最新文献

Aptamers are oligonucleotide sequences selected in vitro that possess advantages such as small size, non-toxicity, and ease of modification. Aptamer-based biosensing is advancing rapidly owing to the high affinity and specificity of aptamers for target molecules. Nevertheless, their relatively flexible structure and susceptibility to degradation in biological environments pose challenges for practical applications. To address these issues, researchers are developing functionally engineered aptamers through structural modifications such as chimera formation and splitting. These advancements have significantly accelerated aptamer research across multiple fields. This review highlights recent progress in functionally engineered aptamers, summarizing their construction strategies and applications in sensing. It also analyzes the characteristics of different types of engineered aptamers and their multi-field applications. Finally, current bottlenecks and future prospects are critically discussed. This review provides a systematic overview of engineered aptamers from a functional perspective, offering valuable insights for ongoing research in this dynamic field.

Patterning techniques have significantly advanced materials science by enabling precise control over structural and functional features of materials. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and conjugated polymers possess exceptional properties, including high porosity and tunable surface chemistry, making them promising candidates for patterning strategies. This review examines how these materials can be integrated with photolithography, self-assembly, and direct writing, emphasizing their synthesis, compatibility with fabrication methods, and performance advantages. Potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and catalysis are discussed, along with current challenges related to stability, scalability, and device integration. Finally, the review identifies emerging directions for patterning technologies that could drive the next generation of functional devices.

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Ionic liquids (ILs) are unique materials made of cations and anions that have seen a resurgence in recent decades owing to their wide applicability. The utility of ILs in the field of high-energy molecules and energetic materials has been widely studied. These compounds have an enormous reservoir of chemical energy that can be liberated under specified conditions. With increased environmental and safety concerns, much effort has been put into developing ecologically friendly, high-energy molecules. ILs have shown the potential to be one of them. This article covers ILs based on imidazole, triazole, and tetrazole molecules as well as their synthesis, properties as high-energy molecules, and applications.

Triazoles, a captivating class of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, have emerged as pivotal players in contemporary chemistry, drawing significant attention for their exceptional versatility and wide-ranging applications. They have become essential building blocks in modern chemistry, exhibiting remarkable adaptability in a multiple areas of utility. Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery in medicinal chemistry has sped up the process of finding bioactive triazole derivatives with improved therapeutic potential. Green chemistry techniques, such as metal-free protocols, ionic liquid-mediated synthesis, and click chemistry, have transformed their synthesis, which guarantees sustainability, effectiveness, and low environmental impact. Beyond the pharmaceutical industry, triazoles are essential to next-generation material science, helping to create anticorrosion coatings, biosensors, and high-performance solar cells. Their incorporation into organic electronics and nanotechnology has led to revolutionary breakthroughs in several industries by greatly enhancing energy storage systems, protective coatings, and sensor sensitivity. As studies continue, combining artificial intelligence and environmentally friendly synthesis techniques broadens the range of triazole applications, confirming their position as essential facilitators of scientific and technological advancement. These advancements not only streamline the creation of triazole derivatives but also expand the scope of their applications, propelling research and development across multiple domains.

Research on heterocyclic compounds is an area of continuous focus, capturing the interest of both synthetic and natural product chemists. Indazoles are one of the rare heterocycles that are available in nature. Indazole and its derivatives are one of the most important classes of heterocycles in pharmacological molecules. The structurally different indazole motifs, with impressive bioactivity, have drawn increasing attention from medicinal chemists in recent years for the continuous development of novel drug moieties. Thus, knowledge of the biological activities and synthetic pathways of indazole scaffolds is essential to enhancing further developments in the number of indazole-based lead molecules. The goal of the present review is to highlight information on the biological properties of some existing indazole-based drugs and activities of novel bioactive indazole compounds in clinical trails, with specific attention to the most recent advances in various synthetic strategies towards indazole and its derivatives over the past 7 years (2017–2024). Moreover, we discuss the substrate tolerance and mechanistic insights for most of the summarized synthetic protocols.

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Bioorthogonal bond-cleavage reactions have evolved into powerful tools for chemical biology, representing a promising strategy for achieving controlled release of molecules under physiologically relevant conditions, even in living organisms. Since their discovery, significant efforts have been invested in the development and understanding of the underlying chemistries to enhance the click-to-release performance, biocompatibility, and stability of bioorthogonal tools. In this review, we aim to provide a concise overview of click-triggered bioorthogonal bond-cleavage reactions, with an emphasis on the mechanisms and characteristics of the most commonly applied click-to-release chemistries.

This review systematically analyzes recent advances in transition metal-catalyzed carbene and nitrene insertion into unactivated aliphatic C(sp³)–H bonds through inner-sphere mechanisms, offering a critical synthesis of mechanistic insights and synthetic applications from 2016 to 2024. By contrasting inner- and outer-sphere pathways, we elucidate how metal–substrate coordination governs regioselectivity, catalyst design, and substrate compatibility. Key discussions focus on breakthroughs in Rh(III), Pd(II), Co(III), Ir(III), and Ni(II) catalytic systems, emphasizing their distinct electronic and steric control strategies for directing C–H activation and migratory insertion. Notable achievements include the functionalization of sterically hindered substrates, enantioselective aminations via chiral ligand engineering, and cascade transformations enabled by metal-mediated β-elimination. We highlight emerging trends in sustainable catalysis using earth-abundant metals (e.g., Co, Ni), while addressing persistent challenges such as directing group dependency, catalyst deactivation, and limited substrate scope. The review further proposes strategic frameworks for future innovation, including (1) computational ligand optimization to enhance regiochemical control, (2) transient directing group strategies for native functional group tolerance, and (3) bifunctional catalyst design to differentiate electronically equivalent C–H bonds. By bridging mechanistic understanding with practical synthetic goals, this work establishes a roadmap for advancing precision C(sp³)–H functionalization in complex molecule synthesis and industrial applications.

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Spiroethers, a subset of natural and synthetic spirocycles, possess various biological activities. These motifs are found in natural products and exhibit anticancer, antidepressant, antiviral, antimalarial, and antituberculosis properties. Because of their exceptional structures, spiroethers can serve as important bioactive scaffolds in the pharmaceutical industry to improve bioavailability and stability and in drug discovery. Many of these compounds can also be used in perfumes and flavors owing to their olfactory properties. Given the increasing interest in spiroether-derived compounds in the pharmaceutical industry and the low yields of spiroethers provided by natural sources, which are not economically viable for industrial demand, synthetic approaches have garnered significant attention. In this review, we provide insight into 16 different approaches suggested for the synthesis of spiroethers; these methods are classified in the following five categories: catalytic methods (four methods), cyclization reactions (three methods), nucleophilic/electrophilic additions (two methods), functional group transformation (three methods), and miscellaneous (four methods). Certain advantages including material availability, high yield, simple procedures, low cost, ability to enhance biological properties of the final products, and so on are reported for these approaches.

Dipyrroethanes/dipyrroethenes (DPEs) containing two pyrroles connected by two meso sp³/sp² carbons are very useful precursors for the synthesis of very novel porphyrinoids. Dipyrromethanes/dipyrromethenes (DPMs) that consist of two pyrrole rings connected via one meso sp³/sp² carbon are the most popular precursors for the synthesis of several types of porphyrinoids. Dipyrromethanes/dipyrromethenes can be readily prepared by condensing aldehyde and pyrrole under acid-catalyzed conditions, whereas dipyrroethenes (DPEs) require a few skilled synthetic steps to be obtained in good quantities. Especially, dipyrroethenes exist in E/Z-isomeric mixtures but their separation is not required for the synthesis of porphyrinoids. In the last decade, DPEs have been used as key precursors to synthesize contracted porphyrins such as triphyrins(2.1.1), porphyrin isomers such as porphycene(2.0.2.0), and several expanded porphyrins. This review describes different methods available for the synthesis of 5,6-di(alkyl/aryl/heteroaryl) dipyrroethanes/dipyrroethenes and their use in the synthesis of different porphyrinoids ranging from contracted porphyrinoids to expanded porphyrinoids. The structure, reactivity, and physico-chemical properties of various porphyrinoids which were synthesized from DPEs are also discussed.

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Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are functional RNA molecules that do not code for proteins. Among these, circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a recently identified class of endogenous ncRNAs with a pivotal role in gene regulation, alongside short ncRNAs (e.g., microRNAs or miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). CircRNAs are characterized by their single-stranded, covalently closed circular structure, which lacks polyadenylated tails and 5'-3' ends. This unique circular conformation makes them resistant to exonuclease degradation, rendering them more stable than linear RNAs, such as mRNAs in human blood cells, which highlights their potential as biomarkers. Both linear and circular RNAs are derived from pre-mRNA precursors. However, while linear RNAs are produced through conventional splicing, circRNAs are primarily formed through a process known as reverse splicing. CircRNAs can be categorized into five basic types: exon circRNAs, circular intronic RNAs, exon–intron circRNAs, intergenic circRNAs, and fusion circRNAs. These molecules have been shown to significantly influence key hallmarks of cancer, including sustained growth signaling, proliferation, angiogenesis, resistance to apoptosis, unlimited replicative potential, and metastasis. This article will delve into the biogenesis and functions of circRNAs, explore their roles in cancer, and discuss their potential applications as therapeutic options and diagnostic biomarkers.

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