Rare earth orthoferrite LnFeO3 nanoparticles for bioimaging

06-Sep-2018

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as one of the most powerful clinical imaging tools because of its superb spatial resolution and soft tissue contrast, especially when using contrast agents. In the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, scientists have presented a new kind of ...

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Total synthesis of ajoene, a biologically active component in oil extracts of garlic

24-Aug-2018

Fresh garlic extracts contain a variety of healthy organosulfur compounds, among which ajoene forms a major oil-extractable ingredient. Now, chemists in the United Kingdom have synthesized ajoene from readily available components for the first time. The results show that ajoene is accessible on a ...

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Modulating photo- and electroluminescence in a stimuli-responsive molecular dye

17-Aug-2018

Controlling the excited electronic states in luminescent systems remains a challenge in the development of fluorescent and phosphorescent dyes. Now, scientists in Japan have developed a unique organic fluorophore that changes its emission color without loss of efficiency when externally ...

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Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of fluorinated antibiotics

07-Aug-2018

Fluorinated structures make up more than 20 percent of modern drugs, but benign and fast fluorination schemes are scarce. In a study scientists have now combined dynamic kinetic resolution and nucleophilic fluorination for the asymmetric synthesis of florfenicol, a veterinary antibiotic. After ...

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Superflexible aerogels are highly efficient absorbents, thermal insulators, and pressure sensors

27-Jul-2018

Airy, Airier, Aerogel. Until now, brittleness has limited the practical application of these delicate solids, which consist almost entirely of air-filled pores. This may now change: Japanese researchers have now introduced extremely elastic aerogels that are easy to process and can be produced at ...

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Efficient chain transfer for 3D-printing of tough photopolymers

10-Jul-2018

An ever-growing number of coatings, including varnishes and printing inks, as well as tooth fillings, are cured with light. Yet, homogenous, tailored, polymer networks cannot be produced, and the materials tend to be brittle, which limits the use of photopolymers in applications like 3D printing, ...

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Soft crystal gives a multifunctional, all-in-one material

19-Jun-2018

Crystals are brittle and inelastic? A novel class of smart, bendable crystalline organic materials has challenged this view. Now, scientists have engineered a molecular soft cocrystalline structure that bends and twists reversibly and without disintegration when stimulated by high temperature, ...

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Nanoparticles with multifunctional drug precursor for synergistic tumor therapy

01-Jun-2018

For efficient cancer therapy with few side effects, the active drug should selectively attain high concentration in the tumor. Scientists have now introduced a new approach, in which two synergistic drug components are combined into a dimer. This dimer can be incorporated into polymeric ...

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Highly luminescent inks made from copper–iodine hybrid clusters with aggregation-induced emission

29-May-2018

Chinese scientists have turned copper–iodine cluster molecules into aggregated, highly luminescent nanostructures for use in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The solid-state assemblies made of complexes of the copper–iodine cluster with phosphor–organic compounds as ligands are easily prepared, ...

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Porous polymer films with shape memory

08-Feb-2018

Whether for separation processes, photovoltaics, catalysis, or electronics, porous polymer membranes are needed in many fields. Membranes with micropores that switch between different shapes and/or sizes would expand the possibilities. Scientists have introduced a process that produces porous ...

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