The invention of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revolutionizes nucleic acid analysis but remains lab bound due to cost and complexity. Advancements in point-of-care genetic testing offer fast, low-cost, and user-friendly alternatives. PCR-free methods are especially promising, simplifying detection. This text reviews innovative, portable genetic testing approaches suited for onsite, nonspecialist use.

[Perspective]
Sabrina Conoci
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202400117. Read article.

The oxidation of β-chlorohydrins is thermodynamically unfavourable. To solve this, different photocatalytic systems are explored under white light irradiation. Best results are achieved using 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone in stochiometric or catalytic loadings including tert-butyl nitrite/O2 as regeneration system. Thus, the synthesis of several α-haloketones is accomplished, which are employed as intermediates in multistep chemoenzymatic cascades.

[Research Article]
Sara Filgueira, Laura Rodríguez-Fernández, Iván Lavandera, Vicente Gotor-Fernández
ChemSusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202500683. Read article.

Flexible covalent organic pillars (flex-COP-n) are adaptive nanotubular hosts formed via dynamic imine condensation. Their self-assembly displays an odd-even effect, yielding enantiomeric or meso duplexes. Host-guest studies reveal binding modes shaped by mutual deformation and geometric complementarity, underscoring their capacity for responsive molecular recognition.

[Research Article]
Dr. Shengnan Gao, Min Zhang, Yimin Zhang, Dr. Congsen Wang, Prof. Andrew C.-H. Sue
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202509177. Read article.

Managing synthetic polymer waste is a major challenge. While enzymatic polyamide (PA) hydrolysis holds great recycling potential, it is limited by ineffective polyamidases. The polyamidase NylCp2-TS is evolved through random mutagenesis and incremental docking, yielding NylC-HP with enhanced activity and stability. Molecular dynamics simulations gave insight into the effect of substitutions, advancing the understanding of enzymatic PA recycling.

[Research Article]
Hendrik Puetz, Alexander-Maurice Illig, Mariia Vorobii, Christoph Janknecht, Francisca Contreras, Fabian Flemig, Ulrich Schwaneberg
ChemSusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202500257. Read article.

RNAs with kappa-xanthosine (K-X) or 2-iminocytidine-xanthosine (2imC-X) base pairs form stable double helices that have higher melting temperatures than those of the A-U or G-U references. Access to these novel 2imC-modified RNAs is possible through the mild, selective chemical conversion of 2-thiocytidine RNA precursors.

[Research Article]
Dr. Stefan Mair, Anna Rázková, Dr. Karl Brillet, Dr. Catherina Gasser, Dr. Eric Ennifar, Dr. Ronald Micura
Chemistry ? A European Journal, https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202501860. Read article.

There is no suitable radioligand for positron emission tomography imaging of CB2R overexpression for routine clinical usage. Herein, the synthesis, characterization, binding affinity, and docking studies of carborane-based halo-substituted naphthyridinone derivatives as CB2R ligands are presented. The meta-carborane derivatives are identified as the most affine CB2R ligands. Only small differences in selectivity to CB2R are observed for the iodo- and bromo-substituted meta-carborane derivatives.

[Research Article]
Lea Ueberham, Winnie Deuther-Conrad, Peter Lönnecke, Aleksandr Kazimir, Evamarie Hey-Hawkins
ChemMedChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202500251. Read article.

Carbon nanothread (CNTh) is a family of 1D diamond-like materials, which was predicted to have extremely high strength, stiffness, and tenacity, but suffered from its disordered intrathread bonding. By a nonsymmetric F-substitution on benzene, we synthesized atom-scale ordered CNTh with specific structure out of many isomeric competitors. Our work paved the way to the precise construction of diamond-like material.

[Research Article]
Guangwei Che, Xingyu Tang, Puyi Lang, Jie Liu, Yajie Wang, Xuan Wang, Xiaoge Wang, Jing Ju, Aijiao Guan, Qian Li, Junfeng Xiang, Lutong Guo, Yali Qiao, Xiao Dong, Ho-kwang Mao, Haiyan Zheng, Dr. Kuo Li
Chemistry ? A European Journal, https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202501735. Read article.

Morandi and team developed a metal-free method to insert nitrogen into unactivated alkenes, forming amidines and nitriles via a transient aza-allenium intermediate. Using mild, open-flask conditions, the process delivers high yields and broad functional group tolerance. This breakthrough expands nitrogen incorporation strategies beyond indole systems, enabling efficient late-stage functionalization of simple hydrocarbons.

[Highlight]
Ranjini Laskar, Frank Glorius
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500160. Read article.

This study unveils a novel synthetic platform by solid-phase peptide synthesis for generating FUBI-based chemical tools to investigate FUBIylation, a poorly understood ubiquitin-like signaling process linked to cancer. By employing these innovative probes, we uncover novel FUBI interactors, paving the way for transformative insights into FUBI biology and its therapeutic potential.

[Research Article]
Francesca D’Amico, Cami M. P. Talavera Ormeño, Shivanganie Poeran, Jimmy Akkermans, Rayman T. N. Tjokrodirijo, Bharath Sampadi, Peter van Veelen, Aysegul Sapmaz, Monique P. C. Mulder
ChemBioChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202500321. Read article.

A photoredox neutral sulfonylarylation of unactivated alkynes is achieved through a radical-mediated intramolecular 1,4-(hetero)aryl migration. The product configuration can be controlled under the irradiation of blue or green light. The method features mild, transition metal-free conditions, good compatibility of functional groups, and high levels of regio- and stereoselectivity in the product formation.

[Research Article]
Xu Zhang, Fushan Chen, Chen Zhu
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500121. Read article.

A low-crystallinity ionic covalent organic framework membrane has been directly grown on Zn foil in a scalable manner. With the help of the guanidinium moiety to immobilize water molecules and the charged framework to manage coulombic interactions, durable Zn anodes could be realized by suppressing side reactions and stabilizing ion transport.

[Research Article]
Yuhan Zou, Yongbiao Mu, Tian Wang, Ziang Chen, Zixiong Shi, Wenyi Guo, Tong Shen, Zixiang Meng, Prof. Jiyun Hu, Prof. Lin Zeng, Prof. Tao Liu, Prof. Jingyu Sun
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202510080. Read article.

The effects of amide and urea groups on the morphology, stability, and function of supramolecular NG aggregates are investigated. Amide-functionalized NG forms stacked aggregates, whereas urea-functionalized NG forms polymer networks, likely owing to the distinct strengths of the amide-amide and urea-urea NH/O hydrogen bonds.

[Research Article]
Haruka Moriguchi, Ryo Sekiya, Takeharu Haino
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500015. Read article.

A multitier computational strategy discovers potential USP7 inhibitors using similarity-based virtual screening, physics-driven molecular simulations, binding free energy estimations, binary QSAR modeling, and steered molecular dynamics analysis. This integrated approach prioritizes and optimizes lead compounds with strong predicted affinity, offering promising candidates for targeted USP7-based cancer therapy.

[Research Article]
Ehsan Sayyah, Muhammet Eren Ulug, Serdar Durdağı
ChemMedChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202500210. Read article.

In a series of tetracyanoaurate(III) salts, careful consideration of cation shape — with the goal of shape-complementary crystal packing — can allow for the assembly of [Au(CN)4]− anions to be controlled, and in some cases Au(III)···Au(III) aurophilic interactions to be rationally accessed.

[Research Article]
Thomas E. Karpiuk, Robby Y. Williams-Sekiguchi, Samyadeb Mahato, Dr. Tim Storr, Dr. Daniel B. Leznoff
Chemistry ? A European Journal, https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202501685. Read article.

A salicylaldehyde azine-based CCOF exhibiting strong circular dichroism and solid-state circularly polarized fluorescence was constructed via chiral induction, featuring water-induced stimuli-responsive color change and chiroptical activity enhancement.

[Research Article]
Mengjuan Zuo, Xinlin Zha, Zhenzhen Jiang, Mengying Luo, Zhong Yan, Haining You, Xing Qing, Yi Xiong, Ying Liu, Liu Liu, Yingying Li, Wen Wang, Mufang Li, Dong Wang
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202509454. Read article.

DCPNs with reversible Lewis pair bonds are reported. Nitrogen-borane adducts impart dynamic mechanical properties, such as self-healing and recyclability, to polydimethylsiloxane elastomers.

[Research Article]
Edip Ajvazi, Verena Schinegger, Felix Bauer, Diana Drechsler, Patrick Rettenwander, Dominik Kaineder, Milan Kracalik, Oliver Brüggemann, Sabine Hild, Ingrid Graz, Uwe Monkowius, Ian Teasdale
Chemistry ? A European Journal, https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202501595. Read article.

An umpolung strategy allowing the use of stilbenes as electrophiles in substitution reactions is developed that relies on a combination of m-chloroperbenzoic acid and hexafluoroisopropanol. This new step-economic approach gives rise to benzhydryl derivatives by the use of different nitrogenated, oxygenated, and sulfur- and carbon-based nucleophiles.

[Research Article]
Francisco J. Sierra-Molero, Alejandro Baeza, Diego A. Alonso, Hernan Rico-Trilles
European Journal of Organic Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202500547. Read article.

The QPAF-225-10 (10% QPAF-225 in membrane) integrated quaternary ammonium -functionalized porous aromatic frameworks (QPAF-225) and sulfonated poly[2,2′-(p-oxydiphenyl)-5,5′-biphenylimidazole] (SOPBI), forming a self-reinforcing ionic crosslinking network to achieve high proton conductivity of 174 mS cm−1 and the peak power density of 847 mW cm−2 at high-temperature (200 °C) proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFCs. High-density basic sites in QPAF-225 suppressed the PA leakage, illustrating 0.04 mV h−1 voltage decay (904 h) and robust mechanical stability. This framework-engineered strategy overcomes PA-PBI (PA-doped polybenzimidazole) membrane limitations, enabling durable HT-PEMFCs.

[Research Article]
Xinyi Zong, Haina Mi, Fei Chen, Xianfeng Guan, Yuhan Liu, Prof. Dr. Wei Hu, Prof. Dr. Nanwen Li, Chunzhu Jiang, Prof. Dr. Yunfeng Lu, Guangshan Zhu, Prof. Wei Yan, Prof. Jiujun Zhang
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202509085. Read article.

An expansion of the concept of pseudoglucosinolates (psGSLs) is reported introducing the first azoreductase-responsive psGSL-based probe releasing an isothiocyanate under simultaneous fluorescence turn-on in the presence of AzoR, an azoreductase from Escherichia coli. The synthesis, biochemical evaluation, application for protein labeling and conversion in the presence of Escherichia coli are reported.

[Research Article]
Aishi Chakrabarti, Charity S. G. Ganskow, Mervic D. Kagho, Claire. C. Jimidar, Lorenz Wiese, Neslihan Beyazit, Ulrike Beutling, Margarita Seeger, Silvana Smits, Stella Nyström, Anne Farewell, Anett Schallmey, Mark Brönstrup, Philipp Klahn
ChemBioChem 2025, 26, 0. Read article.

Benzochalcogenodiazoles (BXD) including benzoxadiazoles, benzothiadiazoles, and benzoselenadiazoles are initially mainly designed for optoelectronic materials as electron-deficient cores. Nevertheless, they are now extending their application to biology. In this review, the synthesis of BXDs and their use in medicinal chemistry as lipophilic aromatics and in photomedicinal chemistry as photosensitizers will be presented.

[Review]
Jean-Elie Zheng, Xavier Franck, Thibault Gallavardin
European Journal of Organic Chemistry 2025, 0. Read article.