Ligand-based reverse screening plays an important role in predicting molecular targets of bioactive compounds, however, its predictive ability might be overlooked due to the limitations of existing external test sets. Here, the authors assess the predictive power of reverse screening with a large diverse external bioactivity dataset.

The strong electric field between the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and graphite has been used to modulate the two-dimensional polymerization of aryl boronic acids. Here, the authors study the influence of solvent choice and monomer concentration on the electric field-mediated polymerization and depolymerization of a boroxine-based 2D polymer on graphite.

Establishing biotechnological alternatives to chemical syntheses requires the rational design of biosynthetic pathways and degradation routes either as enzymatic cascades in vitro or as part of living organisms. Here, the authors use alanine dehydrogenase from Vibrio proteolyticus and the diaminopimelate dehydrogenase from Symbiobacterium thermophilum for the in vitro production of (R) and (S)-3-fluoroalanine, reaching >85% yield with complete enantiomeric excess.

Identifying the short-lived intermediates and reaction mechanisms of multichannel radical cation fragmentation processes remains a current and important challenge to understanding and predicting mass spectra. Here, the authors show that coherent oscillations in the femtosecond time-dependent yields of several product ions following ultrafast strong-field ionization of endo-dicyclopentadiene represent spectroscopic signatures that elucidate their mechanism of formation and identify the intermediate(s) they originate from.

Breakthroughs in the efficient use of biogas fuel depend on the successful separation of carbon dioxide/methane streams and identification of appropriate separation materials. Here, machine learning models are trained to predict biogas separation properties of metal-organic frameworks.

Label-free detection of nucleic acids such as microRNAs holds great potential for early diagnostics of various types of cancers, but insufficient detection limits hamper applicability. Here, the authors use nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to measure the intrinsic magnetic noise of paramagnetic counter ions interacting with microRNAs, lowering the detection limit to ~23 miR-21s.

Rare-earth telluride clusters enable the construction of highly crystalline rare-earth tellurides, but a general route for preparing such clusters is lacking. Now, a facile reduction approach produces rare-earth clusters supported by (poly)tellurido ligands, including a tri-tellurido ligand with a three-center, four-electron bonding structure.

The chemical reduction of group 1 metal cations to their zero-valent species is challenging. Now, a bipyridine-stabilized borate anion joins the ranks of suitable reducing agents and also proves active in the two-electron reduction of CO₂.

FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) data practices are necessary to expedite knowledge discovery, encourage collaboration, and optimise resource use, fostering a robust foundation for future scientific progress. Here, the authors explore the use of FAIR practices to advance materials chemistry research, examining key repositories, highlighting their role in sharing scientific data, and examining the accessibility of these approaches.

Communications Chemistry is pleased to introduce a Collection of articles focused on organomediated polymerization. Here, the Guest Editors highlight the themes within and look towards the future of this research field.

Boroxines, resulting from the reversible dehydration of boronic acids, have been incorporated as structural units into functional materials and molecular assemblies, but their applicability is restricted to non-aqueous environments owing to their inherent water instability. Now, a boroxine structure spontaneously formed from the 2-hydroxyphenylboronic acid dimer enables water-compatible dynamic B–O covalent bonds, expanding their future applicability.