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Silica-enhanced NMR diffusometry can distinguish the signals of diastereoisomeric mixtures of supramolecular ion pairs. The experiment has a shorter timescale than Liquid Chromatography, thus allowing an easier characterization of species that are even configurationally labile on the minutes timescale.

The X-ray structural analyses of homoleptic Rh(II) complexes made of enantiopure (R)-1,1’-binaphthyl and (R)-(5,5’,6,6’,7,7’,8,8’-octahydro)-binaphthyl phosphate ligands are for the first time presented. The possibility to introduce halogen atoms at the 3,3’-positions is also reported. The isolated dirhodium complexes were further tested as catalysts (1 mol %) in enantioselective cyclopropanations and Si-H insertion reactions.

Novel cationic diaza, azaoxo and dioxo [6]helicenes are readily prepared and functionalized selectively by orthogonal aromatic electrophilic and vicarious nucleophilic substitutions; reduction, cross-coupling or condensation reactions bringing further diversity. Absorption properties up to the near Infra-Red window are tuned thanks to these late-stage transformations. The diaza helicene can be furthermore resolved into single enantiomeric salts of known configuration.

With the recent clinical success of bispecific antibodies, a strategy to rapidly synthesize and evaluate bispecific or higher order multispecific molecules could facilitate the discovery of new therapeutic agents. Here we show that unnatural amino acids (UAAs) with orthogonal chemical reactivity can be used to generate site-specific antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates. These constructs can then be self-assembled into multimeric complexes with defined composition, valency and geometry. Using this approach, we generated potent bispecific antibodies that recruit cytotoxic T lymphocytes to Her2 and CD20 positive cancer cells, as well as multimeric antibody fragments with enhanced activity. This strategy should accelerate the synthesis and in vitro characterization of antibody constructs with unique specificities and molecular architectures.

This feature article offers a comprehensive account of a decade of research devoted to the combination of the grand sensing principles with synthetic transport systems that act in lipid bilayers. Differential sensing, that is pattern generation and pattern recognition, is exemplified with an artificial nose. The aptamer version of immunosensing is realized with sticky-end polymers of DNA double helices for both signal generation and signal transduction. Biosensing, that is the use of enzymes for signal generation, is exemplified first with an artificial tongue and then expanded to analytes such as cholesterol, phytate or polyphenols. Enjoyable also for the general reader, we hope that this account will inspire supramolecular organic as well as analytical, physical and biological chemists.