Supramolecular chemistry articles from across Nature Portfolio

Biomolecular condensates (BCs) are ubiquitous compartments that regulate key functions in cells. Authors demonstrate that phase separation is suppressed with glycine by using model heterotypic condensates composed of nucleophosmin 1 and ribosomal ribonucleic acid.

Covalent polymers with helical conformations offer an adaptive scaffold for smart materials, but polymer-to-monomer deconstruction is inhibited by the covalent backbone. Now it has been shown that poly(disulfide)s can be folded into helices driven by side-chain hydrogen-bonding self-assembly, resulting in a synthetic helical polymer that can be fully recycled.

Using chiroptical imaging, the optical activity of a metal-organic framework (MOF) was directly correlated with its enantiomorphous (mirror-image) crystal shapes, a milestone that was unachievable in Pasteur’s era.

Chemical doping allows for boosting the conductivity in conjugated polymers but the relationship between doping and the polymers’ complex, multiscale morphology remains elusive. Here the authors report that supramolecular chirality, which up to now had not been considered a parameter relevant to doping, significantly boosts the underpinning redox reaction in conjugated polymer thin films.

Helicity-overriding behaviour in supramolecular copolymers is reported by manipulating the energy landscape of chiral co-monomers, where one chiral monomer can override the intrinsic helical preference of another, even when present in the minority. This finding offers insights into asymmetry amplification in multicomponent supramolecular systems.

Non-covalent interactions between organocatalyst molecules can change catalytic behaviour, leading to changes in reaction rates and selectivities. This Review discusses how to identify such interactions, measure their effect on catalysis and ultimately how to avoid or exploit them in synthesis.

Drying-driven assembly of tripeptides into porous, redispersible microparticles enables spontaneous protein encapsulation and protection.

Light-driven chemical reactivity enables a synthetic system to give rise to protocells with dynamic, life-like behaviour.

Communications Chemistry is pleased to introduce a Collection of articles on the design and applications of mechanically interlocked molecules. Here, the Guest Editors introduce the topic, outline recent advances in the field, and provide their thoughts for future directions of research.

Crystalline 2D mechanically interlocked polymers synthesized through supramolecular templating demonstrate 47-fold stiffness enhancement upon exfoliation with preserved structural order.

Crude oil contains multiple valuable hydrocarbons used for material synthesis, but their separation involves a laborious and energy-intensive multistep distillation process. Now, scientists introduce a simple two-step separation of important hydrocarbons from crude oil under ambient conditions using selective chemistry.

In the presence of complementary short oligonucleotide strands within synthetic DNA condensates, a striking mode of molecular transport is observed, revealing a sharp, wave-like diffusion front driven by phase-swelling effects and transitions in the material state of the condensates.