Cover Feature: Homogeneous Catalyzed Direct Conversion of Furfural to Gamma-Valerolactone (ChemSusChem 11/2024).

Invited for this issue's cover is the group of Martin Nielsen at the Technical University of Denmark. The image shows the chemical components of lignocellulose and the transformation of hemicellulose to GVL via furfural. The Research Article itself is available at 10.

Homogeneous Catalyzed Direct Conversion of Furfural to Gamma-Valerolactone.

Herein, we report the direct conversion of biomass-derived furfural to γ-valerolactone (GVL) in a one-pot system, using the combination of Ru-MACHO-BH and a Brønsted acid (HPO). A GVL yield of 84 % is achieved under mild reaction conditions using 1 mol% of Ru-MACHO-BH and 3.8 M HPO(aq) at 100 °C for 7 hours.

Biological activity of the azlactone derivative EPA-35 against Trypanosoma cruzi.

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, affects six to seven million people worldwide. Treatment is based on benznidazole, producing several side effects and debatable efficacy, highlighting the need for new alternative drugs. We investigated the activity of four C-4 functionalized azlactone derivatives (EPA-27, EPA-35, EPA-63 and EPA-91) as potential T.