A DNA nanodevice for mapping sodium at single-organelle resolution.

Cellular sodium ion (Na) homeostasis is integral to organism physiology. Our current understanding of Na homeostasis is largely limited to Na transport at the plasma membrane. Organelles may also contribute to Na homeostasis; however, the direction of Na flow across organelle membranes is unknown because organellar Na cannot be imaged.

Use of a "Shoe-Last" Solid-State Template in the Mechanochemical Synthesis of High-Porosity RHO-Zinc Imidazolate.

We report the first use of a nonionic solid (NIS) as a template in mechanosynthesis of a metal-organic framework. Through eight intermolecular C-H···O hydrogen bonds, the macrocyclic MeMeCH template predictably functions as a "shoe-last" for the assembly of double-eight rings in the liquid-assisted reaction of ZnO and imidazole (ImH). The resulting new form of ZnIm (namely xMeMeCH@RHO-ZnIm) is available in multigram amounts, highly porous, and thermally stable.

Reproducible Synthesis and High Porosity of mer-Zn(Im)2 (ZIF-10): Exploitation of an Apparent Double-Eight Ring Template.

Reproducible synthesis of the elusive merlinoite (mer) topology of zinc imidazolate (mer-Zn(Im)2, or ZIF-10) has been achieved by employing a simple macrocyclic solute-MeMeCH2-as a kinetic template. The corresponding phase-pure material, mer-MeMeCH2@Zn16(Im)32, is confirmed to be porous and exhibits one of the highest experimental surface areas (1893 m(2)/g, BET) yet reported for any ZIF. The X-ray single crystal structure of mer-MeMeCH2@Zn16(Im)32·xsolvent reveals the role of the macrocyle as an 8-fold hydrogen bond acceptor in templating the requisite double-eight rings (d8r) of the mer framework.