Light-Driven CO Fixation into Epoxides Using an AlO/CoAlO Composite Photocatalyst.

Utilization of carbon dioxide (CO) as a C1 feedstock to synthesize value-added chemicals using a catalyst made from earth-abundant elements and under mild conditions is a sustainable approach toward carbon neutrality but difficult to achieve. Herein, the CoAlO/AlO composite catalyst is developed and used for the light-driven epoxide to value-added cyclic carbonate conversion using CO. CoAlO/AlO composite catalysts (% Co-AlO) are prepared by calcining cobalt-incorporated Al-oxy-hydroxide at 500 °C under an air atmosphere.

Direct Observation of the Formation Pathway of [Mo132] Keplerates.

The formation pathway of a closed spherical cluster [Mo132], starting from a library of building blocks of molybdate anions, has been reported. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, and theoretical studies describe the formation of such a complex cluster from a reduced and acidified aqueous solution of molybdate. Understanding the emergence of such an enormous spherical model cluster may lead to the design of new clusters in the future.

A Selective Galactose-Coumarin-Derived Galectin-3 Inhibitor Demonstrates Involvement of Galectin-3-glycan Interactions in a Pulmonary Fibrosis Model.

Synthesis of doubly 3-O-coumarylmethyl-substituted thiodigalactosides from bis-3-O-propargyl-thiodigalactoside resulted in highly selective and high affinity galectin-3 inhibitors. Mutant studies, structural analysis, and molecular modeling revealed that the coumaryl substituents stack onto arginine side chains. One inhibitor displayed efficacy in a murine model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis similar to that of a known nonselective galectin-1/galectin-3 inhibitor, which strongly suggests that blocking galectin-3 glycan recognition is an important antifibrotic drug target.