We have developed a chromogenic reagent to show nitrilase activity and demonstrate its use with 23 enzymes as cell-free extracts.

Appending a cyclometallated platinum unit onto each of the three ligands of the archetypal fac -Ir(ppy) ₃ complex leads to a highly efficient red emitter with a short luminescence decay time.

Nucleic Acid Therapeutics (NATs) are establishing a leading role for the management and treatment of genetic diseases following FDA approval of nusinersen, patisiran, and givosiran in the last 5 years, the breakthrough of milasen, with more approvals undoubtedly on the way. Givosiran takes advantage of the known interaction between the hepatocyte specific asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) and N-acetyl galactosamine (GalNAc) ligands to deliver a therapeutic effect, underscoring the value of targeting moieties. In this review, we explore the history of GalNAc as a ligand, and the paradigm it has set for the delivery of NATs through precise targeting to the liver, overcoming common hindrances faced with this type of therapy. We describe various complex oligosaccharides (OSs) and ask what others could be used to target receptors for NAT delivery and the opportunities awaiting exploration of this chemical space.

Elastic folding, a phenomenon widely existing in nature, has attracted great interests to understand the math and physical science behind the topological transition on surface, thus can be used to create frontier engineering solutions. Here, we propose a topo-optical sensing strategy with ultra-high contrast by programming surface folds on targeted area with a thin optical indicator layer. A robust and precise signal generation can be achieved under mechanical compressive strains (>0.4). This approach bridges the gap in current mechano-responsive luminescence mechanism, by utilizing the unwanted oxygen quenching effect of Iridium-III (Ir-III) fluorophores to enable an ultra-high contrast signal. Moreover, this technology hosts a rich set of attractive features such as high strain sensing, encoded logic function, direct visualisation and good adaptivity to the local curvature, from which we hope it will enable new opportunities for designing next generation flexible/wearable devices.