A new two-dimensional (2D) carbon crystal, different from graphene, has been prepared from 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene, consisting of 4-carbon and 6-carbon rings in 1:1 ratio, named 4–6 carbophene by authors, in which all carbon atoms possess sp²hybrid orbitals with some distortion, forming an extensive conjugated π-bonding planar structure. The angles between the three σ-bonds of the carbon sp²orbitals are roughly 120°, 90°, and 150°. Each of the three non-adjacent sides of a 6C-ring is shared with a 4C-ring; and each of the two opposite sides of a 4C-ring is shared with a 6C-ring. Dodecagonal holes with a diameter of approximate 5.8 Å are regularly located throughout the 2D carbon crystal. Even though the bond energies in 4–6 carbophene are weaker than those in the graphene, the new planar crystal is quite stable in ambient conditions. The 4–6 carbophene can be synthetized from 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene or other benzene derivatives through dehydration and polymerization reactions, and may possess several possible patterns that form a family of 2D carbon crystals. A possible side reaction involving 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene is also discussed, which may produce a carbon-oxygen two dimensional crystal.

Three strong interactions between amino acid side chains (salt bridge, cation-π, and amide bridge) are studied that are stronger than (or comparable to) the common hydrogen bond interactions, and play important roles in protein-protein interactions. Quantum chemical methods MP2 and CCSD(T) are used in calculations of interaction energies and structural optimizations. The energies of three types of amino acid side chain interactions in gaseous phase and in aqueous solutions are calculated using high level quantum chemical methods and basis sets. Typical examples of amino acid salt bridge, cation-π, and amide bridge interactions are analyzed, including the inhibitor design targeting neuraminidase (NA) enzyme of influenza A virus, and the ligand binding interactions in the HCV p7 ion channel. The inhibition mechanism of the M2 proton channel in the influenza A virus is analyzed based on strong amino acid interactions. (1) The salt bridge interactions between acidic amino acids (Glu^- and Asp^-) and alkaline amino acids (Arg⁺, Lys⁺ and His⁺) are the strongest residue-residue interactions. However, this type of interaction may be weakened by solvation effects and broken by lower pH conditions. (2) The cation- interactions between protonated amino acids (Arg⁺, Lys⁺ and His⁺) and aromatic amino acids (Phe, Tyr, Trp and His) are 2.5 to 5-fold stronger than common hydrogen bond interactions and are less affected by the solvation environment. (3) The amide bridge interactions between the two amide-containing amino acids (Asn and Gln) are three times stronger than hydrogen bond interactions, which are less influenced by the pH of the solution. (4) Ten of the twenty natural amino acids are involved in salt bridge, or cation-, or amide bridge interactions that often play important roles in protein-protein, protein-peptide, protein-ligand, and protein-DNA interactions.

Hard carbon has been widely used in anode of lithium/sodium ion battery, electrode of supercapacitor, and carbon molecular sieve for CO₂ capture and hydrogen storage. In this study the lignin derived hard carbon products are investigated, and the conclusions are abstracted as follows. (1) The lignin derived hard carbon products consist of microcrystal units of sp² graphene fragments, jointed by sp³ carbon atoms and forming sp²–sp³ hybrid hard carbon family. (2) From the lignin precursors to the sp²–sp³ hybrid hard carbon products, most carbon atoms retain their original electron configurations (sp² or sp³) and keep their composition in lignin. (3) The architectures of lignin-derived hard carbon materials are closely dependent on the forms of their lignin precursors, and could be preformed by different pretreatment techniques. (4) The carbonization of lignin precursors follows the mechanism “carbonization in situ and recombination nearby”. (5) Due to the high carbon ratio and abundant active functional groups in lignin, new activation techniques could be developed for control of pore size and pore volume. In general lignin is an excellent raw material for sp²–sp³ hybrid hard carbon products, a green and sustainable alternative resource for phenolic resin, and industrial production for lignin derived hard carbon products would be feasible.

Graphene microcrystal (GMC) is a type of glassy carbon fabricated from lignin, in which the microcrystals of graphene are chemically bonded by sp³ carbon atoms, forming a glass-like microcrystal structure. The lignin is refined from sugarcane bagasse using an ethanol-based organosolv technique which is used for the fabrication of GMC by two technical schemes: The pyrolysis reaction of lignin in a tubular furnace at atmospheric pressure; and the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of lignin at lower temperature, followed by pyrolysis at higher temperature. The existence of graphene nanofragments in GMC is proven by Raman spectra and XRD patterns; the ratio of sp² carbon atoms to sp³ carbon atoms is demonstrated by XPS spectra; and the microcrystal structure is observed in the high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images. Temperature and pressure have an important impact on the quality of GMC samples. With the elevation of temperature, the fraction of carbon increases, while the fraction of oxygen decreases, and the ratio of sp² to sp³ carbon atoms increases. In contrast to the pyrolysis techniques, the HTC technique needs lower temperatures because of the high vapor pressure of water. In general, with the help of biorefinery, the biomass material, lignin, is found to be qualified and sustainable material for the manufacture of GMC. Lignin acts as a renewable substitute for the traditional raw materials of glassy carbon, copolymer resins of phenol formaldehyde, and furfuryl alcohol-phenol.

Due to the low toxicity, easy synthesis, rapid elimination, and less side effect, more and more peptide inhibitors are emerging as the effective drugs that are clinically used in therapies of a number of diseases. At the same time the computer-aided drug design (CADD) methods have remarkably developed. In this mini review the newly developed peptide inhibitors and drugs are introduced, including peptide vaccines for cancers, peptide inhibitors for HIV, Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases, and the peptides as the leading compounds of drugs. The recent progress in the theory and methodology of peptide inhibitor design is reviewed. (1) The flexible protein-peptide docking model is introduced, in which the peptide structures are treated as segment-flexible chains using genetic algorithm and special force field parameters. (2) The “Wenxiang diagram” is illustrated for protein-peptide interaction analysis that has been successfully used in the coiled-coil interaction analysis. (3) The “Distorted key” theory is reviewed, which is an effective method to convert the peptide inhibitors to the small chemical drugs. (4) The amino acid property-based peptide prediction method (AABPP) is described that is a twolevel QSAR prediction network for the bioactivity prediction of peptide inhibitors. (5) Finally, several types of molecular interactions between protein and peptide ligands are summarized, including cation-π interactions; polar hydrogen-π interactions; and π-π stocking interactions.

Sugarcane bagasse was refined into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin using an ethanol-based organosolv technique. The hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) reactions were applied for bagasse and its two components cellulose and lignin. Based on GC-MS analysis, 32 (13+19) organic byproducts were derived from cellulose and lignin, more than the 22 byproducts from bagasse. Particularly, more valuable catechol products were obtained from lignin with 56.8% share in the total GC-MS integral area, much higher than the 2.263% share in the GC-MS integral areas of bagasse. The organic byproducts from lignin make up more than half of the total mass of lignin, indicating that lignin is a chemical treasure storage. In general, bio-refinery and HTC are two effective techniques for the valorization of bagasse and other biomass materials from agriculture and forest industry. HTC could convert the inferior biomass to superior biofuel with higher energy quantity of combustion, at the same time many valuable organic byproducts are produced. Bio-refinery could promote the HTC reaction of biomass more effective. With the help of bio-refinery and HTC, bagasse and other biomass materials are not only the sustainable energy resource, but also the renewable and environment friendly chemical materials, the best alternatives for petroleum, coal and natural gas.