Kay Severin

Reported in @science.org, lithium pentasilacyclopentadienyl complexes.

These silicon analogues of the cyclopentadienyl ligand have a non-planar 5-membered ring and further characterisation shows evidence of aromaticity.

🔗 CSD Entry EXOMUD: dx.doi.org/10.5517/ccdc...

#FeaturedStructureFriday

The last work of Clément TANGUY and Emma Robert on the formal total synthesis of Strictamine is now published in @helvchimacta.bsky.social !
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Interesting interview with Stuart Schreiber
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A Pd2L4-type receptor for squaraine dyes enabling ultrafast dark resonance energy transfer. Work by Damien Chen with help from Sybille Collignon, Farzaneh Fadaei-Tirani, and the @feldmannlab.bsky.social. Now out in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A new national research programme recognizes EPFL's expertise The Swiss Confederation launches six new National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs). The NCCR “Separations”, which aims to accelerate research in separation sciences - the quest for chemical a...

We are delighted to announce the launch of NCCR Separations — a new National Center of Competence in Research dedicated to breakthrough separation technologies for a sustainable future!

Read more: actu.epfl.ch/news/a-new-n...

#NCCRSeparations #EPFL #GreenChemistry #EnergyTransition #ClimateTech

XXVI Swiss NMR Symposium The 26th Swiss NMR Symposium will take place at EPFL on Thursday 5th February 2026. This biennial one-day meeting brings together workers in the field of magnetic resonance from across Switzerland and...

The 26th Swiss NMR Symposium will take place at EPFL on Thursday 5th February 2026 www.epfl.ch/labs/lrm/swi... #NMRchat 🧲

Start your independent as an ELISIR fellow right after your PhD, in one of the most terrific places in Europe !

Have a look at the last work of @duncanbrownsey.bsky.social and Alexandre Schoepfer combining small rings and Pd catalysis for the stereoselective synthesis of spirocyclic cyclopropane-oxazolines just published @chemicalscience.rsc.org !
pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...

A publication by the talented Atena Solea @atenasolea.bsky.social about ‘golden nano onions’ was selected as the ‘Paper of the Year 2025’

N-Heterocyclic vinylidenes: a new ligand class with great potential!
For a short write-up of first results, see: www.chimia.ch/chimia/artic...
#chemsky #EPFL #openaccess

This week I had the opportunity to present my results at the @rsc-masc.bsky.social meeting. It's hard to put into words the impression this meeting left on me, but imagine two intense days packed with inspiring science and even more amazing people. Thank you to the organizers!🙏🏻 #MASC2025 #RSC_MASC

I am very happy to announce that I’ve joined UVSQ @uvsq.bsky.social (Université Paris-Saclay) as a Junior Professor (Chaire de Professeur Junior).

Construction of dual-cofactor artificial metalloenzymes for synergistic and enantiodivergent catalysis of Michael addition reactions - Nature Synthesis A dual-cofactor artificial metalloenzyme is developed, incorporating a biotinylated nickel complex and a Strep-tagged peptide catalyst in adjacent streptavidin-binding sites. This synergistic artifici...

Now online:

Article by Xile Hu & co-workers @xilehu-epfl.bsky.social

Construction of dual-cofactor artificial metalloenzymes for synergistic and enantiodivergent catalysis of Michael addition reactions

www.nature.com/articles/s44... ($)
#Chemsky

A Crystalline Monomeric Diboryl Diazene Azo compounds (R─N═N─R′) are a foundational class of nitrogen-containing molecules. In contrast to the bench-stability of many azo derivatives, monomeric diboryl diazenes (R2BN═NBR2) have long eluded ...

We’ve been quiet for a while, but here’s something exciting: hot off the press: a crystalline monomeric diboryl diazene @jacs.acspublications.org pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Jean de Montmollin (@jcedemontmollin.bsky.social ) has destroyed coordination cages to examine their thermodynamic and kinetic stability. The results are summarized in an #openaccess publication in @daltontrans.rsc.org : pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
#chemsky #EPFL

Phosphanides are able to capture nitrous oxide (N2O, #laughinggas). Work by Alex Genoux (@alexgenouxchem.bsky.social ), Dicky Wong (@thwongax.bsky.social ), and Farzaneh Fadaei-Tirani. Now out (#openaccess ) in @chemcomm.rsc.org : pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
#chemsky #EPFL

OMCOS 22 is coming to an end, and the torch is being passed to the next OMCOS meeting. OMCOS 23 will be held in Lausanne and hosted by Professor Nicolai Cramer. #omcos22

Peptide/Protein Functionalization and Macrocyclization via Alkyne Umpolung with Hypervalent Iodine Reagents ConspectusAlkynes are one of the most fundamental functional groups in organic synthesis due to the versatile chemistry of the triple bond, their unique rigid structure, and their use in bioconjugation. The introduction of alkynes onto organic molecules traditionally relies on nucleophilic activation, often requiring strong bases or metal catalysts. These conditions, however, restrict applications involving biomolecules such as peptides and proteins due to functional group incompatibility. To address this limitation, our group developed an “umpolung” approach, utilizing hypervalent iodine compounds to create electrophilic alkyne transfer reagents such as benziodoxol(on)es (Bx(X)s) and benziodazolones (BZs). The high reactivity of EBx/X/Z reagents enables efficient alkyne transfer to various nucleophilic residues in peptides and proteins under different reaction conditions, providing a versatile tool for biomolecule modification.In this Account, we highlight the residue-selective alkynylation and alkenylation of peptides enabled by the development of novel EBx/X/Z reagents with a focus on progress since 2021. This includes the following: (1) Selective residue modification: We have made significant progress in the residue-selective alkynylation and alkenylation of peptides and proteins. Building on our initial work with Cys-selective alkynylation, we enhanced reactivity and solubility by introducing a sulfonate group on the benziodoxolone arene core, facilitating lipophilic alkynylation in an aqueous environment. Furthermore, we developed perfluoroaryl-modified BZ reagents to achieve sequential Cys-Cys cross-linking and used them for antibody cross-linking with superior reactivity compared to that of conventional methods. Additionally, we expanded the reactivity beyond Cys to achieve Tyr-selective conjugation. All of these achievements underscored the tunability of EBx/X/Z reagents through strategic substituent modification on the iodine core. (2) Peptide stapling and macrocyclization: We designed EBx(X) reagents featuring an additional reactive site on the alkyne moiety, enabling Cys-Cys and Cys-Lys stapling in peptides. This approach enhanced their α-helicity and potential as PPI inhibitors with improved binding affinity to the MDM2 protein. For sequences lacking Cys, we incorporated the whole EBx(X) core onto Lys residues via an activated ester on the alkyne, forming peptide-EBx(X) conjugates. These conjugates facilitated the formation of rigid, functional peptide macrocycles using C-terminal or Trp-selective alkynylation. The utility of these macrocyclizations was demonstrated by achieving improved binding affinity to the KEAP1 protein and by generating fluorescent cyclic peptides suitable for live-cell imaging without additional fluorophores. (3) Broadening applicability with EBx-containing amino acids: We prepared EBx amino acids compatible with both solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and solution-phase synthesis (SPS), allowing us to apply our cyclization strategies to construct a diverse library of cyclic peptides.

The review of @xingyuliu9595.bsky.social on the group work on peptide/protein functionalization and macrocyclization has been published at Acc. Chem. Res.
doi.org/10.1021/acs....
What next? With all these nice tools developed, we are eager to collaborate with chemical biologists for applications!

📢pls share
We are hiring! New opening for a W2 Professor in "experimental inorganic chemistry" @unibonn.bsky.social
Deadline Oct. 10 t.co/EqMLA0fCuC

and Rosario Scopelliti (XRD)

With help of Renata Svecova (synthesis) and Farzaneh Fadaei-Tirani (XRD). Thanks a lot!!

Noga Eren has investigated the constitutional dynamic chemistry of Au3(pyrazolate)3 complexes. Just published in @daltontrans.rsc.org : pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...
#chemsky #EPFL

We have an opening in our institute at #EPFL for a tenure-track assistant professor position.
Please repost...
www.epfl.ch/about/workin...

At the University of Geneva, we have an opening for an associate or full professor in theoretical and/or computational chemistry! Please spread the word.

jobs.unige.ch/www/wd_porta...

The work of Xingyu Liu @xingyuliu9595.bsky.social in collaboration with Wei Cai in Beat Fierz @beatfierz.bsky.social group @lcbm-epfl.bsky.social and Anne-Sophie Chauvin on peptide-cyanoarenes used as photocatalysts is now accepted in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social !
doi.org/10.1002/anie...

Rhodium-catalysed hydrogenation of nitrous oxide We report on the discovery of “hidden” heterogeneous catalysis in the hydrogenation of nitrous oxide while assessing the catalytic activity of a rhodium(i) hydride complex supported by a nominally rob...

Rhodium-catalysed hydrogenation of nitrous oxide… a cautionary tale of “hidden” heterogeneous catalysis @catalysisscitech.rsc.org 🔑 doi.org/10.1039/D5CY...

While many collaborations never culminate in a publication, others simply require time to mature. In this case, a full decade proved to be the necessary incubation period. Finally out in Chem. Eur. J.: chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

@irenebenzop.bsky.social #chemsky #EPFL

Unfortunately, Figure 1 and Scheme 1 were mixed up at the proof stage...

With help from Paul Varava (synthesis), Rosario Scopelliti (XRD), and Farzaneh Fadaei-Tirani (XRD). Thanks a lot!!

Dicky Wong (@thwongax.bsky.social ) has explored the chemistry of iridium complexes with N-heterocyclic vinylidene ligands. Just published in JACS (@jacs.acspublications.org ): pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
#chemsky #EPFL