Dave Leigh

An information ratchet improves selectivity in molecular recognition under non-equilibrium conditions - Nature Nanotechnology An abiotic information ratchet mechanism increases selectivity for the correct DNA duplex from 2:1 at equilibrium to 6:1 under energy-dissipating conditions.

Information ratchets drive many molecular motors, but we can also use them for other nonequilibrium processes like performing error correction in a molecular recognition process to increase selectivity. Published today in @natnano.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In Situ Quantification of Directional Rotation by a Catalysis-Driven Azaindole-N-Oxide–Phenoic Acid Molecular Motor We report the in situ quantification of directional rotation of a new type of catalysis-driven rotary motor featuring a phenyl carboxylic acid rotor attached to a 7-azaindole-N-oxide stator through a biaryl C–N bond. Continuous directional rotation of the rotor about the stator is driven by the achiral motor’s rotary catalysis of carbodiimide hydration in the presence of a chiral pyrrolidinylpyridine-N-oxide. The catalytic cycle features an intermediate O-acyl-azaindole-N-oxide ester tether formed between the carboxylic acid of the rotor and the N-oxide of the stator. Face-selective cleavage of the tether by the chiral pyrrolidinylpyridine-N-oxide additive generates relatively long-lived diastereomeric pyridine-N-oxide esters of the phenyl carboxylic acid. These are hydrolyzed during the catalytic cycle to reform the carboxylic acid resting state of the motor, completing net directional 360° rotation. In contrast to previous catalysis-driven motor-molecules, the motor’s directionality could be determined directly from the transient concentrations of the diastereomeric intermediates formed during rotary catalysis. This avoids reliance on restricted rotation models to assess motor directionality and provides direct access to other key performance indicators such as motor speed and catalytic, coupling and fuel efficiency. The in situ-determined directionality of the motor was found to be in excellent agreement with the directionality determined from a restricted rotation model, supporting both the efficacy of the new approach and the validity of using appropriately designed restricted rotation models. The results establish a straightforward method for the in situ quantification of various aspects of motor behavior, aiding the design and optimization of artificial molecular motors.

Can you work out how fast a molecular motor rotates from in situ measurments? Turns out that yes, you can, as we show today in @jacs.acspublications.org
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@profdaveleigh.bsky.social @stefanborsley.bsky.social

'Ullo @jacs.acspublications.org, Hua-Kui, Axel, @benjaminoacid.bsky.social & @stefanborsley.bsky.social have gotta new motor! doi.org/10.1021/jacs...

Delighted to follow @mvdelius.bsky.social into the 1st issue of @angewandtechemie.bsky.social Novit! Congrats to Jiankang, Enzo, Patrick, Axel, Andrei & Dan on the spontaneous assembly of catenanes lacking strong recognition sites🔗😃 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Lovely evening at the fabulous @nationalgalleries.bsky.social in Edinburgh for the unveiling of portraits of recent Scottish chemistry Nobel laureates Sir Fraser Stoddart, Richard Henderson & Sir Dave MacMillan😃. Sir Fraser captured looking like he wanted to get back to work!😆

I did not know that, Peggy 😃 The sales person at Harrods told us that the products have a very loyal customer base, lots of repeat business.

Walking through Harrods unexpectedly spotted a familiar X-ray structure!😍Received free sample for my skincare regime😎

Sadly it was only British cheeses, but a very nice Isle of Mull cheddar do that was fine 🧀

Probably shooting up in the toilets 🤷‍♂️

Novak up a break but down a set 😱 The Queen looking on….

Jam on cream obvs 😋

Wombling free!🎾

Comtes for us. Happy Father’s Day!🥂

Well it’s not a knot but as far as I know it’s a new topology. It’s like cyclising the thread of a daisy chain back onto the macrocycle it’s attached to.

www.hospices-de-beaune.com

Great 16th century #WomeninChemistry (apothecaries) at l'Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune👩‍🔬

Graphs showing 25 years of budgets for the National Institute of Health, NASA, and the NSF. In all cases, the proposed budget for next year is far, far below any year of the previous quarter century.

There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.

@profdaveleigh.bsky.social giving the Fraser Stoddart memorial talk at #ismsc2025

An argument over a whisky turned into a paper! We apply kinetic modelling to describe Denton’s catalytic Mitsunobu reaction, and show how it can be improved! Not a paper I ever expected to write, but a testament to the benefits of chatting science with friends! Thanks @keithandrews.bsky.social!

Very poor of journal/editor ☹️

👍

Autonomous Artificial Molecular Motors and Pumps Autonomous energy consumption is the only way to introduce molecular motors into more sophisticated, larger systems, capable of life-like behavior. We reviewed a selection of the most recent advances...

Excellent recent mini-review on autonomous molecular motors & pumps by the Corra group chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @masscurcio.bsky.social

YouTube video by acapellascience More Than Birds (Extreme Parody) | A Capella Science

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNJ...

(UoM - Peking University) Real-Time Observation of the Dynamics of a Catalysis-Driven Molecular Motor Using a Single-Molecule Junction at The University of Manchester on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - (UoM - Peking University) Real-Time Observation of the Dynamics of a Catalysis-Driven Molecular Motor Using a Single-Molecule Junction at The University of Manchester, listed on FindAPhD...

Fully funded PhD opportunity in the design, synthesis and characterisation of artificial molecular machines - 2 years at the University of Manchester; 1-2 years at Peking University. Open only to non-Chinese nationals. If interested, please email me asap. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Join The University of Manchester, AstraZeneca, and Syngenta in a fully funded PhD program on Quantum Mechanics, Machine Learning, and Catalyst Design.

📢 Only one week left to apply! Don't miss out!

#PhD #Scholarship #QuantumChemistry #MachineLearning #CatalystDesign #CompChem

Automation accelerated screening of H-bond-rich iridium photosensitisers for hydrogen generation In the pursuit of a stable hydrogen evolution photosensitiser, we demonstrate the incorporation of a series of our H-bond rich guanidine-styled iridium(iii) complexes into a catalytic system. Using au...

Delighted to share the first publication from our group at @livunisps.bsky.social in collaboration with @barryblight.bsky.social! In this work, we combine two of our favourite things: #automation and #photocatalysis! 🤖💡🧪 Huge congrats to Harri Jones and Chris Bradshaw 🎉 shorturl.at/A67BG

Supramolekulare Chemie | Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker e.V.

Supramolecular chemistry has officially "grown up" in Germany. On behalf of the 10-person Founding Team👇, I am happy to announce the creation of section SupraChem within the German Chemical Society! 🍾 GDCh members please consider joining asap via www.gdch.de/suprachem @gdch.bsky.social

Thou shalt knot...