Waser Group

“On-water” photosensitization enables redox neutral acylation and alkylation of quinones - Nature Communications Water-oil interfaces exhibit high cohesive energy density and form a supramolecular hydrogen-bonding network, which supports organic reactions in various ways. Here, the authors introduce the redox-ne...

'On Water' hydrogen bonding stabilizes the photo-excited state of quinones: application of Franck-Condon principle in organic synthesis. Congrats to all! #ChemSky #photocatalysis

doi.org/10.1038/s414...
“On-water” photosensitization enables redox neutral acylation and alkylation of quinones

#lcsojournalclub | LCSO Lab #LCSOJournalClub 218.1 (Highlighted in picture): a cyclopropanation of ketones using Tebbe's reagent reported by James Frederich and co-workers from Florida State University in Tetrahedron Lett. https...

Edition 218 of #LCSOJournalClub
www.linkedin.com/posts/lcso-l...

#ChemSky

I don't promote all our papers on here...like they are ALL AWESOME (of course they are, I wrote them, and you should be honoured to have access to my GREAT THOUGHTS) but this one is a bit special. And has broad implications.

doi.org/10.26434/che...

⚗️📜🧵

Special seminar today at EPFL Chemistry of Prof Yann Trolez of the university of Rennes | LCSO Lab Special seminar today at EPFL Chemistry of Prof Yann Trolez of the university of Rennes

Just had the seminar of @ytrolez.bsky.social at EPFL:
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

We broadened the scope of 4-isoxazolines and oxa-aza-BCHeps in a highly regioselective fashion by photocontrol over strain and topology. A template for designing next-generation therapeutics and agrochemicals! Congrats to the team!

doi.org/10.26434/che...

🎊Check out our latest preprint "Sampling a GDB-20 Database of 32 Trillion Drug-Like Molecules by Generative Artificial Intelligence" by @yebuehler.bsky.social , Sacha Javor, and Jean-Louis Reymond in #ChemRxiv!
👉Read it here: chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10....
@reymondgroup.bsky.social #chemical_space

🚨 Last call to the Thieme #Cheminar!

“Strain-Release Chemistry” with speakers Dr. Durga Hari (🇮🇳), Prof. Jérôme Waser (🇨🇭) @lcsolab.bsky.social & Prof. Peter Wipf (🇺🇸). Chaired by Akkattu T. Biju (Assoc. Editor of @synthesis1969.bsky.social)

📅 Feb 24, 2026 | ⏰ 11:00 AM(CET)
🔗 Register: bit.ly/4kGHtqm

🎉Check out our latest publication "Polypharmacology Browser PPB3: A Web-Based Deep Learning Tool for Target Prediction Using ChEMBL Data" by @maedehdarsaraee.bsky.social, Sacha Javor and Jean-Louis Reymond in Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling!
👉Read it here: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

In our new paper in Chem. Sci., a final firework culminates with flippers that are not only as big and as beautiful as it gets but also solve a real problem and provide access to the imaging of membrane tension in living cells over longer periods of time.

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Divergent housane synthesis via intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition of 1,4-dienes - Nature Synthesis Saturated, three-dimensional scaffolds are key in modern drug discovery, and highly strained rings serve as privileged building blocks for their synthesis. Now, by tailoring the substitution patterns ...

Thrilled to share that our work on a divergent strategy for housane synthesis via intramolecular energy-transfer [2+2] cycloaddition of 1,4-dienes is now published in @natsynth.nature.com 🚀

link to paper: doi.org/10.1038/s441...

Modular Vinyl Phosphonamidates for Cysteine-Directed Protein Targeting Covalent inhibitors and chemical probes targeting ligandable cysteine residues have emerged as powerful tools for drug discovery and proteomics. In this study, we introduce vinyl phosphonamidates (VPA...

I am excited to share that our manuscript on vinyl phosphonamidates (VPAs) as latent electrophiles for cysteine targeting has just been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

doi.org/10.1021/jacs...

Thanks to my great colleagues who help me shape this project!

Join Thieme #Cheminar “Strain-Release Chemistry”🔬 with our speakers Dr. Durga Prasad Hari (🇮🇳), Prof. Jérôme Waser (🇨🇭) @lcsolab.bsky.social & Prof. Peter Wipf (🇺🇸), hosted by our assoc. editor Prof. Akkattu T. Biju

📅February 24, 2026
⏰11 AM (GMT+1)

👉 buff.ly/5WCuOFp

Infographic titled “How do antiviral nasal sprays work?” shows a nasal spray bottle centered between panels explaining mechanisms, effectiveness, and side effects. Left panel describes polymer gel barriers like HPMC and carrageenan that trap viruses, block spike proteins, and acidic pH buffers that suppress viruses. Middle notes saline sprays may form hypochlorous acid. Right panel cites a 2024 trial showing sprays reduced average sick days versus usual care, with mild side effects such as headache, sinus pain, and sneezing.

Can antiviral sprays spare you from the flu? And how do they claim to work? In the latest edition of #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social, we examine the evidence: cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

#ChemSky 🧪

#lcsojournalclub | LCSO Lab #LCSOJournalClub 217.1 (Highlighted in picture) A new cyclic hypervalent iodine reagent developed by Chi Zhang and co-workers from Nankai University for the geminal chlorofluorination of diazo compoun...

#LCSOJounrnalClub edition 217
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Want to learn more about our strained ring chemistry: Jerome will give a talk at the Thieme Cheminar Strain-Release Chemistry on February 24, 11-13 CET. Hosted by Prof. Biju and featuring also presentation of @harigroupiisc.bsky.social and Wipf group.
cassyni.com/events/P3TyB...

#lcsosynthesisproblem #lcsosynthesisproblem | LCSO Lab Last week on the #LCSOSynthesisProblem, Philipp challenged us to the total synthesis of Bipolarolides A and B by Jia and co-workers. 💡 Want to challenge yourself or your team with this synthesis prob...

Next edition of #LCSOSynthesisProblem !
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Recyclable IPN Photocatalysts Supported by Polymer Matrices: From Soluble Copolymers to Core-Polymer Brush Shell Nanostructures Functional polymeric materials have recently emerged as promising supports for organic photocatalysts (PCs), yet the effects of PC design and polymer architecture on catalytic performance remain underexplored. In this study, we present a versatile strategy for small-molecule activation using carbazolyl-dicyanobenzene-based PCs featuring an isophthalonitrile (IPN) core. These PCs feature thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) properties and long-lived excited states, although they also suffer from an intrinsic chemical fragility that hampers their recyclability. A library of IPN derivatives was synthesized, characterized, and integrated into either soluble copolymers (by exploiting controlled radical polymerization) or grafted from inert silica nanoparticles (NPs) to yield PC-loaded spherical polymer brushes. Although soluble copolymers showed catalytic activity comparable to that of free PCs while testing model Povarov-type cycloadditions, PC recovery was only modest and relied on precipitation steps. In contrast, PC-loaded brushes on NPs achieved high yields and enabled efficient catalyst recovery and reuse (≥90%) over multiple cycles. This comparative approach highlights how the nature of the polymeric support, soluble vs. nanostructured, critically influences both catalytic performance and recyclability. More generally, the incorporation of IPN PCs into advanced polymer scaffolds is demonstrated to enhance their applicability, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.

A step forward toward more sustainable organic photocatalysis !! ♻️♻️
Here, you can check our last JACS publication (@jacs.acspublications.org) in collaboration with the Benetti's group. @unipd.bsky.social
shorturl.at/nnPdk

Here comes e-Diazo / e-Cyclopropanation ⚡️
Can diazo chemistry finally scale if diazo never accumulates?
Electro-generate, consume immediately.
Gram-scale cyclopropanes, safer by design!
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
@chemicalscience.rsc.org @realtimechem.bsky.social
#Electrosynthesis #ChemSky

Our first venture into short peptide diversification is now online 😁 doi.org/10.26434/che...

#lcsojournalclub | LCSO Lab #LCSOJournalClub 216.1 (highlighted in picture) An amide bond formation promoted by trimethoxysilane reported by Hisashi Yamamoto and co-workers from Chubu University in JOC https://lnkd.in/dYaSPzgn 2...

edition 216 of #LCSOJournalClub
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We are hiring! Please spread, thanks!

PS: Note that all applications have to go through our university's new online portal, see link in the pdf.

🎉Check out our latest publication "Data Augmentation in a Triple Transformer Loop Retrosynthesis Model" by Yves Grandjean, David Kreutter and Jean-Louis Reymond in Digital Discovery!
👉Read it here: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Congratulations to Alexandre Schoepfer on the successful defense of his thesis and the completion of his PhD!🎓 As the first jointly supervised PhD student between LCSO and LCMD, he set a strong… | LCS... Congratulations to Alexandre Schoepfer on the successful defense of his thesis and the completion of his PhD!🎓 As the first jointly supervised PhD student between LCSO and LCMD, he set a strong exampl...

Alexandre Schoepfer just became PhD #33 from @lcsolab.bsky.social ! Also the first ever shared PhD student with LCMD @corminboeuf-lab.bsky.social !
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

While traditionally used as stoichiometric reagents, #HeavierAlkaliMetalAmides have emerged as versatile #catalysts find out more in this #perspective with #DavidSancehzRoa @pubs.acs.org in collaboration with @remglasgow.bsky.social @unistrathclyde.bsky.social
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

What the Literature is Filling Up With

Welcome, piles of slop filling up the journals with clouds of useless wordy garbage. Case in point:

Opinion | Why Your University Has So Many Administrators Great teaching is expensive, but back-office functions should be getting cheaper. Why aren’t they?

Why Your University Has So Many Administrators
www.chronicle.com/article/why-...

#lcsosynthesisproblem #lcsosynthesisproblem | LCSO Lab SmI₂ enjoyers will not want to miss this week's #LCSOSynthesisProblem, where Najung challenged us to the total synthesis of Aberrarone by Xia, Ding, and co-workers. Check it out here 👉 https://lnkd.in...

And the next edition of #LCSOSynthesisProblem
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

#lcsojournalclub | LCSO Lab #LCSOJournalClub 215.1 (highlighted in picture) A photocatalytic three-component coupling of aldehydes, anilines and alkyl arenes reported in Chem Catal. by Ludovic Troian-Gautier, Uttam Tambar and co...

edition 215 of #LCSOJournalClub
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Concerted 1,3-migration through regiodivergent consecutive 1,2-rearrangements using palladium catalysis - Nature Synthesis Concerted 1,3-alkyl shifts are often challenging due to antiaromatic transition states and geometric strain. Now, a formal 1,3-migration can be achieved through two consecutive 1,2-shifts—a Pd(II)-cat...

Now online:

Article by Jing Gong, Qian Wang & Jieping Zhu

Concerted 1,3-migration through regiodivergent consecutive 1,2-rearrangements using palladium catalysis

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

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/...