Apoptosis is a process that causes cell death. It can go awry in cancer cells, sustaining the disease. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have captured the structure of BAK, a protein that triggers apoptosis. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 11, 2022
0
91
Chiral phosphines are one of the most commonly used ligands in assymetric metal catalysis for the synthesis of various useful drugs and pharmaceuticals. Have you ever wondered how to obtain them? Most of the so-called chiral ...
Materials Science
Jan 07, 2022
0
55
Ion channels in the nervous system are among the most important targets for insecticides. Understanding the structure of the channels is key for the identification of novel species-specific binding sites of agrochemicals. ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 14, 2021
0
187
A team of researchers at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Jyväskylä has developed a system based on machine learning and computationally derived descriptors that can be used to find special kinds of catalysts. ...
The process of purifying biopharmaceutical drugs remains a costly and time-consuming challenge. A deeper understanding of how unwanted elements within biomanufactured proteins bind to the molecules developed to remove them ...
Materials Science
Nov 03, 2021
0
131
Portulaca oleracea, a kind of annual herb widely distributed all over the world, is a well-received vegetable and a traditional herbal medicine with plentiful nutrients and manifold pharmacological activities. However, the ...
Biochemistry
Nov 03, 2021
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24
There are a number of G protein-coupled receptors in human cells. As an important component of the cell membrane, these proteins are responsible for detecting different stimuli in the surroundings of a cell within the body ...
Biochemistry
Oct 25, 2021
0
116
Molecular interfaces formed between metals and molecular compounds have enormous potential as building blocks for future opto-electronics and spin-electronics devices. Transition metal phthalocyanine and porphyrin complexes ...
Nanophysics
Oct 19, 2021
0
279
Phosphines are among the most important ligands for transition metal catalysis. Phosphines bind to a metal and modify its structure, reactivity, and selectivity. Many of the most practiced catalytic reactions in the pharmaceutical/commodity ...
Materials Science
Oct 14, 2021
0
40
Researchers from the University of Southern California, Merck & Co., Skoltech, MIPT, UCLA, and the Université de Sherbrooke have determined the structure of the human leukotriene B4 receptor 1, involved in inflammatory, ...
Biochemistry
Aug 12, 2021
0
545
In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule (see also: functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding between metal and ligand generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electron pairs. The nature of metal-ligand bonding can range from covalent to ionic. Furthermore, the metal-ligand bond order can range from one to three. Ligands are viewed as Lewis bases, although rare cases are known involving Lewis acidic "ligands."
Metal and metalloids are bound to ligands in virtually all circumstances, although gaseous "naked" metal ions can be generated in high vacuum. Ligands in a complex dictate the reactivity of the central atom, including ligand substitution rates, the reactivity of the ligands themselves, and redox. Ligand selection is a critical consideration in many practical areas, including bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry, homogeneous catalysis, and environmental chemistry.
Ligands are classified in many ways: their charge, their size (bulk), the identity of the coordinating atom(s), and the number of electrons donated to the metal (denticity or hapticity). The size of a ligand is indicated by its cone angle.
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