The fabrication of core-shell composite materials continues to be of significant interest for potential applicability in catalysis, semiconductors, magnetic composites, drug delivery, enzyme immobilization, molecular recognition, chemical sensing, etc. As a result, their production has led to numerous practical and conceptual developments in that direction. This review presents an overview of the synthetic strategies and highlights recent advances in the fabrication of the core-shell composite particles that will continue to optimize existing approaches and to drive new procedures in this field.

Water-soluble conjugated polymers have potential applications as luminescent sensors and photovoltaic materials. The synthesis and single molecule fluorescence properties of a novel water-soluble sulfonated conjugated polymer are reported in this work. The photophysical processes occurring are shown to be polymer chain and environment dependent.

Stable copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes bound to chromatographic supports are highly effective agents for the separation and purification of proteins via immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). In order to use less toxic metal ions, we have been developing immobilized macrocyclic phosphonate ligands for use with hard metal ions. Investigations of the metal binding properties of such ligands indicate that the Fe3+ and Zn2+ complexes, and, to a lesser extent, the Ca2+ complex will be versatile candidates for use in the IMAC protein purification.

The ability to sense inorganic mercury (Hg2+) ions in solution is of great importance because this form is easily converted to the highly toxic methyl mercury that bioaccumulates in fish. Using the developed sensor S1, low concentrations of inorganic mercuric ions were selectively detected under typical pH values.

A new microwave-controlled synthetic approach for the preparation of alkenyl-1,2,4-triazoles is described. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of the Heck reaction to a dihalogenated 1,2,4-triazole. This approach allows the introduction of a wide range of equivalent or different alkenyl substituents in the 5- and/or 3-positions

Two new three-dimensional microporous coordination polymers [Eu5(pyta)5(H2O)7]x3.5H2O (1) and [Eu2(ox)1.5(pyta)(H2O)4]x4.5H2O (2) have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Both 1 and 2 emit the characteristic photoluminescent properties of the Eu(III) ion. Dehydrated 2 shows interesting solvent-dependent photoluminescent properties.

This paper describes the synthesis, X-ray crystal structure and VTM study of a tetranuclear Cu^II complex derived from a tetradentate hydrazone ligand LH2. The voids of these tetramers are occupied by tetranuclear water clusters with a very large dihedral angle. This paper also details a theoretical calculation describing the stability of such water cluster.

Four new Cu^II and Ni^II complexes with bifunctional tetrazolate-5-carboxylate ligands have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data show the presence of antiferromagnetic interactions in two dinuclear complexes.

Quinolones and naphthyridones are obtained from Meldrum's acid and pyrroledione derivatives by flash vacuum thermolysis as well as by microwave-induced thermolysis in solution. A comparison of these two methods is provided.

The illustrated and enantiomerically pure cis-1,2-dihydrocatechols 3 (X = Br) and 4 (X = I) have been converted into the epoxyquinols (–)-bromoxone acetate (1) and (–)-tricholomenyn A (2), respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 are typical examples of the simpler members of the ever growing class of epoxyquinol-based natural products.

Crystal structures of nitrosobenzene cycloadducts 5–7 reveal structural effects consistent with the early stages of the retro Diels–Alder fragmentation. There is a clear differentiation between the structure parameters of cycloadduct 5, which reacts by a concerted synchronous pathway and that of cycloadduct 6, which must react by a two-step pathway. Based on these data, cycloadduct 7 is predicted to react by a highly asynchronous or two-step pathway.