Zheng Fang

Herein, we disclose a microflow system-mediated oxidative cyclization process catalyzed by multicopper oxidase, employing 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid and a range of substituted tetrahydrocarbazoles to afford structurally complex isochromanoindolenines. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions without the need for external oxidants or metal catalysts, thereby enhancing its environmental sustainability. Through reaction-process intensification of the microflow system, the reaction time is significantly shortened (16 min vs 72 h), which is more conducive to the occurrence of the enzymatic reaction and the maintenance of enzyme activity in enzyme kinetics. Notably, the use of cell lysates obviates the need for enzyme purification, significantly improving operational efficiency and practicality. This microflow-based strategy exhibits a broad substrate scope. 22 examples are efficiently obtained in moderate to good yields. Furthermore, the integration of microflow technology intensifies the reaction process, leading to a marked improvement in overall efficiency. The successful gram-scale experiment further demonstrates the potential of this process for industrial scale-up.

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are frequently detected in aquatic environments, posing potential risks to both ecosystems and human health.

Axially chiral biaryl dimethanols are ubiquitous and multifunctional intermediates for the synthesis of valuable atropisomeric molecules in advanced materials, drugs, natural products, and organocatalysts. Despite their broad synthetic utility, direct enantiodivergent catalytic access to this specific class of compounds remains largely unexplored, particularly in biocatalysis. Herein, we report a biocatalytic platform for enantiodivergent and atroposelective dynamic kinetic carbonyl reduction via transient seven-membered cyclic lactol intermediates. These engineered alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)-driven transformations deliver up to 99% yield and enantioselectivity (>99:1 e.r. and < 1:99 e.r). This strategy demonstrates broad substrate compatibility, extending even to complementary “flipped” substrate series. Furthermore, the protocol is readily scalable to gram quantities and accommodates diverse downstream derivatizations. Mechanistic experiments and theoretical calculations delineate the pathway and illuminate the origin of enzymatic stereocontrol.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are contaminants of emerging global concern, yet their long-term fate and distribution in strategic trans-boundary water source areas remain underexplored. This study conducted a comprehensive monitoring campaign spanning from 2018 to 2020, with six sampling campaigns carried out in August 2018, December 2018, May 2019, August 2019, December 2019, and May 2020, to investigate the occurrence, spatiotemporal dynamics, source apportionment, and ecological risks of 54 PPCPs in the surface water and sediments of the Taipu River in eastern China. Utilizing non-target screening via liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), 54 PPCPs across 15 categories were detected, with average total concentrations of 28.60 ng/L in surface water and 13.01 ng/g in sediments. Sulfonamides, quinolones, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) dominated the aqueous phase (with bisphenol A and sulfamethoxazole highly prevalent), while hormones (e.g., estriol) and quinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin (CIP)) exhibited significant accumulation in the benthic zone. Spatiotemporal analysis revealed a seasonal pattern where PPCP concentrations were higher in the dry season than in the wet season, primarily driven by hydrological dilution and climate-induced degradation. Furthermore, Positive Matrix Factorization (EPA PMF 5.0) extracted five distinct source factors for each matrix. Specifically, surface water pollution was primarily driven by domestic wastewater, municipal effluents, medical discharges, and localized pharmaceutical emissions, whereas sediments acted as a long-term sink predominantly for domestic wastewater, agricultural/veterinary runoff, and municipal/industrial emissions. Ecological risk assessment indicated that while most of the nine high-frequency contaminants posed low risks, specific compounds such as CIP, SM2, and E3 presented medium risks in surface water, whereas ENR, CIP, and SPI posed medium risks in sediments. These findings emphasize that the continuous multi-source input and the resulting pseudo-persistence of PPCPs in sediments warrant prioritized continuous attention and targeted pollution control strategies in the Taipu River Basin.

An efficient base- and solvent-controlled [3 + 3] defluorinative annulation of indoline-2-thiones with β,β-ditrifluoromethylated enones has been developed. The current protocol proceeds through a sequential intermolecular nucleophilic addition, β-fluorine elimination, and defluoroannulation, enabling the divergent synthesis of 4,9- and 2,9-dihydrothiopyrano[2,3-b]indoles in moderate to good yields with a broad substrate scope and good functional group compatibility.

Researchers have developed an innovative synthetic strategy that enables difunctionalization of pyridines via oxazinopyridine intermediates, and further established a continuous-flow synthesis process for this reaction using microflow technology.

Pesticide manufacturing industry wastewater is a complex mixture of potentially harmful components. If not properly treated, discharged effluents may pose serious risks to environment and organisms. In this study, influent and effluent wastewater samples from a pesticide factory were comprehensively non-screened by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry, coupled with zebrafish embryo toxicity testing to assess whole effluent toxicity. A total of eight chemical groups were identified, including pesticides, antibiotics, nitrogen compounds, ketones, esters, amines and derivatives, other drugs, and other organic compounds. While wastewater treatment processes reduced most of the analyzed groups of compounds, compounds (e.g., 2-aminophenol, N-Nitrosodipropylamine, and carbamazepine) increased during the treatments. The influent samples were more toxic to zebrafish than the effluent samples in terms of lethality, teratogenic effects, developmental impacts, locomotor behavior, and neurotoxicity. The results showed that locomotor behavior was the most sensitive phenotypic toxicity endpoint, with significantly higher sensitivity than traditional acute lethal or teratogenic endpoints. Through a multi-dimensional assessment approach combining chemical screening, literature-based, risk ranking, and targeted quantification, we identified three predominant pesticide residues in the wastewater samples (both influents and effluents): hexaconazole, fenobucarb and isoprocarb. All three compounds exhibited additive or synergistic toxicity in zebrafish embryos. Exposure to ≥0.08% influent or ≥2% effluent increased inflammation (interleukin-1 beta, IL-1β), oxidative stress (copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, Cu/Zn-Sod), apoptosis (tumor protein p53, p53), and significantly impaired neurodevelopment in zebrafish larvae by altering the expression of sonic hedgehog a (shha), synapsin IIa (syn2a), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (gfap). This study suggests the necessity of incorporating non-apical endpoint (locomotor behavior) into whole effluent toxicity test, as this approach is essential for reducing the environmental risks posed by pesticide factory wastewater.

Microbial communities are a crucial component of soil resources and play key roles in various biogeochemical processes. However, in the process of industrialization, the operation, transformation, relocation and other activities of chemical companies inevitably subject soil microorganisms to harsh and complex chemical pressures. Additionally, single-factor biological toxicity tests are difficult to reflect the true situation of contaminated soil environments. A multi-dimensional assessment approach- integrating non-target screening via HPLC-HRMS and 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology with molecular ecological network analysis- was utilized to investigate and compare the soil microbial community structure and composition across seven distinct contaminated sites in China. Additionally, we explored the interactions among microbial species and analyzed the correlations between microorganisms and environmental factors. Phthalates, biphenyls, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), anilines, and phenols were predominant in soil samples, with PAHs serving as the typical representative pollutants across seven contaminated sites. Statistical analysis revealed that Comamonas aquatica and Deltaproteobacteria showed significant positive correlations with naphthalene and benzene substituents. Aniline compounds and high-molecular-weight PAHs were primary drivers reducing soil microbial richness and community complexity. Functional prediction based on KEGG and COG indicates that soil microbiomes at different contaminated sites adapt to chemical pollution and remodel community functions through an integrated membrane transport-regulation-catabolism response, characterized by site-specific enrichment of efflux pumps, transport systems, and xenobiotic degradation pathways. This work provides valuable data and scientific support for management of emerging contaminants in chemically contaminated soil.

In this paper, we propose a photocatalytic strategy for the intermolecular dual functionalization of alkenes, employing N–O bifunctional reagents with high atom efficiency. Through the use of cyclobutanone oximes as dual-function precursors, which generate both distal cyano-substituted alkyl radicals and internal O-nucleophiles, this strategy facilitates the chemoselective cyanopropylation of olefins while simultaneously incorporating additional functional groups. This methodology provides straightforward access to a diverse array of doubly functionalized cyanoalkyl products via cyanoalkyloxygenation and cyanoalkylamination. Mechanistic analysis indicates that the selective interaction between radical and ionic pathways effectively establishes a unified platform for the dual functionalization of olefins.

This study reported that glycine promoted S-type lignin removal via strong hydrogen bonding interactions (confirmed by the ¹³C NMR upfield shift) while suppressing cellulose degradation by competing for cellulose hydroxyl sites. Efficient pretreatment of corn straw was achieved at 25 wt % solids loading using [Bmim][DCA]-Gly system, attaining 78.11% delignification. Pretreatment converted the straw surface from dense to loose and porous, with β-O-4 cleavage inducing lignin depolymerization. The regenerated lignin had an elevated S/G ratio and contained PhGlc linkages. The cellulose recovery rate was 95.45%. With 5 FPU/g enzyme loading, the saccharification yield reached 95.69%, 2.75 times that of untreated material. The [Bmim][DCA]-Gly system was successfully recycled four times while maintaining high cellulose recovery and saccharification efficiency, providing a green strategy for biomass pretreatment.