A foreword highlighting the 12th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences, EuAsC₂S-12, held at Corfu, Greece.

Recent examples highlighted the use of iron salts in combination with chiral bipyridine-containing ligands for highly enantioselective reactions. Very high enantioselectivities were obtained for various organic transformations, such as oxidation, Mukaiyama aldol and epoxide-opening reactions. These examples represent new entries in the field of green chemistry and sustainable development.

A photocatalytic hydrogen-evolution system using a highly efficient electron mediator, 9-phenyl-10-methylacridinium ion (Ph–Acr⁺–Me), has been reported for the first time. The hydrogen-evolution rate from the reaction system was more than 10 times faster than that from the reaction system using a conventional electron mediator of methyl viologen.

Ir(iii) is the most inert aqua-ion known. The first shell water molecules have an estimated mean ligand residence time of ~300 years. This study shows the results of an ab initio quantum mechanical charge field (QMCF) molecular dynamics simulation at Hartree-Fock level, that classify the Ir-OH₂ force constant as the strongest ion-OH₂ bond known to date.

Cu^II complexes of isomeric ligands that incorporate two separated α-diimine coordination domains have been synthesised and their X-ray crystal structures and variable temperature magnetic properties determined. One complex is an intermolecularly (triple) π-stacked dinuclear species while the second is a rare trinuclear circular helicate that encapsulates a chloride ion.

A series of N-substituted isoindolinones has been synthesized by one-pot reductive amination-intramolecular amidation of 2-carboxybenzaldehyde using Ph₂SiH₂ as reducing agent in ethanol. High chemoselectivity with excellent yield was obtained in most of the studied substrates.

Two new oxo-centred triruthenium clusters supported by electron-withdrawing dichloroacetate ligands have been synthesised and structurally determined by X-ray diffraction. The strong inductive effect of the carboxylate was observed for the pyridine exchange kinetic rate, yielding the most inert character among compounds of this class.

The first use of pyridine-2,6-dimethanol in Ni^II cluster chemistry has afforded two new tetranuclear complexes through a simple change in the nature of the reaction solvent. Both complexes possess an S = 0 spin ground state, albeit with differences in the strength of the magnetic exchange interactions, as a result of their different metal topology (cubane vs. defective dicubane).

Formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in dry-state storage of a milk protein is analysed by use of an immunochemical method, which correlates with traditional analysis of chemical markers formed during heat processing of foods.

The organotin compounds [Ph₃SnCl] (1), [Ph₃SnOH]_n (2), and [(Ph₂Sn)₄Cl₂O₂(OH)₂] (3) were evaluated for their binding properties towards lipoxygenase (LOX) and calf thymus-DNA and the results are compared with their in vitro cytotoxicity against a panel of cancer cell lines. Compounds 1 and 2 showed selective cytotoxic activity against carcinoma cells, especially against MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cells.

This short review shows the high versatility of salen and salophen ligands and of the corresponding metal complexes to behave as ditopic receptors for ion pairs. The possibility to modulate their structure within wide limits provides new opportunities for their application in the field of membrane transport, salt solubilization, salt extraction, and sensing.

In this short review, we present recent applications of microwave-aided chemical synthesis in organic, medicinal, and natural product synthetic endeavours.

The isomeric radical cations 1^+. and 8^+. derived from cyclopentadienylideneketene and phthalic anhydride, respectively, are differentiated by ion/molecule reactions with acetone.

We report here a chiral metal-organic framework built from a semi-flexible linker of trimesoyltri(L-alanine), which features eight-connected linear trinuclear nodes and triangular prism-like one-dimensional channels. The dehydrated title compound shows remarkable adsorption selectivity on CO₂ and water vapour over N₂ gas.

Diphenyl carbonate has been successfully synthesised from carbon dioxide, phenol, and carbon tetrachloride catalysed by ZnCl₂ with the addition of co-catalyst. The catalytic activity of ZnCl₂ is significantly improved by trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (CF₃SO₃H).

An n-type organic semiconductor 2:3,5:6-bis(1,1-dicyanoethylene-2,2-dithiolate)- quinone (BDQ) has been successfully synthesised and characterised. BDQ is a planar molecule with strong face-to-face π-π stacking (3.40 Å) and S···S interactions (3.66 Å) between neighbouring molecules. The displacement current measurement of BDQ-based devices is also demonstrated and discussed.

A pentacyclic compound, 2, embodying key features of the core of the neoclerodane salvileucalin B (1) has been prepared, using a rhodium-catalysed intramolecular Büchner reaction as the key step, but found to lack the cytotoxic properties of the natural product.

In this paper, Cu(OAc)₂-mediated coupling of benzophenone N,N,N-trimethylhydrazonium salts and aryl boronic acids is described. The coupling products, N-aryl imines would be formed via N(sp²)–N(sp³) bond cleavage in the hydrazonium salts with a copper complex.