This Research Front is dedicated to Desmond Joseph Brown, formerly of the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU, whom we always referred to as ‘Des’. An honorary member of the RACI and an eminent organic chemist who influenced the careers of many chemists, Des was a graduate of the University of Sydney and was awarded PhD and DSc degrees by the University of London. His detailed obituary has been published in Chemistry in Australia, July 2014, pp. 28–29.