This feature article reviews the control and understanding of nanoparticle shape from their crystallography and growth. Particular emphasis is placed on systems relevant for plasmonics and catalysis.

Earth's north magnetic pole is heading for Russia  The Independent Barents Observer

Fast trashion: Exhibition of garments made from street-litter opens at Imperial | Imperial News  Imperial College London

Shift in Earth’s magnetic north throws navigators off course  Financial Times

Earthquake strikes Sussex/Surrey border | Meridian - ITV News  ITV News

Improving Britain’s geological mapping  The Guardian

Earth's North Magnetic Pole Keeps Drifting towards Siberia, Latest World Magnetic Model Shows | Geophysics, Geoscience  Sci-News.com

Influential energy role for BGS chief scientist  Agg-Net

Tuning in to a Glacial Symphony  Eos

Researchers Describe Why Earth's Magnetic North Pole Is Straying Away From Canada Towards Siberia  The Digital Wise

Lockdown has cut Britain's vibrations, seismologists find  The Guardian

Snowdonia earthquake confirmed by British Geological Survey  Daily Post

Kendalian Dr Kent Brooks trained new director of British Geological Survey  The Westmorland Gazette

Fracking firm Cuadrilla signs secret deal with geological agency to 'destroy confidential documents'  iNews

Coronavirus: the week explained - 10 April  The Guardian

Scientists Explain Why Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Drifting Away From Canada Towards Siberia  Mashable India

Explained: How coronavirus lockdown reduced Earth’s seismic noise levels  The Indian Express

Did the earth move for you? British Geological Survey has asked if Cumbrians felt an earth tremor last week  News & Star

Factor for inversion stimulation (Fis) is a versatile bacterial nucleoid-associated protein that can directly bind and bend DNA to influence DNA topology. It also plays crucial roles in regulating bacterial virulence factors and in optimizing bacterial adaptation to various environments. Fis from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA4853, referred to as PaFis) has recently been found to be required for virulence by regulating the expression of type III secretion system (T3SS) genes. PaFis can specifically bind to the promoter region of exsA, which functions as a T3SS master regulator, to regulate its expression and plays an essential role in transcription elongation from exsB to exsA. Here, the crystal structure of PaFis, which is composed of a four-helix bundle and forms a homodimer, is reported. PaFis shows remarkable structural similarities to the well studied Escherichia coli Fis (EcFis), including an N-terminal flexible loop and a C-terminal helix–turn–helix (HTH) motif. However, the critical residues for Hin-catalyzed DNA inversion in the N-terminal loop of EcFis are not conserved in PaFis and further studies are required to investigate its exact role. A gel-electrophoresis mobility-shift assay showed that PaFis can efficiently bind to the promoter region of exsA. Structure-based mutagenesis revealed that several conserved basic residues in the HTH motif play essential roles in DNA binding. These structural and biochemical studies may help in understanding the role of PaFis in the regulation of T3SS expression and in virulence.

Protein–protein and protein–ligand interactions often involve conformational changes or structural rearrangements that can be quantified by solution small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). These scattering intensity measurements reveal structural details of the bound complex, the number of species involved and, additionally, the strength of interactions if carried out as a titration. Although a core part of structural biology workflows, SAXS-based titrations are not commonly used in drug discovery contexts. This is because prior knowledge of expected sample requirements, throughput and prediction accuracy is needed to develop reliable ligand screens. This study presents the use of the histidine-binding protein (26 kDa) and other periplasmic binding proteins to benchmark ligand screen performance. Sample concentrations and exposure times were varied across multiple screening trials at four beamlines to investigate the accuracy and precision of affinity prediction. The volatility ratio between titrated scattering curves and a common apo reference is found to most reliably capture the extent of structural and population changes. This obviates the need to explicitly model scattering intensities of bound complexes, which can be strongly ligand-dependent. Where the dissociation constant is within 102 of the protein concentration and the total exposure times exceed 20 s, the titration protocol presented at 0.5 mg ml−1 yields affinities comparable to isothermal titration calorimetry measurements. Estimated throughput ranges between 20 and 100 ligand titrations per day at current synchrotron beamlines, with the limiting step imposed by sample handling and cleaning procedures.

Solution structure of β-amylase 2 from Arabidopsis thaliana shows the role of the conserved N-terminus in enzyme tetramer formation.

The setup and operation of an industrial cryo-EM laboratory is described.

The crystal structure of the c-type cytochrome NirC from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been determined and reveals the simultaneous presence of monomers and 3D domain-swapped dimers in the same asymmetric unit.

A new scaling program is presented with new features to support multi-sweep workflows and analysis within the DIALS software package.

Structures of the immunodominant protein P46 from M. hyopneumoniae has been determined by X-ray crystallography and it is shown that P46 can bind a diversity of oligosaccharides, particularly xylose, which exhibits a very high affinity for this protein. Structures of a monoclonal antibody, both alone and in complex with P46, that was raised against M. hyopnemoniae cells and specifically recognizes P46 are also reported.

Death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) was found to form a complex with purpurin and the crystal structure of the complex was determined. Purpurin may be a good lead compound for for the discovery of inhibitors of DAPK1.

The title complex, [Os3(C2H4N)H(CO)10] or [Os3(CO)10(μ-H)(μ-HN=C—CH3-1κN:2κC)], was synthesized in 41.6% yield by reactions between Os3(CO)11(CH3CN) and 2,4,6-tri­methyl­hexa­hydro-1,3,5-triazine. The central osmium triangle has two OsI atoms bridged by a hydride ligand and a μ-HN= C—CH3-1κN:2κC triazine fragment. Three CO ligands complete the coordination sphere around each OsI atom, while the remaining Os0 atom has four CO ligands. Each Os atom exhibits a pseudo-octa­hedral coordination environment, discounting the bridging Os—Os bond.

In the title compound, C21H17N3O2, the triazole ring system is inclined at dihedral angles of 4.14 (18) and 69.24 (11)° with the naphthalene ring system and phenyl ring, respectively. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into double columns propagating along the b-axis direction.

The title 1,3,4-oxa­diazole derivative crystallizes as a hemihydrate, C8H6N2O2S·0.5H2O, with the water mol­ecule located on a twofold rotation axis. The 1,3,4-oxa­diazole mol­ecule is essentially planar, the r.m.s. deviation of the non-H atoms being 0.0443 Å. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the phenyl and oxa­diazole rings is 6.101 (17)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked via O—H⋯S and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the water mol­ecule, the N—H group and the thione S atom into undulating ribbons. Additional π–π inter­actions generate a two-dimensional supra­molecular framework extending parallel to (001).

The title compound, [Co(C18H37N2)2(NCS)4], consists of a cobalt(II) ion positioned on the origin of the triclinic unit cell. It is coordinated by the N atoms of two trans-oriented 1-dodecyl-4-aza-1-azoniabi­cyclo­[2.2.2]octane (DABCO+) cations, which carry n-dodecyl chains at the non-coordinating N atoms. The distorted octa­hedral coordination environment of the CoII ion is completed through four N atoms of iso­thio­cyanate ions, which are arranged within the equatorial plane. Non-classical hydrogen bonding of the types C—H⋯N and C—H⋯S between the filamentous mol­ecules lead to the formation of layers parallel to (001).

The title compound, [Bi(C9H6NS2)3], was prepared by reacting BiCl3 and 2-mercapto-4-phenyl­thia­zole (LH) at room temperature in a stoichiometric ratio of 1:4. The mol­ecular structure reveals a slightly distorted square-pyramidal environment around the BiIII atom. Two of the three monoanionic ligands L− coordinate in an N,S-bidentate mode, while one shows a monodentate mode through an S atom. There are no significant inter­molecular inter­actions present in the crystal.

The structure of the title salt, C6H10N22+·2C7H7O3S−, consists of a unique benzene-1,2-diaminium dication charge balanced by a pair of crystallographically independent 4-methyl­benzene-1-sulfonate anions. The cations and anions are inter­linked by several N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

The title hemihydrate, C12H9N5·0.5H2O, was isolated from the condensation reaction of quinoline-2-carbaldehyde with 4-amino-4H-1,2,4-triazole. The Schiff base mol­ecule adopts an E configuration about the C=N bond and is approximately planar, with a dihedral angle between the quinoline ring system and the 1,2,4-triazole ring of 12.2 (1)°. In the crystal, one water mol­ecule bridges two Schiff base mol­ecules via O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds. The Schiff base mol­ecules are inter­connected by π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid-centroid distances of 3.7486 (7) and 3.9003 (7) Å] into columns along [1overline{1}0].

The title compound, C21H39NS2, crystallizes with two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, both having a linear 18-carbon alkyl chain bound through a thio­ether group. No π–π stacking or hydrogen bonding is observed. The orientation of the alkyl chains facilitates inter­molecular inter­actions between te chains. The structure is metrically ortho­rhom­bic but crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21 and was found to be twinned by pseudomerohedry (emulating ortho­rhom­bic symmetry) and by inversion. The twin factions refined to 0.37 (4), 0.13 (4), 0.31 (5), and 0.19 (4).

The title salt, (PMIM)2[Ni(P2S8)2] (PMIM = 3-methyl-1-propyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium, C7H13N2+), consists of a nickel–thio­phosphate anion charge-balanced by a pair of crystallographically independent PMIM cations. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n. The structure exhibits the known [Ni(P2S8)2]2− anion with two unique imidazolium cations in the asymmetric unit. Whereas one PMIM cation is well ordered, the other is disordered over two orientations with refined occupancies of 0.798 (2) and 0.202 (2). The salt was prepared directly from the elements in the ionic liquid [PMIM]CF3SO3. Whereas one of the PMIM cations is well behaved (it does not exhibit disorder even in the propyl side chain), the other is found in two overlapping positions. The refined occupancies for the two orientations are roughly 80:20. Here, too, there appears to be little disorder in the propyl arm.

In the title compound, C16H19N3O2Si, the dihedral angle between the coumarin ring system (r.m.s. deviation = 0.031 Å) and the triazole ring is 73.81 (8)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into [010] chains by weak C—H⋯O inter­actions.

The asymmetric unit of the binuclear title compound, [Cu2(C8H7O3)4(H2O)2], comprises two halves of diaquatetra­kis­(μ-3-meth­oxy­benzoato-κ2O1:O1')dicopper(II) units. The paddle-wheel structure of each complex is completed by application of inversion symmetry, with the inversion centre situated at the midpoint between two CuII atoms in each dimer. The two CuII atoms of each centrosymmetric dimer are bridged by four 3-meth­oxy­benzoate anions resulting in Cu⋯Cu separations of 2.5961 (11) and 2.6060 (12) Å, respectively. The square-pyramidal coordination sphere of each CuII atom is completed by an apical water mol­ecule. Inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds of weak nature link the complexes into layers parallel to (100). The three-dimensional network structure is accomplished by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds inter­linking adjacent layers.

The title compound {systematic name: N-[2-(5-meth­oxy-1H-indol-3-yl)eth­yl]-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-amine), C17H22N2O, has a single tryptamine mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit. The mol­ecules are linked by strong N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds into zigzag chains with graph-set notation C(7) along the [010] direction.

The crystal structure of the title mol­ecular complex, [Ag2{VO2F2}2(C13H17N3O2)4]·4H2O, supported by the heterofunctional ligand tr-ad-COOH [1-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-3-carb­oxy­adamantane] is reported. Four 1,2,4-triazole groups of the ligand link two AgI atoms, as well as AgI and VV centres, forming the heterobimetallic coordination cluster {AgI2(VVO2F2)2(tr)4}. VV exists as a vanadium oxofluoride anion and possesses a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal coordination environment [VO2F2N]. A carb­oxy­lic acid functional group of the ligand stays in a neutral form and is involved in hydrogen bonding with solvent water mol­ecules and VO2F2− ions of adjacent mol­ecules. The extended hydrogen-bonding network is responsible for the crystal packing in the structure.

The title compound, C12H20S5, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with four mol­ecules in the unit cell. In the crystal, the asymmetric unit comprises the entire mol­ecule with the three cyclic moieties arranged in a line. The mol­ecules in the unit cell pack in a parallel fashion, with their longitudinal axes arranged along a uniform direction. The packing is stabilized by the one-dimensional propagation of non-classical hydrogen-bonding contacts between the central sulfur atom of the S3 fragment and the C—H of a cyclo­hexyl group from a glide-related mol­ecule [C⋯S = 3.787 (2) Å].

The title binuclear CoIII complex, [Co2(C9H8BrNOS)2(C18H16Br2N2O2S2)]·C3H7NO, with a Schiff base ligand formed in situ from cyste­amine (2-amino­ethane­thiol) and 5-bromo­salicyl­aldehyde crystallizes in the space group P21. It was found that during the synthesis the ligand undergoes spontaneous oxidation, forming the new ligand H2L' having an S—S bond. Thus, the asymmetric unit consists of one Co2(L)2(L') mol­ecule and one DMF solvent mol­ecule. Each CoIII ion has a slightly distorted octa­hedral S2N2O2 coordination geometry. In the crystal, the components are linked into a three-dimensional network by several S⋯ Br, C⋯ Br, C—H⋯Br, short S⋯C (essentially shorter than the sum of the van der Waals radii for the atoms involved) contacts as well by weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The crystal studied was refined as an inversion twin.

The crystal structure of title salt, C22H46N42+·2NO3−·2H2O, has been determined using synchrotron radiation at 220 K. The structure determination reveals that protonation has occurred at diagonally opposite amine N atoms. The asymmetric unit contains half a centrosymmetric dication, one nitrate anion and one water mol­ecule. The mol­ecular dication, C22H46N42+, together with the nitrate anion and hydrate water mol­ecule are involved in an extensive range of hydrogen bonds. The mol­ecule is stabilized, as is the conformation of the dication, by forming inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, together with intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

The structures of two isomers of the title compound, [RuCl2(C14H12N4)(C2H6OS)2], 2 and 3, are reported. Isomers 2 and 3 are produced by reaction of the pyridyl­triazole ligand 1-benzyl-4-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole (bpt) (1) with fac-[RuCl2(DMSO-S)3(DMSO-O)]. Reaction in acetone produces ca 95% 2, which is the OC-6-14 isomer, with cis DMSO and trans chlorido ligands, and 5% 3 (the OC-6-32 isomer, with cis DMSO and cis chlorido ligands, and the pyridyl moiety of bpt trans to DMSO). Reaction in refluxing toluene initially forms 2, which slowly isomerizes to 3.

The title compound, hexa­kis­(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium) hepta­molybdate 2-methyl-1H-imidazole disolvate dihydrate, (C4H7N2)6[Mo7O24]·2C4H6N2·2H2O, was prepared from 2-methyl­imidazole and ammonium hepta­molybdate tetra­hydrate in acid solution. The [Mo7O24]6− hepta­molybdate cluster anion is accompanied by six protonated (C4H7N2)+ 2-methyl­imidazolium cations, two neutral C4H6N2 2-methyl­imidazole mol­ecules and two water mol­ecules of crystallization. The cluster consists of seven distorted MoO6 octa­hedra sharing edges or vertices. In the crystal, the components are linked by N—H⋯N, N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, N—H⋯(O,O) and O—H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bonds, generating a three-dimensional network. Weak C—H⋯O inter­actions consolidate the packing.

Reductive cyclization of 1,3,5-triphenyl- and 3-(2-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-1,5-di­phenyl­pentane-1,5-diones by zinc in acetic acid medium leads to the formation of 1,2,4-tri­phenyl­cyclo­pentane-1,2-diol [1,2,4-Ph3C5H5-1,2-(OH)2, C23H22O2, (I)] and 4-(2-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-1,2-di­phenyl­cyclo­pentane-1,2-diol [4-(2-MeOC6H4)-1,2-Ph2C5H5-1,2-(OH)2, C24H24O3, (II)]. Their single crystals have been obtained by crystallization from a THF/hexane solvent mixture. Diols (I) and (II) crystallize in ortho­rhom­bic (Pbca) and triclinic (Poverline{1}) space groups, respectively, at 150 K. Their asymmetric units comprise one [in the case of (I)] and three [in the case of (II)] crystallographically independent mol­ecules of the achiral (1R,2S,4r)-diol isomer. Each hydroxyl group is involved in one intra­molecular and one inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond, forming one-dimensional chains. Compounds (I) and (II) have been used successfully as precatalyst activators for the ring-opening polymerization of ∊-caprolactone.

The reaction of 2,5-bis­(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxa­diazole (4-pox) and thio­cyanate ions, used as co-ligand with nickel salt NiCl2·6H2O, produced the title complex, [Ni(NCS)2(C12H8N4O)2(H2O)2]. The NiII atom is located on an inversion centre and is octa­hedrally coordinated by four N atoms from two ligands and two pseudohalide ions, forming the equatorial plane. The axial positions are occupied by two O atoms of coordinated water mol­ecules. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network through strong O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to investigate the inter­molecular inter­actions in the crystal packing.

The title mol­ecule crystallizes as a di­methyl­formamide monosolvate, C19H14N2O6S2·C3H7NO. The mol­ecule was expected to adopt mirror symmetry but slightly different conformational characteristics of the condensed benzo­thia­zine ring lead to point group symmetry 1. In the crystal, mol­ecules form two types of stacking dimers with distances of 3.464 (2) Å and 3.528 (2) Å between π-systems. As a result, columns extending parallel to [100] are formed, which are connected to inter­mediate di­methyl­formamide solvent mol­ecules by C—H⋯O inter­actions.

Phenanthroline ligands are important metal-binding mol­ecules which have been extensively researched for applications in both material science and medicinal chemistry. Azo­benzene and its derivatives have received significant attention because of their ability to be reversibly switched between the E and Z forms and so could have applications in optical memory and logic devices or as mol­ecular machines. Herein we report the formation and crystal structure of a highly unusual novel diazo-diphenanthroline compound, C24H14N6O2·2CHCl3.

In the title compound, C16H11Cl2N3O, the 4-meth­oxy-substituted benzene ring makes a dihedral angle of 41.86 (9)° with the benzene ring of the benzo­nitrile group. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into layers parallel to (020) by C—H⋯O contacts and face-to-face π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.9116 (14) and 3.9118 (14) Å] between symmetry-related aromatic rings along the a-axis direction. A Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from Cl⋯H/H⋯Cl (22.8%), H⋯H (21.4%), N⋯H/H⋯N (16.1%), C⋯H/H⋯C (14.7%) and C⋯C (9.1%) inter­actions.

The heterobifunctional organic ligand, 3-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)adamantane-1-carboxyl­ate (tr-ad-COO−), was employed for the synthesis of the title silver(I) coordination polymer, {[Ag(C13H16N3O2)]·2H2O}n, crystallizing in the rare ortho­rhom­bic C2221 space group. Alternation of the double μ2-1,2,4-triazole and μ2-η2:η1-COO− (chelating, bridging mode) bridges between AgI cations supports the formation of sinusoidal coordination chains. The AgI centers possess a distorted {N2O3} square-pyramidal arrangement with τ5 = 0.30. The angular organic linkers connect the chains into a tetra­gonal framework with small channels along the c-axis direction occupied by water mol­ecules of crystallization, which are inter­linked via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds with carboxyl­ate groups, leading to right- and left-handed helical dispositions.