Tag "chemistry"

A team of Russian scientists, including HSE MIEM researchers, have presented a 3D model of SARS-CoV-2 S-protein transmembrane (TM) domain. Previously, the TM domain had only been believed to anchor the S-protein in its viral membrane without being involved in rearrangement and fusion with the host cell. Yet according to recent studies, the TM domain appears to have a function in the transmission of genetic information, but its role is not yet fully understood. The researchers believe that the model they have created can contribute to a better understanding of viral mechanisms and potentially lead to the development of novel antiviral drugs. The study has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Russian researchers from HSE University and the Russian Academy of Sciences Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds have come up with a new method of enhancing the chemical reaction involved in producing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogues used in sedative drugs. Adding fluoride to the catalyst more than doubled the yield of the pure product and increased the total reaction yield by 2.5 times. This approach is expected to make the production of certain drug components more efficient and less costly. The study has been published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry.

A team of researchers of the HSE Faculty of Chemistry  Joint Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Science with the RAS Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry have designed a novel type of hybrid ion-exchange membrane. Such membranes can be used to produce drinking water from seawater, which is particularly relevant for areas with access to the sea and a shortage of drinking water. The study is published in Desalination.

Modern chemistry makes it possible to obtain almost countless new compounds, and the endless combinations of building blocks from which they can be ‘assembled’ make this task both interesting and engrossing. Rare earth elements can imbue substances with unique properties (primarily luminescence and magnetism) and their biological activity is also of interest to scientists. As the chemistry of rare earth elements has been an object of study for many decades, the discovery of previously unknown compounds seems an impossible task. But it turns out there’s a lot more to discover!

The Journal of Alloys and Compounds has published an article coauthored by the Institute of Solid State Chemistry and Mechanochemistry (the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), the Donostia International Physics Centre, and the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics on the characteristics of cubic double perovskite oxides. To date, experimental measurements of the minerals’ characteristics have not corresponded to the results of theoretical modelling. The work marks the first time that researchers have set themselves the task of explaining this disparity. The data obtained will allow researchers to improve low-temperature fuel cell technologies—one of the main alternatives to current sources of electricity.

Yury Belousov, Associate Professor at the HSE Faculty of Chemistry, joined his colleagues from Moscow State University, Lebedev Physical Institute, and the University of Camerino, Italy, to work on a review, in which they compared and analysed over 200 lanthanide azolecarboxylates. The scholars were the first to systematize the scattered published information in a single source, which will be useful for technology developments in electronics, metallurgy and nuclear medicine, as well as in the chemical and nuclear industries. The review was published in Coordination Chemistry Reviews.

A group of Moscow scientists has discovered and explained the activity mechanism of a new anti-cancer molecule — diphenylisoxazole. This molecule has been shown to be effective against human cancer cells. The research, published in the journal Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, makes it possible to produce an affordable cancer treatment drug.

A team of chemists from HSE University and the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry used molecular modelling to find out that two medications that have been known for a long time can be used to fight SARS-CoV-2. One of them is used to treat alcohol addiction, and the other is for cancer.