Fine Chemicals

Quote of the Week
"You can't hire a team of scientists to do your shopping for you."
JESSICA ALBA; CELEBRITY SPOKESWOMAN; SAFER CHEMICALS, HEALTHY FAMILIES – p. 10
May 30, 2011
In This Issue:
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Highlights

Cover Story
Peptide Therapeutics
Drug class's stock rises as firms solve the problems of stability, delivery, and manufacture. (pp. 13-20, 21-25)

Government & Policy
Whither Sustainable Development? (Member Content)
Recent failure of UN talks raises concerns over likelihood of success of efforts to create a green economy. (pp. 39-41)

Science & Technology
Woodward's Unfinished Work (Member Content)
More than 30 years after his death, a selection of R. B. Woodward’s notes on conducting materials is published. (pp. 46-49)
Table of Contents
Cover Story
Improving Peptides pp. 13-20
Small firms develop better peptide drug candidates to expand this pharmaceutical class and attract big pharma partners.
Making Peptides At Large Scale pp. 21-25
Efficient synthesis is helping to renew interest in the peptide drug market.
News Of The Week
Ubiquitins In Four-Part Harmony p. 7
Biomacromolecular Synthesis: Tetraubiquitin is the longest protein made chemically.
Streamlining Regulation p. 8
Government: Agencies offer plans for cutting costs, paperwork for businesses.
Vertex Hepatitis Drug Is Approved p. 8
Pharmaceuticals: Stage is set for a heated competition between Vertex and Merck.
Metals Recycling Falls Short p. 9
Sustainability: Recycling rates must rise to conserve, maintain resources, UN report says.
Pharmaceuticals p. 9
Lilly creates new company to assume U.S. rights for sepsis drug.
Watery Magma From The Moon p. 10
Moon's Origin: High levels of water found in ancient lunar magma bubbles add twist to giant-impact theory.
Star Power p. 10
TSCA Reform: Jessica Alba joins push to revise federal chemical law.
Business

Phthalates Face Murky Future pp. 28-31 (Member Content)
As Europe moves toward a ban on some phthalates, producers of the plasticizers look to diversify.
Indena Steps Up pp. 32-34 (Member Content)
Extracts and API producer makes its own drug discoveries to keep ahead of competitors.
Rubber Is Booming In Southeast Asia pp. 35-36 (Member Content)
Elastomer producers set up shop in Singapore and Thailand.
Business Concentrates pp. 26-27 (Member Content)
- Big Chemical Mergers On Track To Rise
- Deal-making activity in the first quarter of 2011 suggests that chemical companies will move quickly to close deals this year...
- Dow Is Promoting Incineration
- Dow Chemical is recycling plastic the old-fashioned way: It’s burning it...
- Two Die At Shintech Plant In Louisiana
- Two workers died on May 22 while commissioning a new vinyl chloride plant at Shintech’s complex...
- DuPont Regroups To Absorb Danisco
- DuPont has formed two new business units—industrial biosciences and nutrition and health—...
- Hemp Chair Relies On Resin From BASF
- What’s being called the world’s first one-piece chair made of natural fibers...
- Chemtura Forms Bromine Alliance
- Chemtura has signed a letter of intent to form an alliance in bromine and brominated derivatives with Chennai...
- Invista Will Expand Spandex In Brazil
- Invista, the former DuPont fibers unit now owned by Koch Industries...
- Liquid Metal Battery Gets Gates Funding
- Liquid Metal Battery, founded by MIT materials chemistry professor Donald R. Sadoway, has received venture funding...
- BASF Slates TDI Plant For Europe
- Becoming the second German firm to plan a toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant in Europe, BASF says it will build...
- Idemitsu Bids For Agrochemical Firm
- Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan will bid for SDS Biotech, an agrochemical producer...
- Almac Toasts Its U.S. Headquarters
- Almac, the Northern Ireland-based drug development services company, marked the opening of its North American headquarters...
- Accelrys Has Another Lab Notebook Deal
- Approximately one year after acquiring Symyx, a leading supplier of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs)...
- Valeant And Watson Buy Into Generics
- Looking to spend its money after failing to take over Cephalon, Valeant Pharmaceuticals will acquire...
- Business Roundup
- Syngenta, Huntsman Corp., Novozymes, Meihua Group, Georgia-Pacific Chemicals, AkzoNobel, Ceres, Sigma-Aldrich, Johnson & Johnson, Par Pharmaceutical ...
This Week Online

Old Paint Increases Lead Bioavailability In Dust
Heavy Metals: Survey of Canadian household dust suggests people are unaware of safe methods to remove lead paint.
Microfluidic Chip Identifies Microbes
Clinical Diagnostics: New chip both purifies viruses and detects their DNA.
Conserving Canada's Valuables
Canada may not be rife with Roman ruins and Rembrandt masterpieces, but the country's art and artifacts keep scientists busy at the Canadian Conservation Institute.
Severe Bleeding: When Clotting Isn't Enough
At this month's Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, news came of a novel technology to fight profuse bleeding.
Government & Policy

Whither Sustainable Development? pp. 39-41 (Member Content)
Recent failure of UN talks raises concerns over likelihood of success of efforts to create a green economy.
Resources: Boosting Efficiency While Curbing Environmental Harm p. 40 (Member Content)
Capturing Carbon Dioxide p. 42 (Member Content)
Senators question cost, lack of applications for greenhouse gas storage plans.
C&EN Talks With John Schwab p. 43 (Member Content)
An advocate for mentoring young organic chemists will retire from NIH this month.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 38 (Member Content)
- House Bill Would Analyze EPA Rules
- A bill that would require the Obama Administration to evaluate the cumulative economic impacts of EPA regulations was approved last week...
- Climate Panel Adopts New Policies
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is making changes to improve its scientific integrity...
- EU Bans Cadmium In Jewelry, Plastics
- The European Union has banned the use of cadmium in jewelry and all plastic products effective Dec. 20...
- Pesticide Residue Data Released
- Only a small fraction of food and water tested in 2009 contained pesticide residues that exceeded safety limits...
- Army Depot Destroys Chemical Weapons
- The Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama has completed the destruction of its stockpile of mustard agent...
» more government & policy news...
ACS Comment
Redefining The Kilogram And Mole p. 58 (Member Content)
ACS News

IYC Profile: Moldova pp. 59
Chemistry professor Vasile Gutsanu has lived through Soviet and independent rule.

Social Networking And C&EN
You can now follow C&EN on Facebook. Become a fan and track the latest news and discussions at facebook.com/CENews.
Science & Technology

Woodward's Unfinished Work pp. 46-49 (Member Content)
More than 30 years after his death, a selection of R. B. Woodward's notes on conducting materials is published.
Synthesis Sees Inflationary Push pp. 50-52 (Member Content)
Historical analysis of inflated yield and purity data in organic synthesis papers points to pressure to produce high-impact results.
Improving Vaccines Aimed At Cancer pp. 53-57 (Member Content)
Scientists use various ways to strengthen immune response to carbohydrate cancer antigens.
Science & Technology Concentrates pp. 44-45
- Sniffing Out Black- Currant Structures
- Microwave spectroscopy and quantum chemistry provide gas-phase information on fragrant molecules.
- Organic Layer Smooths Dielectric Films
- Insulating layer in nanoelectronic devices benefits from an organic undercoat.
- Microbe’s Protein Structure Elucidated
- Study finds that arrangement of heme groups forms electron shuttle.
- Pulling Out Protein Complexes
- Antibody-based method isolates proteins from complexes for single-molecule analysis.
- Molecular Constraint Inhibits Peptide Aggregation
- Reversible modification enhances water solubility and simplifies synthesis.
- Peptide-Nanotube Assemblies Create Superstructures
- Specially designed biomolecules coil around nanotubes and guide supramolecular ordering.
- Key Catalyst Support Parameters Identified
- Maximum surface area coupled with 3D interconnectivity enhances catalytic activity and selectivity.
- Scorpion Venom Unfriendly To Fungi
- Peptides and other compounds from stinging critter exhibit fungicidal properties.
» more science & technology news...
Meetings
2011 C&EN Calendar Web Exclusive
C&EN's latest list of meetings and events of interest to those in the chemical community.
Editor's Page
The Value Of R&D p.5
The Departments
Letters p. 4

Newscripts p. 64
Rogue Robot, Energetic Picnicking, Fire Walking In Sync
C&EN Archives

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Head here to discover the past via the C&EN Archives, go to http://pubs.acs.org/cen-archives
Environmental SCENE News
Fertilizer May Help Bacteria Slip Into Groundwater
Water Safety: High phosphate levels allow deadly microbes to pass through soil.
Bisphenol A Is Ubiquitous In Receipts
Endocrine Disrupters: Researchers detect BPA in every receipt that they collected from seven U.S. cities.
Sunlight Is An Effective Disinfectant
Public Health: Field work shows that a cheap water treatment method improves children's health.
House Takes Aim At Clean Air Act
Pollution: Industry backs cost-benefit analyses of EPA rules, but critics fear assault on public health.
Analytical SCENE News
New Method Isolates Membrane Proteins
Protein Purification: Technique separates proteins on a lipid bilayer.
Bisphenol A Is Ubiquitous In Receipts
Endocrine Disrupters: Researchers detect BPA in every receipt that they collected from seven U.S. cities.
Mapping Drugs In Human Tissue
Clinical Chemistry: Mass spectrometry imaging provides view of an inhaled drug in human lung tissue.
Skeletons Come To Light
Fluorescence Imaging: Monitoring cells as they dissolve bone may lead to disease treatments.
Analyzing Nuclear Processes
ACS Meeting News: Analytical chemists devise ways to watch radioactive streams.
JACS Research In C&EN
Indole Changeup Yields Elusive Alkaloid
ACS Meeting News: Cyclization and nitrene insertion star in synthesis.
Prefab Synthesis Moves Ahead
Organic Chemistry: First stable alpha-boryl aldehydes ease preparation of complex small molecules.
Multiple Bradykinin States Revealed
The peptide adopts at least 10 conformers in solution, explaining why its structure had only been partially characterized.
Scaling Up The Axinellamines
A quicker, more efficient, and stereocontrolled route to a key intermediate streamlines natural product syntheses.
A Revamped Vancomycin
Medicinal Chemistry: Modified compound shows promise against hard-to-treat bacteria.
CENtral Science
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Check out some of the recent posts from C&EN's blog, "C&ENtral Science"
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