Palladium-catalyzed Saegusa-Ito oxidation of trimethylsilyl enol ethers is possible using Oxone as a stoichiometric oxidant and sodium hydrogen phosphate as a buffer. Cyclic and acyclic enones as well as α,β-unsaturated aldehydes are obtained in good to excellent yields.

A biofunctionalized graphene oxide (GO) nanosheet with improved physicochemical properties is useful for electrocatalysis and sensor development. Herein, a new class of functionalized GO with a chemically anchored biomolecule glucosamine is developed. Structural and chemical analyses confirm the glucosamine anchoring. Ultraviolet irradiation transforms the surface chemistry of GO. Glucosamine-anchored GO nanosheets exhibit improved cyclic voltammetric and amperometric sensing activity toward the model redox probe, ruthenium(II) and N-acetylneuraminic acid, respectively. The biomolecular anchoring and ultraviolet irradiation helped to tune and enhance the properties of GO, which may find multiple applications in optimizing sensor platforms.

Polyesters are known biodegradable materials that are frequently used for biomedical applications that require biocompatibility. Their synthesis usually requires transition metal catalysts, which may become a source of contamination. In addition, using such compounds translates to extensive purification procedures, which do not agree with green chemistry principles. In addition to being renewable, enzymes such as lipases are milder for biological systems, and were studied for both ring-closure and ring-opening reactions. Here, Candida antarctica lipase B was used in ring-closure, reducing a two-step synthesis to a single step with 58% yield. The bile acid-containing macrocycles were subsequently polymerized with the same enzyme; relatively high molar masses (40 000 g/mol) were obtained. The conditions for the enzymatic ring-closure and ring-opening reactions were established through the reaction of thapsic acid with 1,10-decanediol. The di- and tetralactones afforded semicrystalline polymers with relatively high molar masses. Therefore, lipases were successfully used for both ring-closing reactions and ring-opening polymerizations of large rigid moieties as well as more flexible structures. The use of enzymes for the multistep syntheses shows their utility as a simple and green method for monomer and polymer synthesis with better biocompatibility and tunable properties.

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