The world is currently face to face with a pandemic which is spreading rapidly across the globe caused by SARS-CoV-2, a strain of Coronaviruses (CoVs) belonging to subgenus Sarbecovirus of genus Betacoronavirus. World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11 Feb 20 named this disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 as Covid-19. This pandemic is spreading rapidly and more than 20,00,000 cases have occurred globally. The human Coronaviruses discovered in 1960s were considered potentially harmless endemic viruses with seasonal distribution before late 2002. The CoVs are found in a large number of domestic and wild animals and birds. The first pandemic caused by Coronavirus caused by SARS-CoV was recognized in the late 2002 in Guangdong Province and resulted in widespread morbidity and mortality. This was followed by MERS-CoV which began in 2012 in the Arabian peninsula with multiple outbreaks related to it in various parts of the globe. Various studies have suggested how these viruses made their entry from their natural reservoir bats via intermediate host like civets and camels in case of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV respectively. The intermediate host of the SARS-CoV-2 still needs to be established. The SARS-CoV-2 has 96.2% similarity to the bat Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome related-Coronavirus (SARSr-CoV RaTG13). SARS-CoV-2 has been found to be more distant in relation to SARS-CoV (79%) and MERS-CoV (50%). At the whole genome sequence level pangolin CoV and SARSr-CoV RaTG13 show 91.02% and 96.2% similarity with SARS-CoV-2 but the S1 subunit of spike protein of pangolin CoV is more closely related to SARS-CoV-2 than SARSr-CoV RaTG13. The genetic analysis of the currently circulating strains of the pandemic have shown 99.98-100% similarity in their genomes implying a recent shift to humans. The animal source of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be identified to implement control measures in the present pandemic. Also, how the virus moves interspecies will help predict and prevent future pandemics.

Two {Co(3+)-Zn(2+)} heterobimetallic coordination networks have been synthesized utilizing Co(3+) complex as the building blocks. The structural studies reveal 2D sheet-like networks where the Co(3+) containing building blocks are connected through Zn(2+) ions. Two different building blocks generate two unique networks as evidenced by the crystallographic studies and other properties. These networks are shown to catalyze Lewis metal ion assisted Strecker reaction in heterogeneous manner.

No abstract

This work presents three mononuclear Ru(II) complexes of tridentate phosphine-carboxamide based ligands providing NNP coordination environment. The octahedral Ru(II) ion receives additional coordinations from co-ligands; CO, Cl and CH3OH. All...

This work reports three heterometallic coordination polymers (HCPs), namely, [{(1′) 2 Zn 8 Na 24), originated from a common Co 3+ based metalloligand 1 offering eight arylcarboxylic acid groups where 1′ and 1″ respectively contribute eight and six anionic carboxylate groups. The crystal structure analyses display three-dimensional nature of all three HCPs wherein metalloligands are connected through secondary metals. Detailed topological analyses illustrate that the metalloligands function as the nodes that are connected to secondary building units (SBUs) composed of Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ , and Mn 2+ ions coordinated by the arylcarboxylate groups. All three HCPs effectively function as the heterogeneous catalysts for the Lewis acid assisted Knoevenagel condensation reactions of assorted aldehydes with three different active methylene compounds.