Reviews & Analysis

Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines proved highly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how their chemical components collectively program immune responses has remained incompletely understood. Now, new work shows that both mRNA cargo and LNP materials provide layered chemical signals that instruct vaccine immunity.

Light-responsive chemical modifications enable precise, stimuli-controlled reconfiguration of DNA nanostructures, enhancing stability, programmability and functional versatility. These advances expand applications in diagnostics, delivery, data storage and nanoscale engineering. Emerging design strategies and new photochemical tools driving the field forward are highlighted.

The fluorochemical industry is extensive, but fundamentally unsustainable. In this Review, we highlight synthetic methods for recycling fluorocarbons, with a focus on methods that can be applied for industrially relevant fluorochemicals including refrigerants and fluoropolymers.

High-quality chemical safety information is essential, but information is often fragmented, inconsistent and incomplete. As a result, users face unrealistic expectations in applying risk-based principles. This article highlights persistent challenges and urges stakeholders to improve access, accuracy and application of chemical safety data.

This Review introduces methods for enhancing the targeting ability of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), reviews their applications when modified with different types of targeting molecules and provides guidance for the next-generation MOFs to achieve accurate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Under confinement, matter shows different structures and behaviours, which are particularly pronounced at the ångström scale. This Review focuses on the new structures and properties of matter under such ångström-scale 2D confinement.

This Review discusses the lifespan failure chemistry of lithium metal batteries beyond 600 Wh kg⁻¹, highlighting the challenges in assessing active Li loss. We correlate material degradation, cell parameters, cell assembly and operating conditions to the overall performance and failure of a lithium metal battery.

A polyamine-functionalized covalent organic framework (COF) overcomes traditional direct air capture limitations with rapid CO₂ adsorption kinetics and high capacity, offering a promising solution for efficient carbon capture and sustainable climate mitigation.

We examine the historical development and underlying principles of foundation models realized in language and vision, and propose how physics-infused machine learning interaction potentials could dramatically transform at scale to create transformative foundation models for chemistry and materials science.

In 2025, chemistry education research moved towards more mature and critical uses of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Recent studies show how GenAI can support visualization and learning of abstract chemical concepts, while highlighting the need for strong AI literacy to manage errors, ethics and misuse.

The impact of atomic substitution in sodium-layered oxides and how substitutions affect the properties and performances of battery materials are discussed, with the aim of improving sodium-layered oxides and accelerating the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries.

State-of-the-art approaches for modelling electrified solid–electrolyte interfaces are critically discussed, highlighting key challenges in incorporating thermodynamic open-boundary conditions, large electrostatic potentials and their dynamic fluctuations into realistic ab initio simulations.

Ion migration plays a crucial role in perovskite solar cells. This Review covers its mechanisms, impact on device performance and degradation, measurement techniques, and emerging strategies towards controlling ion migration.

The development of DNA-based machines is transforming fields such as drug delivery and biosensing. Here, design strategies are discussed and key performance metrics — speed, force generation, efficiency and autonomy — are examined to provide insights into the future of DNA nanotechnology.

This Review explores how ionizing radiation triggers drug release via water radiolysis, detailing reactive species, drug activation mechanisms and strategies for designing radiation-sensitive prodrugs and nanocarriers to enhance chemoradiation therapy with reduced systemic toxicity.

Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are an emerging platform in drug discovery with the potential to unlock novel pharmacology and tackle undruggable targets. This Review highlights learnings from the first cohort of clinical-stage PROTACs, which use short, ring-rich linkers, often complemented with one basic centre, to achieve good bioavailability and metabolic stability.

In 2025, peptide research saw the convergence of chemical synthesis and computational modelling. Advances in artificial intelligence-guided design and new macrocyclic and covalent frameworks expanded structural creativity, transforming peptides into programmable molecules with functions beyond traditional design.

Epoxides, which readily undergo C–O bond cleavage, also undergo skeletal rearrangements via C–C bond activation. This Review discusses modes of epoxide C–C bond cleavage and their applications, highlighting the mechanistic features which lead to selective bond scission.

The roles of organic A-cations in halide perovskite photovoltaics are discussed from a molecular point of view by considering their chemical, lattice and electronic interactions. Prospects for future research directions, opportunities and challenges are also presented.

Unsymmetric coordination environments are prevalent in metalloenzymes. By contrast, most synthetic homogeneous catalysts rely on symmetric ligand frameworks. This Review highlights biological unsymmetric bimetallic centres along with their roles in catalysis and illustrates how intentionally incorporated unsymmetry in synthetic systems mimics nature’s strategies for achieving cooperative and complementary reactivity.