Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Synthesis
Chemistry In Pictures
Chemistry in Pictures: Chemical smile
by Alexandra Taylor
April 25, 2018
Michel Rickhaus and Andrew Frawley at the University of Oxford drew a smiley face in a solution of a special dye using an everyday laser pointer. The dye consisted of a fluorescent molecule attached to spironaphthoxazine, which changes its structure from a closed one to an open conformation when exposed to blue light—405 nm, to be exact. “By coupling this spironaphthoxazine to a fluorescent dye, we can reversibly switch the dye off and on,” Rickhaus explains, with the dye going from yellow in the closed form to purple in the open. After about 30 seconds, the molecule reverts to yellow, and the smiley gradually disappears. The two chemists’ lab is examining such photoswitchable dyes for use in superresolution microscopy. “The video came about as a bit of fun during my synthesis—hence the smiley. But we do use the laser pointer in the purification process,” he says. The laser allows them to quickly check that what they’ve purified contains the correct product.
Credit: Michel Rickhaus and Andrew Frawley
Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.
Related C&EN Content:
You might also like...
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on X