The Top Ten lists in Chemistry feature papers published during the last
two years (excluding review articles) that were most cited in current
journal articles indexed by
Thomson Reuters
during a recent two-month period. Papers are ranked according to the
latest bimonthly citation count. The articles below are accompanied by
expert discussion and analysis (including comments from the
papers’ authors) written by one of four veteran
scientist-journalists and longtime ScienceWatch.com
contributors.
Beating
Cancers to Death with Nanorods of Gold
by John Emsley
Chemists have experimented successfully with using gold nanorods to
image and destroy cancer cells. Once in place in tissue, the
nanorods scatter electrons in a fashion that aids in probing and
imaging cancer cells, and when near-infrared light is applied to
the nanorods, the localized heating is sufficient to destroy cancer
cells in the vicinity.
View Article
Using
Gold-Based Catalysts to Make Chemistry Greener
by John Emsley
By developing and using catalysts based on gold and palladium, a group
of chemists has demonstrated solvent-free oxidation of primary alcohols
into aldehydes, in a safer and more environmentally friendly process
compared to earlier methods.
View Article
