The wide-ranging applications of the halogen bond (X-bond), notably in self-assembling materials and medicinal chemistry, have placed this weak intermolecular interaction in a center of great deal of attention. There is a need to elucidate the physical nature of the halogen bond for better understanding of its similarity and differences vis-à-vis other weak intermolecular interactions, for example, hydrogen bond, as well as for developing improved force-fields to simulate nano- and biomaterials involving X-bonds. This understanding is the focus of the present study that combines the insights of a bottom-up approach based on ab initio valence bond (VB) theory and the block-localized wave function (BLW) theory that uses monomers to reconstruct the wave function of a complex. To this end and with an aim of unification, we studied the nature of X-bonds in 55 complexes using the combination of VB and BLW theories. Our conclusion is clear-cut; most of the X-bonds are held by charge transfer interactions (i.e., intermolecular hyperconjugation) as envisioned more than 60 years ago by Mulliken. This is consistent with the experimental and computational findings that X-bonds are more directional than H-bonds. Furthermore, the good linear correlation between charge transfer energies and total interaction energies partially accounts for the success of simple force fields in the simulation of large systems involving X-bonds.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a formidable infectious disease that remains a major cause of death worldwide today. Escalating application of genomic techniques has expedited the identification of increasing number of mutations associated with drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Unfortunately the prevalence of bacillary resistance becomes alarming in many parts of the world, with the daunting scenarios of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and total drug-resistant tuberculosis (TDR-TB), due to number of resistance pathways, alongside some apparently obscure ones. Recent advances in the understanding of the molecular/ genetic basis of drug targets and drug resistance mechanisms have been steadily made. Intriguing findings through whole genome sequencing and other molecular approaches facilitate the further understanding of biology and pathology of M. tuberculosis for the development of new therapeutics to meet the immense challenge of global health.

Introduction Paclitaxel and docetaxel were two epoch-making anticancer drugs and have been successfully used in chemotherapy for a variety of cancer types. In 2010, a new taxane, cabazitaxel, was approved by FDA for use in combination with prednisone for the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab™-paclitaxel; abraxane) nanodroplet formulation was another notable invention (FDA approval 2005 for refractory, metastatic, or relapsed breast cancer). Abraxane in combination with gemcitabine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer was approved by FDA in 2013. Accordingly, there have been a huge number of patent applications dealing with taxane anticancer agents in the last five years. Thus, it is a good time to review the progress in this area and find the next wave for new developments. Area covered This review article covers the patent literature from 2010 to early 2015 on various aspects of taxane-based chemotherapies and drug developments. Expert opinion Three FDA-approved taxane anticancer drugs will continue to expand their therapeutic applications, especially through drug combinations and new formulations. Inspired by the success of abraxane, new nano-formulations are emerging. Highly potent new-generation taxanes will play a key role in the development of efficacious tumor-targeted drug delivery systems.