The identification and discrimination of diols is of fundamental importance in medical diagnostics, such as measuring the contents of glucose in the urine of diabetes patients. Diol sensors are often based on fluorophore-appended boronic acids, but these severely lack discriminatory power and their response is one-dimensional. As an alternative strategy, we present the use of fluorinated boronic acid-appended pyridinium salts in combination with F NMR spectroscopy. A pool of 59 (bio)analytes was screened, containing monosaccharides, phosphorylated and N-acetylated sugars, polyols, carboxylic acids, nucleotides, and amines. The majority of analytes could be clearly detected and discriminated. In addition, glucose and fructose could be distinguished up to 1:9 molar ratio in mixtures. Crucially, the receptors feature high sensitivity and selectivity and are water-soluble, and theirF-NMR analyte fingerprint is pH-robust, thereby making them particularly well-suited for medical application. Finally, to demonstrate this applicability, glucose could be detected in synthetic urine samples down to 1 mM using merely a 188 MHz NMR spectrometer.

Fluorinated boronic acid-appended benzyl bipyridinium salts, derived from 4,4'-, 3,4'-, and 3,3'-bipyridines, were synthesized and used to detect and differentiate diol-containing analytes at physiological conditions via (19)F NMR spectroscopy. An array of three water-soluble boronic acid receptors in combination with (19)F NMR spectroscopy discriminates nine diol-containing bioanalytes--catechol, dopamine, fructose, glucose, glucose-1-phosphate, glucose-6-phosphate, galactose, lactose, and sucrose--at low mM concentrations. Characteristic (19)F NMR fingerprints are interpreted as two-dimensional barcodes without the need of multivariate analysis techniques.

A method to integrate an (in principle) unlimited number of molecular logic gates to construct complex circuits is presented. Logic circuits, such as half- or full-adders, can be reinterpreted by using the functional completeness of the implication function (IMP) and the trivial FALSE operation. The molecular gate IMP is represented by a fluorescent boronic acid sugar probe. An external wiring algorithm translates the fluorescent output from one gate into a chemical input for the next gate on microtiter plates. This process is demonstrated on a four-bit full adder.

Co-registered molecular logic gates combine two different inputs and outputs, such as light and matter. We introduce a biocompatible CO-releasing molecule (CORM, A) as Mn(I) tricarbonyl complex with the ligand 5-(dimethylamino)-N, N-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl) naphthalene-1-sulfonamide (L). CO release is chaperoned by turn-on fluorescence and can be triggered by light (405 nm) as well as with hydrogen peroxide in aqueous phosphate buffer. Complex A behaves as a logic "OR" gate via co-registering the inputs of irradiation (light) and peroxide (matter) into the concomitant outputs fluorescence (light) and CO (matter). Cell viability assays confirm the low toxicity of A toward different human cell lines. The CORM has been used to track the inclusion of A into cancer cells.

Molecular logic and computing are based on the principles derived by Prof. Frege (University of Jena, 1848–1925). A. Schiller and co‐workers present in their Communication on a method to integrate an (in principle) unlimited number of molecular logic gates to construct complex circuits on microtiter plates. Using a fluorescent boronic acid fructose probe and the FALSE operation, an external wiring algorithm translates the fluorescent output from one gate into a chemical input for the next gate by pipetting steps.