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Innovate and React

Innovate and React

Auteur(s): Kevin Hares
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 Talking to scientist about their innovations in chemistry Chimie Science
Épisodes
  • How to bring chemical innovations form research to application

    How to bring chemical innovations form research to application
    Feb 3 2026
    In this episode of Innovate and React, i am talking with Dr. Petra Ryl, innovation and talent lead at greenCHEM Berlin. We explore how innovation is transforming the chemical industry and how research from universities can be applied practically. Petra shares her journey from academic biochemical research to working at greenCHEM, explaining the importance of sustainable materials and the transition from fossil-based to regenerative resources. They discuss the role of disruptive innovation, the advantages of startups in driving change, and how greenCHEM supports entrepreneurs through various programs, including technology transfer, academic partnerships, and a robust network. Highlights include specific examples of pioneering startups within the greenCHEM network and advice for researchers considering entrepreneurial pathways.
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    54 min
  • The beginning and challenges of Natural Products in cancer treatments

    The beginning and challenges of Natural Products in cancer treatments
    Dec 30 2025
    This episode of Innovate and React explores the fascinating history of natural product research and its pivotal role in developing life-saving cancer treatments. The journey begins in the 1950s and 60s with the National Cancer Institute's efforts to screen thousands of plant extracts for biological activity. Through the stories of landmark compounds like camptothecin and Taxol, Kevin illustrates the complex collaboration required between botanists and chemists to isolate active ingredients from nature and transform them into viable medical therapies. The episode delves into the origins of Taxol, originally discovered in the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. You will learn about the significant hurdles researchers faced. From the tedious workup to supply chain restrictions caused by harvesting bark from slow-growing trees. Find out how chemists made Taxol a marketable drug and overcame these problems.
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    26 min
  • Turning Methane into Value-Chemicals via Photocatalysis

    Turning Methane into Value-Chemicals via Photocatalysis
    Nov 26 2025
    In this episode we discuss a novel and sustainable approach to converting methane into valuable chemicals. Currently light hydrocarbons like methane are often simply burned for energy, despite their potential as a carbon source for the chemical industry. Traditional conversion methods like natural gas cracking are energy-intensive, and other functionalization routes require harsh conditions and often toxic chemicals. Dr. Andrés Constantino sharess his research focusing on photocatalysis to achieve the direct functionalization of methane under milder conditions. The key to this method is a supramolecular catalytic system using FeCl3•6H2O and collidine. When irradiated, the catalyst generates a highly active chlorine radical that efficiently abstracts hydrogen from the inert alkane (methane) to form an alkyl radical. The collidine plays a crucial dual role, acting as a base to quench the resulting HCl and as a ligand that stabilizes the iron tetrachloride core. The radicals were used for allylation chemistry, which retains a useful olefin group in the product.
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    40 min
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