Meet the Board of ChemistryOpen : Sheshanath V. Bhosale Asha D. Jangale, Ratan W. Jadhav, Dinesh N. Nadimetla, Mahesh D. Burud, Vishal G. More, and Sheshanath V. Bhosale* [a] What is your current research focus and why it is important? Understanding the nature of molecular assembly and the asso- ciated non-covalent interactions is of central concern to struc- tural biology and biochemistry. [1] In living systems, supramolec- ular self-assembly is indispensable. In DNA, protein and cell membrane molecular arrangements dictate function. [2] The for- mation and transformation of such molecular-assembled struc- tures plays a key role in life functions. Mimicking biological sys- tems through the design and synthesis of supramolecular self- assembled materials is achieved through the judicious design of molecular functionalities that allow for non-covalent, hydro- phobic, van der Waals, and electrostatic interactions, as well as metal coordination and p–p stacking. [3] The polarity of the sol- vent used and H-bonding interactions affect the supramolec- ular self-assembled morphology, leading to the remarkable properties and functional capabilities of biological systems. The controlled construction of nanostructures using supra- molecular chemistry requires mechanistic studies and a deeper understanding of non-covalent interactions to meet the needs of emerging applications. In recent years, utilizing an advanc- ing understanding of molecular design, building blocks have been employed to self-assemble into helical functional materi- als with controlled morphology at the nanoscale. Among these building blocks, amino acids and peptides are of special impor- tance, owing to their inherent chiral centers, which allow the fabrication of supramolecular helical structures. It is well docu- mented that proteins can be denatured when exposed to a small amount of solvent, as the formation of self-assembled aggregates take place, which may be a factor in some diseases such as Alzheimer’s and type II diabetes. Symmetry breaking is one of the most fascinating phenom- ena in nature, as it leads to the specific handedness (either right or left) of biological structures. [4] Nature is able to trans- late molecular chirality into supramolecular handedness, there- by creating functional helical structures of nanoscopic and macroscopic dimensions. [5] This supramolecular helicity in nature has important implications in many underlying bio- chemical phenomena, including the mechanisms by which pathogens infect host cells and the progression of complex diseases. There is unique insight that may be provided by a study of pH, temperature, ultrasonication, or the presence of enzymes, and other external stimuli may influence the symmetry of nat- ural chiral objects and thermo-controlled switching of handed- ness in supramolecular materials. Such systems may provide direct visualization of new chiral supramolecular polymers and provide an illustration of chirality control, with right- and left- handed preference controlled by either pH or temperature. The control of the helicity in supramolecular ensembles has important mechanistic implications in supramolecular chemis- try, and is intimately connected with the transmission of chiral- ity, which is of high significance in life sciences. Among various factors, both the pH and underlying thermo- dynamics of biological sub-compartments are known to facili- tate a range of biochemical reactions. Although the role of these biochemical parameters on the helicity of macromole- cules in higher order organisms remains complex, these factors have been noted to influence the helicity of the simplest life forms such as viruses. For instance, the mechanism of the in- fectivity of tobacco mosaic virus relies on the loss of the helici- ty of its protein capsid and release of the infecting RNA mole- cule after entering the host cell, owing to a change in the pH. [6] Therefore, considering that pH and temperature may act as versatile stimuli for the control of chirality and helicity of both natural and synthetic processes, this current work de- scribes a biomimetic system whose helicity may be reversibly Sheshanath V. Bhoslae received his PhD from Freie University Berlin (Germany) in supramolecular chemistry under the supervision of Prof. J. H. Fuhrhop in 2004. He then pursued his postdoctoral studies with Prof. S. Matile at University of Geneva (Switzerland) under the auspices of a Roche Foundation Fellowship. This was followed by a stay at Monash University (Austral- ia) for 5 years as an ARC-APD Fellow. He worked at RMIT University, Melbourne (Australia) for 6 years as ARC-Future Fellowship. Currently, Prof. Bhosale is working at the Department of Chemistry, Goa University (India) as a UGC-FRP Professor, His research interests lie in the design and synthesis of p-functional materials, especially small mole- cules, for sensing, biomaterials, and supramolecular chemistry applications. So far, Prof. Bhosale has produced 185 research articles and his work has been cited more than 4400 times, giving him an h-index of 32. He currently serves as an active Editorial Board member for ChemistryOpen. [a] Dr. A. D. Jangale, R. W. Jadhav, D. N. Nadimetla, M. D. Burud, V. G. More, Prof. S. V. Bhosale Department of Chemistry, Goa University Taleigao Plateau, Goa 403 206 (India) E-mail : svbhosale@unigoa.ac.in ChemistryOpen 2018, 00,0–0  2018 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 1 & These are not the final page numbers! ÞÞ These are not the final page numbers! ÞÞ DOI: 10.1002/open.201900047