What is Synthesis Spotlight?

Synthesis Spotlight is a weekly newsletter created to serve two purposes:

1. To keep you up to date with the latest developments in synthetic organic chemistry.
2. To package this information into an easy to read 15-minute newsletter sent straight to your inbox every Monday morning.

Each issue features a curated selection of key publications from high-impact and widely read chemistry journals. Papers are presented with their TOC graphic, a concise summary based on the abstract, and a direct link to the full article.

Why create Synthesis Spotlight?

Keeping up to date with the literature during a PhD, post-doctoral position, or industrial role is essential but increasingly challenging. In organic chemistry alone, hundreds (if not thousands) of new papers appear every week. Even with tools such as RSS feeds, identifying the most relevant and impactful work can be time-consuming. Combined with lab work, meetings, presentations, and report writing, literature searching often falls to the bottom of the priority list despite its importance.

Journal clubs are an effective, collaborative solution, but only when they: (i) align with your interests, (ii) are easily accessible, and (iii) are updated regularly.

Synthesis Spotlight aims to provide a practical alternative: a focused summary of the most interesting and important recent papers in organic synthesis, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday morning.

What journals does the newsletter cover?

The newsletter regularly features the most recent papers (First Releases, ASAPs, Early Views, etc.) from the following journals:

1. Science
2. Nature
3. Nature Chemistry
4. Nature Synthesis
5. Nature Catalysis
6. Nature Communications
7. Journal of the American Chemical Society
8. Organic Process Research & Development
9. ACS Central Science
10. ACS Catalysis
11. JACS Au
12. Angewandte Chemie International Edition
13. Angewandte Chemie Novit
14. ChemRxiv
15. Chem
16. Chemical Science
17. Organic Letters
18. The Journal of Organic Chemistry
19. Accounts of Chemical Research
20. Chemical Reviews
21. Chemical Society Reviews

Publications from other journals may also be included where they are particularly relevant to the organic synthesis community.

Who is the newsletter for?

The newsletter is intended for anyone with an interest in synthetic organic chemistry: PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, industrial chemists, academics, and practitioners at all career stages.

Why this format?

We all recognise the importance of staying up to date with the literature, yet struggle to find the time to do so consistently.

Synthesis Spotlight addresses this by delivering a short, carefully curated selection of new papers directly to your inbox each week. Each paper is presented with its TOC graphic and a concise, abstract-style summary, allowing key information to be absorbed quickly. Readers can then decide whether to click through to the full article or move on. This structured format also makes it easy to search for titles, authors, or keywords, either within your email inbox or via the website’s search function.

Where did the idea for the newsletter come from?

The idea for Synthesis Spotlight originated during my PhD in the group of Prof. Varinder K. Aggarwal at the University of Bristol. The group ran an internal journal club, established by Dr. Adam Noble, which quickly became an invaluable and efficient way of staying up to date with the literature.

The format proved so effective that many alumni have since implemented similar journal clubs in new groups and institutions. I later started one myself as a post‑doctoral research associate in the group of Prof. Andrew L. Lawrence at the University of Edinburgh. However, upon moving into industry, I found it increasingly difficult to keep on top of the literature, and the newsletter emerged as a natural way to both stay up to date myself and scale this journal‑club approach to a wider, global audience.

Why was [publication title] not included?

The papers highlighted each week are selected to reflect the most interesting and relevant recent contributions to organic synthesis. This selection process is inherently subjective; however, where appropriate, indicators such as Altmetric scores are also taken into consideration. As a result, relevant papers may occasionally be missed (often inadvertently).

Each issue also has email size limitations and typically no more than ~18 papers can be included to ensure high deliverability and avoid email client clipping (e.g. Gmail truncation).

The newsletter is also not intended to replace the thorough literature searching or due diligence required in academic or industrial settings. Instead, it is designed to complement and enhance existing literature‑monitoring practices.

How much does it cost to subscribe?

Nothing. Synthesis Spotlight is completely free, and there are no plans to introduce a paid subscription model. However, voluntary donations are very much appreciated as these contributions help support platform fees, website hosting, and the time required to curate and produce each issue.

Newsletters are sent every Monday at 08:00 (UK time) and are also published on the website for those who prefer not to subscribe by email.

Why am I not receiving the newsletter?

If you’ve signed up to our newsletter but you’re not receiving any emails, please check your spam, promotions, or quarantine folder—you may need to follow these steps with respect to your email service provider to “safelist” the following email address: [email protected]. This should also work if you are having issues opening any of the links within the newsletter.

If this does not work then strict firewall settings may be the issue and advising your IT department to safelist the following domains should help:

• media.beehiiv.net
• .beehiiv.com
• .beehiiv.net

Why are the “open paper” links not working for me?

If you are experiencing issues opening links or viewing images, your email provider may be blocking content.

Please try following the above steps in “Why am I not receiving the newsletter”.

Why does the newsletter look different in my email vs. the website?

Email clients (e.g. Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, etc.) render emails differently, which can result in variations in appearance. User-specific settings, such as dark mode, can also affect how the newsletter is displayed. If this is an issue, each email includes a link to the web version in the top-right corner, which shows the newsletter exactly as intended.

Can I suggest a paper?

Sorry, paper suggestions are not currently accepted. This policy helps ensure that Synthesis Spotlight remains editorially independent and free from external influence. All selections are made solely on the basis of perceived relevance to the organic synthesis community, informed by editorial judgement and, where appropriate, indicators such as Altmetric scores, which reflect levels of online attention and discussion surrounding a publication.

How do I unsubscribe?

At the bottom of every newsletter there is an "unsubscribe" link that allows you to unsubscribe or you can also manage your subscription via the website.