Tight Embrace in a Molecular Knot with Eight Crossings

When it takes eight to tango: Since the synthesis of the simplest of all knots, the trefoil knot, in 1989, the formation of more complex knots has remained extremely challenging. The synthesis of the most complex molecular knot made to date, the 8₁₉, by Leigh and co-workers thus represents a major step towards building topologically complex architectures.