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Key research themes
1. How does the coordination chemistry of zinc ions influence their biological roles and regulation?
This research area focuses on understanding the coordination environments of zinc ions in biological systems, including their binding to proteins and their 'mobile' states. Zinc is unique due to its redox-inertness and single valence state, and its flexible coordination allows it to fulfill both catalytic and structural functions. The precise control of zinc affinities in protein sites and its buffering mechanisms are critical for cellular regulation and signaling, making the study of zinc coordination chemistry fundamental to bioinorganic chemistry and cellular biochemistry.
Key finding: Demonstrates that zinc ions in proteins primarily coordinate via oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur from amino acid side chains, with coordination numbers from three to six, allowing functional flexibility; emphasizes the role of... Read more
2. What are the roles and applications of metal-containing natural products and metal coordination complexes in biology, medicine, and biotechnology?
This theme encompasses the study of bioinorganic natural products incorporating metals and metalloids, their biosynthesis and occurrence in various organisms, and the potential for applications in biomedicine and biotechnology such as metal-based therapeutics, nanomaterials, bioremediation, and environmental cleanup. It also involves synthetic efforts to create metal complexes with biological activity, focusing on ligands derived from natural sources and their pharmacological and catalytic properties.
Key finding: Provides a broad review demonstrating that numerous natural products contain metals/metalloids (e.g., arsenic, boron, selenium), which play roles in biochemical pathways or toxicity; discusses metal hyperaccumulating plants... Read more
Key finding: Presents a methodology for synthesizing a novel oxovanadium(IV) complex using a carboxylate ligand derived from natural pine resin, illustrating environmentally friendly approaches to metal coordination complexes; the... Read more
Key finding: Describes oxovanadium(IV) polypyridyl complexes capable of photo-induced DNA crosslinking and selective photocytotoxicity toward cancer cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7), with minimal toxicity to normal fibroblasts; mechanistic... Read more
Key finding: Pioneers the use of combinatorial biology and display technologies (phage and cell surface display) to select short polypeptides with binding specificity to inorganic materials, enabling the engineering of proteins that can... Read more
3. How do coordination metal complexes serve as functional agents in bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry, particularly in DNA interaction and cancer therapy?
This theme investigates the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of metal coordination complexes, particularly those involving transition metals such as ruthenium, copper, and vanadium, with applications in DNA binding and cleavage, photodynamic therapy, and anticancer activity. The studies focus on mechanistic pathways including ligand exchange, DNA crosslinking, reactive oxygen species generation, and selective cytotoxicity. The coordination environment modulates cellular uptake, target specificity, and therapeutic potential.
Key finding: Develops a dinuclear ruthenium complex incorporating TAP ligands that generates reactive oxygen species upon visible light excitation, enabling photooxidation of guanine residues in both duplex and G-quadruplex DNA; cellular... Read more
Key finding: Reports synthesis of mononuclear transition metal complexes with Schiff base ligands exhibiting octahedral geometry; these complexes demonstrate enhanced antibacterial activity compared to free ligands and effectively cleave... Read more
Key finding: Highlights advances in chemical biology that utilize metal coordination compounds and chemical modifications for probing biological processes and developing bioactive molecules; emphasizes the role of physical and analytical... Read more
Key finding: Provides comprehensive insights into how biogenic metals, notably transition metals like Fe, Cu, Zn and Ca, form coordination complexes essential for enzymatic functions, electron transfer, and structural roles in biology;... Read more