Women’s Special Issue Series: Inorganics

A special issue of Inorganics (ISSN 2304-6740).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (8 March 2024) | Viewed by 8095

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Interests: polyoxometalates (POMs); metal organic frameworks (MOFs); metal-oxo clusters; artificial metalloenzymes; bio-inspired catalysis

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Guest Editor
Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis (MOST), Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), UCLouvain, Place Louis Pasteur 1, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Interests: carbon-supported catalysts; biomass valorization; carbohydrate transformations; (nano-)carbon functionalization; nanoparticles synthesis; nanomaterials chemistry
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Interests: development and application of computational methods at the interface of chemistry, (bio-)physics, and materials science; spectroscopy; catalysis; static and dynamic ab initio methods; light-driven processes; chirality; liquids; interfaces; machine learning; in silico design
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Guest Editor
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination (LCC), CNRS UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, CEDEX 09, 31062 Toulouse, France
Interests: bio-inorganic chemistry; metal-peptide interactions; metals as therapeutic targets; inorganic compounds as therapeutic agents; amyloid-forming peptides; EPR spectroscopy; electrochemistry
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to present this special collection of articles that highlight the achievements of female scientists in (bio)inorganic chemistry, coordination chemistry, organometallic chemistry and inorganic materials, from all around the world. This Special Issue is devoted to presenting research performed by early and advanced career female scientists.

Inorganics is an open access journal that covers all aspects of inorganic chemistry research. Its primary areas of research interests include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Inorganic compounds, complexes and materials;
  • Structures and bonding;
  • Spectroscopic, magnetic, physical and chemical properties;
  • Chemical reactivity, physical properties and applications;
  • Mechanisms of inorganic reactions;
  • Organometallic compounds;
  • Inorganic cluster chemistry and nanoparticles;
  • Heterogenous and homogeneous catalytic reactions;
  • Thermodynamics and kinetics;
  • Supramolecular systems and coordination polymers;
  • Bio-inorganic chemistry and applications in biological systems;
  • Environmental and sustainable energy applications.

Original research articles and comprehensive review papers where the lead authors are women, or that are completely authored by women, are encouraged. We welcome submissions from all authors, irrespective of gender.

Prof. Dr. Tatjana N. Parac-Vogt
Prof. Dr. Sophie Hermans
Prof. Dr. Sandra Luber
Dr. Christelle Hureau
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Inorganics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3237 KiB  
Article
NMR-Based Structural Insights on Folic Acid and Its Interactions with Copper(II) Ions
by Arian Kola and Daniela Valensin
Inorganics 2024, 12(9), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics12090248 - 12 Sep 2024
Viewed by 686
Abstract
Folic acid (FA) is an essential vitamin involved in crucial metabolic processes, while copper(II) ions play significant roles in various biological functions. This study aims to investigate the interaction between FA and Cu2+ using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy [...] Read more.
Folic acid (FA) is an essential vitamin involved in crucial metabolic processes, while copper(II) ions play significant roles in various biological functions. This study aims to investigate the interaction between FA and Cu2+ using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy under different pH levels and concentrations. The research employed detailed NMR analysis to explore how Cu2+ binds to FA, focusing on changes in chemical shifts, diffusion coefficients, and copper-induced paramagnetic effects. The key findings reveal that Cu2+ predominantly coordinates with the pteridine ring (PTE) of FA, with minimal involvement from the glutamic acid (Glu) moiety. The interaction is strongly concentration-dependent: at lower FA concentrations, Cu2+ binds effectively to the PTE ring, while at higher concentrations, intermolecular interactions among FA molecules hinder copper binding. The study also observed pronounced paramagnetic effects on the PTE and p-aminobenzoic acid protons, with negligible effects on Glu signals. These results provide new insights into the structural characteristics of FA-Cu2+ complexes, contributing to a better understanding of their biochemical interactions and implications for folate metabolism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Special Issue Series: Inorganics)
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18 pages, 2935 KiB  
Article
Matrix Effect on Singlet Oxygen Generation Using Methylene Blue as Photosensitizer
by Jianan Xu, Laurent Bonneviot, Yannick Guari, Cyrille Monnereau, Kun Zhang, Albert Poater, Montserrat Rodríguez-Pizarro and Belén Albela
Inorganics 2024, 12(6), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics12060155 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1525
Abstract
Methylene blue (MB) is a well-established and extensively studied photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT), since it can generate singlet oxygen with a high quantum yield upon irradiation within the phototherapeutic (600–950 nm) window. However, its activity can decrease due to the formation of [...] Read more.
Methylene blue (MB) is a well-established and extensively studied photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT), since it can generate singlet oxygen with a high quantum yield upon irradiation within the phototherapeutic (600–950 nm) window. However, its activity can decrease due to the formation of dimers or higher aggregates, which can take place in an aqueous solution at relatively high concentrations. The incorporation of this molecule into a matrix can avoid this aggregation and increase its activity relative to PDT. Silica porous nanoparticles are chosen here as a matrix to host MB. The size and pore geometry are tuned in order to decrease MB leaching while maintaining good singlet oxygen generation and colloidal stability for further applications in nanomedicine. In addition, phenyl functions are grafted on the pores of the silica matrix in order to avoid MB aggregation, thereby increasing the activity of the photosensitizer in the singlet oxygen generation. DFT calculations give insight in the structure of the aggregation of the MB units, and the roles of water and organic environments are investigated through time-dependent calculations on UV-vis spectra. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Special Issue Series: Inorganics)
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18 pages, 2053 KiB  
Article
Deciphering Interactions Involved in Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Chromatography and Surface Plasmon Resonance for Validating the Analogy between Both Technologies
by Rachel Irankunda, Jairo Andrés Camaño Echavarría, Cédric Paris, Katalin Selmeczi, Loïc Stefan, Sandrine Boschi-Muller, Laurence Muhr and Laetitia Canabady-Rochelle
Inorganics 2024, 12(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics12010031 - 16 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2129
Abstract
Various peptides can be obtained through protein enzymatic hydrolysis. Immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) is one of the methods which can be used to separate metal chelating peptides (MCPs) in a hydrolysate mixture. In this context, this work aims to understand deeply [...] Read more.
Various peptides can be obtained through protein enzymatic hydrolysis. Immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) is one of the methods which can be used to separate metal chelating peptides (MCPs) in a hydrolysate mixture. In this context, this work aims to understand deeply the interactions in IMAC and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in order to validate experimentally the analogy between both technologies and to be further able to perform IMAC modeling in the next work using peptide sorption isotherm parameters obtained from SPR. Indeed, chromatography modeling can be used to predict separation of MCPs in IMAC and the knowledge of peptide sorption isotherm obtained from SPR is a crucial step. For this purpose, 22 peptides were selected and investigated in IMAC using HisTrap X-Ni2+ and HiFliQ NTA-Ni2+ columns and were also studied in SPR as well. Results showed that peptides with histidine residues had good affinity to Ni2+, while the high positive charge of peptides was responsible of ionic interactions. Further, most of the peptides with good retention time in IMAC showed a good affinity in SPR as well, which validated experimentally the SPR-IMAC analogy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Special Issue Series: Inorganics)
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19 pages, 3504 KiB  
Article
How Metal Nuclearity Impacts Electrocatalytic H2 Production in Thiocarbohydrazone-Based Complexes
by Michael Papadakis, Alexandre Barrozo, Léa Delmotte, Tatiana Straistari, Sergiu Shova, Marius Réglier, Vera Krewald, Sylvain Bertaina, Renaud Hardré and Maylis Orio
Inorganics 2023, 11(4), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics11040149 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2025
Abstract
Thiocarbohydrazone-based catalysts feature ligands that are potentially electrochemically active. From the synthesis point of view, these ligands can be easily tailored, opening multiple strategies for optimization, such as using different substituent groups or metal substitution. In this work, we show the possibility of [...] Read more.
Thiocarbohydrazone-based catalysts feature ligands that are potentially electrochemically active. From the synthesis point of view, these ligands can be easily tailored, opening multiple strategies for optimization, such as using different substituent groups or metal substitution. In this work, we show the possibility of a new strategy, involving the nuclearity of the system, meaning the number of metal centers. We report the synthesis and characterization of a trinuclear nickel-thiocarbohydrazone complex displaying an improved turnover rate compared with its mononuclear counterpart. We use DFT calculations to show that the mechanism involved is metal-centered, unlike the metal-assisted ligand-centered mechanism found in the mononuclear complex. Finally, we show that two possible mechanisms can be assigned to this catalyst, both involving an initial double reduction of the system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Special Issue Series: Inorganics)
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