Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine
Traditionally, drugs were obtained by extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Today, medicinal chemistry continues to focus on organic compounds and the majority of commercially available drugs are organic molecules, which can incorporate nitrogen, oxygen, and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/11/4449 |
| _version_ | 1797597110667837440 |
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| author | Francesc Teixidor Rosario Núñez Clara Viñas |
| author_facet | Francesc Teixidor Rosario Núñez Clara Viñas |
| author_sort | Francesc Teixidor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Traditionally, drugs were obtained by extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Today, medicinal chemistry continues to focus on organic compounds and the majority of commercially available drugs are organic molecules, which can incorporate nitrogen, oxygen, and halogens, as well as carbon and hydrogen. Aromatic organic compounds that play important roles in biochemistry find numerous applications ranging from drug delivery to nanotechnology or biomarkers. We achieved a major accomplishment by demonstrating experimentally/theoretically that boranes, carboranes, as well as metallabis(dicarbollides), exhibit global 3D aromaticity. Based on the stability–aromaticity relationship, as well as on the progress made in the synthesis of derivatized clusters, we have opened up new applications of boron icosahedral clusters as key components in the field of novel healthcare materials. In this brief review, we present the results obtained at the Laboratory of Inorganic Materials and Catalysis (LMI) of the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) with icosahedral boron clusters. These 3D geometric shape clusters, the semi-metallic nature of boron and the presence of <i>exo</i>-cluster hydrogen atoms that can interact with biomolecules through non-covalent hydrogen and dihydrogen bonds, play a key role in endowing these compounds with unique properties in largely unexplored (bio)materials. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:02:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f574d18163b843808ec5bfe1e4235be3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:02:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-f574d18163b843808ec5bfe1e4235be32023-11-18T08:16:46ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-05-012811444910.3390/molecules28114449Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging NanomedicineFrancesc Teixidor0Rosario Núñez1Clara Viñas2Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, 08193 Bellaterra, SpainInstitut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, 08193 Bellaterra, SpainInstitut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, 08193 Bellaterra, SpainTraditionally, drugs were obtained by extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Today, medicinal chemistry continues to focus on organic compounds and the majority of commercially available drugs are organic molecules, which can incorporate nitrogen, oxygen, and halogens, as well as carbon and hydrogen. Aromatic organic compounds that play important roles in biochemistry find numerous applications ranging from drug delivery to nanotechnology or biomarkers. We achieved a major accomplishment by demonstrating experimentally/theoretically that boranes, carboranes, as well as metallabis(dicarbollides), exhibit global 3D aromaticity. Based on the stability–aromaticity relationship, as well as on the progress made in the synthesis of derivatized clusters, we have opened up new applications of boron icosahedral clusters as key components in the field of novel healthcare materials. In this brief review, we present the results obtained at the Laboratory of Inorganic Materials and Catalysis (LMI) of the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) with icosahedral boron clusters. These 3D geometric shape clusters, the semi-metallic nature of boron and the presence of <i>exo</i>-cluster hydrogen atoms that can interact with biomolecules through non-covalent hydrogen and dihydrogen bonds, play a key role in endowing these compounds with unique properties in largely unexplored (bio)materials.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/11/4449carboranesmetallabis(dicarbollide)BNCTproton therapyPBFRCOSAN |
| spellingShingle | Francesc Teixidor Rosario Núñez Clara Viñas Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine Molecules carboranes metallabis(dicarbollide) BNCT proton therapy PBFR COSAN |
| title | Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine |
| title_full | Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine |
| title_fullStr | Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine |
| title_short | Towards the Application of Purely Inorganic Icosahedral Boron Clusters in Emerging Nanomedicine |
| title_sort | towards the application of purely inorganic icosahedral boron clusters in emerging nanomedicine |
| topic | carboranes metallabis(dicarbollide) BNCT proton therapy PBFR COSAN |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/11/4449 |
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