Luca Salassa

🚨 PhD Opportunity @UMU! Join a 4-year funded FPI project on light-activated metallodrugs for cancer therapy. Start: Jan 2026 | Deadline: Oct 15, 2025 📧 Contact: jruiz@um.es 📎 PDF attached – official link coming soon! #PhDOffer #CancerResearch #FPIContract #UMU #ChemistryJobs

📢Our latest issue is online!

🔓Check out the #OpenAccess paper behind the cover by @giampaolobarone.bsky.social, Ana Silva & co @bip-unipa.bsky.social & University of Porto looking at sulphur-containing pyrrolidine-fused chlorins for potential photodynamic applications

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

El CiQUS desarrolla una molécula con potencial para aplicarse en nuevas terapias contra el cáncer El trabajo fue liderado por el catedrático de la USC Miguel Vázquez López

#CiQUSintheMedia 🗞 | Un sistema molecular con potencial para recoñecer dianas do ADN asociadas ao cancro: A investigación de Miguel Vázquez, destacada nel Correo Gallego

→ www.elcorreogallego.es/santiago/202...

#FondosEuropeos #RedeCIGUS

This is the complete speaker line-up for POLYMAT Spotlight 2026!
29 June – 2 July, 2026 hashtag#POLYMATsptl
More details at: polymat-spotlight.eu

Redefining platinum(IV) chemotherapy: α-tocopherol succinate functionalization and nanoparticle encapsulation to improve cisplatin- and oxaliplatin-based therapies Platinum(iv) prodrugs offer a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of cisplatin and oxaliplatin, including systemic toxicity and acquired resistance. In this study, two novel α-tocopherol su...

🚀 New from @MICLABatUNIPI
Our latest paper in @daltontrans.rsc.org explores Pt(IV) prodrugs functionalized with α-TOS and nanoparticle encapsulation to boost cisplatin/oxaliplatin therapies.

Read here 👉 pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Choline–geranate (CAGE) ionic liquids potentiate the anticancer activity of platinum-based drugs The influence of choline and geranic acid-based ionic liquids (CAGE ILs) on the anticancer activity of selected Pt(ii) and Pt(iv) complexes was investigated. All complexes exhibited appreciable solubi...

Marta's first PhD article in Chem Commun!
CAGE ILs/DESs and Pt anticancer agents. In collaboration with Francesca Re, University of Milano Bicocca.

pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...

Unlocking a Biological Interface of Chiral Supramolecular Helical Polymers Here we report a C3-symmetric metal-binding tripeptide, BTMA-1, that self-assembles in water into either a chiral supramolecular helical polymer or a discrete CoII peptide helicate, depending on metal coordination. The CoII peptide helicate exhibits high affinity and selectivity toward DNA three-way junctions (3WJ), a class of noncanonical DNA structures with emerging biological relevance. Importantly, we demonstrate that the recognition process can be triggered dynamically by adding CoII ions to a dispersion of the supramolecular polymer, which acts as an inert precursor reservoir in physiological media. In this way, our strategy shows that chiral supramolecular helical polymers can form temporarily inactive aggregates that release discrete helicates for biomolecular recognition, such as 3WJ binding, upon metal ion coordination. Overall, this mechanism reveals a previously unexplored capability of this class of materials and offers a new approach for the design of responsive supramolecular systems for nucleic acid recognition and anticancer therapy.

Big news! 🚀
Our new paper is out in JACS!
👉 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
“Unlocking a Biological Interface of Chiral Supramolecular Helical Polymers”
#DNAjunction #SupramolecularChem #ChemSky
@acs.org @pubs.acs.org @jacs.acspublications.org

Ideien kimika. Unibertso kimikoaren azken muga Kimika Fakultatearen 50. urteurrena dela eta, 50 urte kimika zabaltzen zikloa antolatu da, bertan Kimika Fakultateko kideek Fakultatean garatzen diren hainbat gairen inguruan arituko dira, publiko oro

Bihar, ez ezazu galdu Jesus Ugaldearen hitzaldia

2025 ekainak 10 • 19:00
Ernest Lluch K.E. Donostia-San Sebastián

@dipcehu.bsky.social

www.donostiakultura.eus/eu/agenda/id...

🎉 Honored to share that I’ve been appointed as a new board member of @aebin25.bsky.social at #BioCiudadReal25.

Grateful for the trust and excited to contribute to the growth of our vibrant community of spanish bioinorganic chemists.

#AEBIN #BioinorgChem #ChemSky

The 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) will be celebrated at the Donostia is Science international conference that is starting today.

ℹ️https://labur.eus/wmv2fxbu

#UIK #OnTheSideOfKnowledge

50 años difundiendo la química: ciclo de conferencias en Ernest Lluch Con motivo del 50 aniversario de la Facultad de Química, la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV), el Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM) y Donostia Kultura han organizado un ciclo de 10 conferencias.

Ya disponible el programa del 50 aniversario de nuestra facultad
www.donostiakultura.eus/es/actualida...

Catalytic Glutathione Oxidation and Platinum(IV) Prodrug Activation via a Ruthenium-Flavin Catalyst Cyclopentadienyl (Cp) Ru(IV) quinoline complexes are known for their role in bioorthogonal catalysis within cellular environments, where they use endogenous GSH to deprotect profluorescent and prodrug substrates. However, their reactivity toward GSH and potential for redox-mediated therapies remain underexplored. This study presents RuQ-TARF, a Cp-Ru(IV) complex with a quinoline ligand linked to 2′,3′,4′,5′-tetraacetylriboflavin (TARF) as a redox-active moiety. Its catalytic activity in oxidizing GSH and activating a Pt(IV) prodrug of oxaliplatin was investigated. RuQ-TARF catalyzes the oxidation of GSH to GSSG, improving electron transfer compared to RuQ, its flavin-free analogue. LC–MS analysis showed that activating the Pt(IV) prodrug with GSH produces multinuclear Pt(II)-GS species. RuQ-TARF was additionally evaluated during coincubation with GSH and NADH under blue light, where NADH enabled faster activation of the prodrug, producing oxaliplatin as confirmed by 1H and 195Pt NMR. Cyclic voltammetry showed that linking TARF to RuQ improves the reversibility of redox processes, enhancing catalytic performance and supporting its use in combined GSH oxidation and prodrug activation strategies.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Come join us for our biannual meeting in Ciudad Real!

More info here:
www.biociudadreal.es

Dos Premios Nobel para conmemorar el 50 aniversario de la Facultad de Química | El Diario Vasco La UPV/EHU organizará una serie de conferencias con científicos y otras actividades como visitas guiadas a laboratorios

www.diariovasco.com/gipuzkoa/dos...

Fa paura…

Red‐Light Photocatalytic Activation of Pt(IV) Anticancer Prodrugs Using Methylene Blue Methylene blue acts as a photocatalyst in the presence of biologically relevant electron donors, enabling red-light conversion of two Pt(IV) complexes into cisplatin and oxaliplatin. Spectroscopy and...

Out latest article on ChemCatChem
doi.org/10.1002/cctc...

Grazie!

Add me please!

Hello bsky! My lab at CiQUS develops metallopeptide tools for nucleic acid junctions and G-quadruplexes. We are particularly interested in peptide helicates and DNA-3WJ. Please follow us for more news about our research #DNA #RNA #metallopeptides #chemicalbiology #supramolecularchemistry