The Bioinorganic group at UFC was formally founded by Dr. Ícaro de Sousa Moreira (in memoriam) in 1994 right after his return from a post-doctoral training at Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey. Later on, other scientists were recruited and joined the bioinorganic group expanding its scientific breadth from coordination chemistry, electrochemistry, photophysics to medicinal compounds, material chemistry and recombinant metalloproteins.
This group mainly study the role and interactions of transition metals with biological molecules, development of biologically functional molecules and inorganic thin films. Earlier research has made important contributions to the understanding of electron transfer process in biology, more specifically, using protein (cytochrome c), synthetic polypeptides and mixed-valence compounds.
During the last decades, this lab developed a significant number of novel nitric oxide releaser compounds based on nitrosyl-metal complexes with potential use as vasodilators, anti-parasitic, antibiotic, anti-angiogenic, among others. One novel investigation on metal-based compounds is a strategy for developing redox metal-mediated compounds against tuberculosis (and other organisms). These results originated important biochemical and biological data leading to IQG-607 (an iron-based compound) to advance in pre-clinical studies.
Electrode modification using monolayer of coordination compounds broadened our understanding of thin film preparation and stability of glasses and nanoparticle research are under investigation, which show promising results as novel materials aimed for catalysis, biosensor, optical and electronic devices. More recently, we provided key contributions to the field of heme-based sensor proteins, particularly on DevS an oxygen sensor from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.