| People involved: | Ebbe Nordlander, Samir Alghool |
| Former members: | Jessica Nilsson |
This project is related to the following Fields, Subjects and Techniques:
| Fields: | Synthetic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry |
| Subjects: | Metal Complexes |
| Techniques: | Inorganic and organic synthesis |
This project is aimed to produce new oxo vandium complexes to be evaluated in in vitro as well as in vivo for effects on the insulin signaling pathways. The insulin mimetic effect of vanadium was discovered in the late 19th century, but still the mechanism of action is not fully clarified. The delivery of vanadium to cells without toxic accumulation in the stomach is yet another problem to be solved. One approach to the latter is the use of coordinating organic ligands, i.e. formation of vanadium complexes. If these complexes exhibit a proper balance between hydro- and lipophilicity, transport over cell membranes and through the bloodstream should facilitate delivery. Once inside the cell the active compound is believed to be vanadate, [VO4]3-. Therefore an additional desired ligand property would be to induce the intracellular formation of vanadate.
The ligands used in the project so far are of the tetradenate chelating kind shown as a part of the crystal structure [VIVO(HSO4)(L)] below. The complexes are characterized by IR, UV, NMR and EPR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis.
