Self-assembly is the central paradigm of supramolecular chemistry. It is based on the codification of information through the chemical design of the assembling entities and the posterior translation of that information by recognition operations that ultimately yield characteristic structures, which formation is directed by thermodynamic and kinetic factors.[1]
Artificial self-assembled structures based on inorganic, metal-containing, building blocks have proven to possess properties that, in most cases, cannot be challenged by purely organic structures, opening doors to a broad range of applications.[2]
The interfacing of self-assembled inorganic structures with biological entities presents exciting opportunities in the biomedical field. On one side, the use of coordination-driven self-assembled entities with medicinal purposes has attracted increased attention both for the application of reticular systems (MOFs) or discrete entities (metallacages, metallacycles, etc.), mainly in drug delivery.[3] On the other hand, the last decade has marked an increasing interest in the generation of self-assembled structures inside living organisms; however, most of the available examples of self-assembly inside living systems are based on organic compounds. [4] With the use of inorganic compounds, there are great opportunities for the generation of superior imaging and therapy modalities, which come with strong challenges.[5]
This talk presents my contributions and perspectives on the use of inorganic self-assemblies in biological systems, highlighting first the applications of metallacages as multifunctional therapeutic entities for cancer treatment,[5,6] and second, the possibility of controlling self-assembly with the goal of generating bioorthogonal and bioactive self-assembled structures in living organisms.[2,7]

[1] J.-M. Lehn, Science (80-. ). 2002, 295, 2400.
[2] G. Moreno-Alcántar, Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2023, DOI 10.1002/ejic.202200788.
[3] A. Casini, R. A. Fischer, G. Moreno-Alcántar, in Compr. Inorg. Chem. III (Eds.: J. Reedijk, K.R.B.T. Poeppelmeier), Elsevier, Oxford, 2023, pp. 714–743.
[4] S. Chagri, D. Y. W. W. Ng, T. Weil, Nat. Rev. Chem. 2022, 6, 320–338.
[5] G. Moreno-Alcántar, M. Drexler, A. Casini, Nat. Rev. Chem. 2024, 8, 893–914.
[6] T. Rodríguez-Prieto, D. Wragg, N. Heiduk, M. Park, N. Strittmatter, R. A. Fischer, A. Casini, G. Moreno-Alcántar, CCS Chem. 2024, 6, 1662–1671.
[7] P. Picchetti, G. Moreno-Alcántar, L. Talamini, A. Mourgout, A. Aliprandi, L. De Cola, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 7681–7687.