Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a diverse class of nanoscale molecular metal oxides, characterised by a wide and versatile range of physicochemical properties that can be tuned on the molecular level. Their redox properties and high oxidation activity also make them useful to a wide variety of applications, from catalysis to medicine. POMs also display important antimicrobial activity: They cross lipid membranes, interact with proteins and are producers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, polyoxometalate-ionic liquids (POM-ILs) - where POM anions are paired with functional organic cations - are unique composites for universal pollutant removal or reactive surface protecting coatings3 because the composites can be tailored to target biological, organic and inorganic pollutants including microbes, acids and reactive oxygen species.

In this seminar I will talk about POMs as multifunctional coatings, scaffolds and supramolecular self-assembly tools and will focus on the antimicrobial activity of hybrid POM materials against model bacteria and fungi. The illustrations below represent how modular, tunable POM-IL materials act as precision biocides with anticorrosive properties that meet the specific needs of architectural heritage conservation; and how an “on-POM polymerization” of N-carboxyanhydrides serves as an innovative platform to design hybrid materials with antimicrobial properties.

You can join the seminar at: https://rediris.zoom.us/j/87449302803?pwd=YnBDK1JBYW9DQ2lHZURnRWNpclNpZz09