The Department of Inorganic Chemistry guarantees the studies in the fields of Inorganic Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry, and Chemistry for Teaching in bachelor's, master's and doctoral study programmes.
As a part of our research, we focus on the preparation and study of new coordination compounds of transition metals, in particular, on the development of new compounds with medicinal application potential (e.g. substances with antitumour, anti-inflammatory or antidiabetic activity or contrast agents for diagnostic imaging methods) or compounds with interesting magnetic, optical or catalytic properties with industrial application potential (e.g. high-density storage media, various types of sensors).
Our teaching activites, as a guarantor of Chemistry for Teaching studies at the Faculty of Science of Palacký University, are also focused on increasing pupils' and students' interest in science and motivation to study science, co-organizing chemical Olympics and also on extracurricular chemical activities for primary and secondary school students.
News
Publication in Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry
16. May 2026
Publication entitled "Attack of NADH and ascorbate toward metal-activated ligand of organoiridium(III) compound" (authors: P. Štarha, E. Řezníčková, S. Šterbinská, A. Marrone, R. Herchel, A. Sztula, D. Milde, E. Zahradníková, J. Moncoľ, I. Nemec, I. Tolbatov, V. Kryštof) was published in Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry.
The study describes the design and properties of the half-sandwich Ir(III) complex [Ir(η5-Cp)Cl(L1)]PF6 (1). This complex incorporates a metal-activated Schiff base ligand (L1) featuring a DNA-targeting anthracene substituent. The core of the design is the reactive Schiff base linker, hypothesized to facilitate interactions with small intracellular biomolecules. Research revealed that 1 undergoes a specific cleavage pathway of the Schiff base linker upon interaction with NADH and ascorbate, whereas it remains stable in the presence of glutathione. Compared to its analogue lacking the anthracene moiety (2), compound 1 is more cytotoxic, exhibits stronger DNA binding, and induces higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). DFT calculations confirmed that the coordination of ligand L1 to the iridium centre significantly enhances the reactivity of the Schiff base linker compared to the free ligand. This study provides new insights into the fate of coordinated ligands under simulated intracellular conditions and offers a strategy for developing multicomponent, biomolecule-activated metallodrugs.
