Iron

Recent Findings on iron

• Iron-doped carbon dots for antibacterial therapy. FeCDs were reported to eradicate bacteria through complementary contact-independent and contact-dependent mechanisms. In the contact-independent pathway, iron doping conferred peroxidase-like activity, allowing the material to catalyze ROS generation in hydrogen peroxide-rich infection microenvironments and thereby increase localized oxidative stress. In the contact-dependent pathway, FeCDs electrostatically associated with bacterial surfaces and promoted interfacial electron transfer, disrupting respiratory chains and energy production 42715070Sep. This study extends the ROS-nanotherapy theme by combining iron-mediated catalytic activity with direct material–bacterium interactions.

• Iron–cystine spherulites and disulfidptosis. A fasting-augmented amino acid intervention was developed using iron-cystine spherulites (FeCST). The study investigated blood-triggered in vivo reassembly of orally administered cystine spherulites and their use in inducing disulfidptosis, a metabolic form of cancer-cell injury, for cancer intervention 42714527Sep. The work places iron within a combined metabolic and nanomaterial strategy rather than treating it solely as a target for depletion.

• Iron-deprivation liposomes for cancer therapy. Iron homeostasis was targeted because iron supports tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. The study investigated liposomal iron deprivation as an anticancer approach, aligning with the broader iron-and-metabolic-disease theme in which tumor cells are treated by restricting access to an essential metal resource 42711711Sep. This strategy contrasts with iron-delivery systems designed to increase oxidative damage.

• Iron overload, cognition, and neuroinflammation. In a rat model of iron overload, male Wistar rats received iron carbonyl at 30 mg/kg by intragastric administration on postnatal days 12–14. The study evaluated the differential effects of cannabidiol and cannabigerol on cognition, neuroinflammation, and blood–brain barrier integrity in this model 42663810Aug. The work connects excess iron with neurological and inflammatory endpoints, including blood–brain barrier function.

• Metal-ion-mediated amyloid-β aggregation. A mathematical model of Alzheimer’s disease incorporated the catalytic roles of copper, zinc, and iron ions in microscopic reaction pathways governing amyloid-β dynamics. These metal ions were modeled as contributors to neurotoxic plaque formation, and the framework was used to examine chelation and inhibitory therapeutic strategies 42624961Aug. This study extends the metal-driven Alzheimer’s disease theme by treating iron together with copper and zinc rather than as an isolated factor.

• Deferoxamine and bone cancer pain. Deferoxamine was investigated as an intervention for bone cancer pain through modulation of the RIG-I/CCL5 signaling pathway. The authors proposed a spinal Fe²⁺/RIG-I/CCL5 signaling axis as a contributor to bone cancer pain, linking iron status to inflammatory signaling involving CCL5 41999973Apr. The study therefore broadens the iron-and-metabolic-disease cluster toward pain biology, neuroinflammation, and cytokine-associated signaling.

• Ferrous-supply-regenerating nanoparticles and ferroptosis. A lipid nanoparticle named ALSF was developed for cancer therapy by replacing DSPC with arachidonic acid and co-delivering GPX4-siRNA and Fe³⁺. The design was intended to promote ferroptosis through combined impairment of the antioxidant GPX4 system and iron-associated oxidative injury, with glutathione, lipid peroxidation, and ROS representing relevant mechanistic components 42528415Jul. This work extends the ROS-nanotherapy theme into a ferroptosis-focused cancer strategy.

• Enterobactin, iron sequestration, and mitochondrial respiration. A study of microbial metabolite enterobactin assessed the interplay among enterobactin, iron, and lipocalin-2 (Lcn2), which sequesters enterobactin, in relation to mitochondrial function. The stated focus was the effect of this interaction on mitochondrial respiration in colitis 42026762Apr. The work places iron within a host–microbe metabolic system involving microbial metabolites, iron availability, mitochondrion function, and intestinal inflammation.

• Lipidized deferoxamine for systemic iron overload. Lipidized deferoxamine nanomedicines, termed DFOsomes, were evaluated in a systemic iron-overload model. Compared with free deferoxamine, DFOsomes increased iron mobilization and urinary excretion and reduced serum ferritin concentrations and organ iron deposition 42009223Apr. These findings reinforce iron chelation as a major therapeutic direction while illustrating the use of nanomedicine to improve iron removal.

• Xanthene derivatives and iron-associated neurotoxicity. Novel xanthene derivatives were synthesized and biologically assessed for neuroprotection in Alzheimer’s disease-related assays. Several derivatives counteracted cytotoxicity induced by iron(III) and amyloid-β, supporting a chelation- or metal-interaction-oriented approach to neuroprotection 42380051Jun. This study complements the mathematical modeling work on iron, copper, zinc, and amyloid-β by examining small-molecule protection against iron(III)- and amyloid-β-associated cellular injury.