Our laboratory is involved in the development of safe organo-metallic complexes using natural biological molecules as ligands. These are nutritional supplements as well as candidate chemotherapy agents. The initial phase of development of these materials is based on the electronic signaling properties of these complexes characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and microscopy of their liquid crystal state. Use of a transition metal or a lanthanide allows us to introduce a paramagnetic component to the signaling process and also to manipulate the redox properties of the system. The metal also allows the possibility of binding more than one ligand and development of a variety of products with a wide range in potency. The paramagnetic component from the metal not only catalyzes energy transfer, but also supplements the natural paramagnetic components arising from peroxide and other free radicals ubiquitous in biological systems. Complexing the metal with the biological ligand sequesters the metal and the right biological ligand limits toxicity. The characteristics of one such metal complex, palladium lipoic acid from our laboratory, used in a nutritional supplement formulation, as well as in a chemotherapy formulation for more than ten years, will be described.
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