Despite the general knowledge that actinides pose great hazards for humans and can strongly bind to natural macromolecules, limited research has been directed to the characterization of transuranic actinide coordination chemistry in environmentally and biologically relevant species. Our approach uses the specific photophysical properties of trivalent actinides to study their selective binding and recognition by natural and synthetic ligands. The photophysics and solution thermodynamic behavior of Cm(III) complexes formed with the protein transferrin and selected hydroxypyridonate chelating agents were investigated. The specific interactions between the metal ion and these ligands were then correlated to the in vivo decorporation capabilities of the chelating agents after curium contamination.Such studies have important implications for the use of spectroscopic methods to predict the speciation of actinides in biological systems and to exploit the fundamental coordination chemistry properties of actinide-specific ligands for the development of new actinide sequestering agents and separation technologies.

Curium contamination and decorporation: Mechanistic insights

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.