A nickel glutamate metal biomolecule framework.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Metal-biomolecule frameworks (MbioFs) are an emerging class of materials with diverse applications.
• Glutamic acid and nickel compounds are common precursors in coordination chemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel MbioF using glutamic acid and nickel carbonate.
• To evaluate the synthesized MbioF for its toxicity and antimicrobial properties.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of the MbioF via hydrothermal treatment of glutamic acid and basic nickel carbonate.
• Structural characterization using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FTIR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, PXRD, and TGA/DTA.
• In vitro and in vivo evaluation of toxicity and antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans.

Main Results:

• A novel nickel-glutamic acid framework, {[Ni(Glu)(H2O)]·H2O}, was successfully synthesized with a 43% yield.
• The crystal structure was determined, belonging to the orthorhombic system (P212121), analogous to related metal-glutamate compounds.
• The MbioF showed no toxicity at 5000 μg mL−1 and inhibited Candida albicans growth at 64 μg mL−1 (24h) and 128 μg mL−1 (48h).

Conclusions:

• The successful synthesis of a novel nickel-glutamic acid MbioF.
• The MbioF demonstrates promising antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans with negligible toxicity.
• This MbioF holds potential for applications in antimicrobial materials and biotechnology.