(Invited) Derivatizing Fullerenes and Metallofullerenes for Biomedicine

Fullerenes and metallofullerenes are excellent building blocks for biomedicines due to their carbon-based structures that allows for biocompatible materials being built with robust C-C covalent bonds. The hexakis-Bingel reaction can introduce up to 12 functional groups onto one C 60 core and provide a versatile platform for molecularly precise, “nanoparticle-like” functional materials. In this presentation we hope to report our recent utilization of the hexakisadduct platform in biomedical applications. In the first study we investigated the anti-oxidative behavior of a series of C 60 derivatives, where the hexakisadduct turned out to be an excellent reactive oxygen species scavenger. Then we exemplify the ligand introduction to the hexakisadduct core with Gd metallofullerens, which leads to a series of structurally defined, efficient and safe MRI contrast agents.