Gasser Group

Incorporation of Ruthenium Polypyridyl Complexes Into DNA Oligonucleotides by Copper‐Free Click Chemistry Alternative methods for the preparation of naïve libraries for SELEX experiments are in dire need, particularly when hydrophobic, bulky, and complex modification patterns are considered. Here, we exp...

Very happy to share our recent article on the synthesis of Ru-complex modified DNA by SPAAC together with @gassergroup.bsky.social
Congrats to all authors!
@ipdbsc.bsky.social @chem4life.bsky.social @pierrenicolasbizat.bsky.social
chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Look who I found in Zurich! The one and only Gilles Gasser presenting his great research! I had to go to Switzerland to see one of his (very nice!) talks! 😅

@gassergroup.bsky.social

⏱️Reminder for our GRS Metals in Medicine event! The deadline for oral abstracts is fast approaching: March 15th.

Submit yours soon if you would like to be considered for a talk!! 🎙️💊

We are really excited to advertise the upcoming GRS Metals in Medicine, for early career researchers! 🧪 🧫 💊

Registration is open and a flyer with the relevant info is below.

@kanishkasikligar.bsky.social and I hope to see you there! 😄

*Please repost to help us spread the word*

Delighted to share our @natcomms.nature.com paper on discovering new DNA damaging agents with click chemistry 🧬✂️ doi.org/10.1038/s414... with @gassergroup.bsky.social @westerlundlab.bsky.social @sspc.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @dublincityuni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie

Happy birthday Fanny! 50 is just a number!

Great day yesterday! Fantastic Talk from @gassergroup.bsky.social and top defense from @ David Fabra from @dorigquiroga.bsky.social group

Multicatalytic Access to Renewable Poly(Silyl Ether)s with Tunable Properties This work presents a one-pot, multicatalytic approach that combines magnesium-catalyzed esterification and borane-mediated hydrosilylation for the synthesis of partially bio-based poly(silyl ethers)....

Our latest article "Multicatalytic Access to Renewable Poly(Silyl Ether)s with Tunable Properties" now out in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social. Congrats to Doctor Fan! And special thanks to Fan S., @chimieparistechpsl.bsky.social @psl-univ.bsky.social @cnrs.fr
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Looking forward to coming to Madrid!

PhD Position in Supramolecular and Organic Chemistry We are looking to incorporate a PhD candidate (predoctoral contract), with motivation for organic and peptide synthesis, to develop a doctoral thesis at CIQUS – Universidade de Santiago de Compostela ...

Come work with us at the @ciqus.bsky.social We are looking for a PhD candidate with motivation for organic synthesis in the ERC Synergy project “Covalent Chaotropic Membrane Transport for Biotherapeutic Delivery” (CARAMEL). Sharing ❤️ All details here 👉 euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/398337

Novel Heteroleptic Iridium(III) Complexes Containing COUBPY Ligands for Effective Photoinduction of Ferroptosis for Cancer Therapy Ferroptosis, a recently described form of regulated, nonapoptotic cell death mechanism, presents significant potential for cancer treatment, particularly when combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT)....

🎉A great way to close 2025. Fantastic collaboration with
@MarchanLab_UB and all co‑authors. ”Novel Heteroleptic Iridium(III) Complexes Containing COUBPY Ligands for Effective Photoinduction of Ferroptosis for Cancer Therapy | JACS Au

Structure–activity insights into benzimidazole-based Ir(III) cyclometallated complexes for cancer therapy A family of cyclometallated Ir(iii) complexes incorporating benzimidazole-based C^N ligands and ancillary diimines with distinct functionalities, 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (L1), 4-(1H-benz...

Tremendously happy to finally see this work published! A wonderful collaboration with colleagues from the University of Vigo. Very proud of the team and the journey behind this study. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Congrats Rebecca!

Happy to see this collaborative with Hui Chao and @kargesgroup.bsky.social out in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social. We designed Ir(III) complexes to trigger oncosis and activate the cyclic GMP–AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes pathway.
@chimieparistechpsl.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/anie...

Delighted to share our paper in @jacs.acspublications.org on π-extended Ru-COUBPY photosensitizers enabling one-photon 780 nm NIR in vivo #PDT. Fantastic collaboration with the Marchan Lab
doi.org/10.1021/jacs...

Happy to share our review article @cp-trendschem.bsky.social on modified aptamers. Congrats to all authors!
@pasteur.fr @ipdbsc.bsky.social @cnrs.fr
doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

Actually, I will try to be good 😇

Last stop for this very productive trip was Hong Kong university. Many thanks to @h2hkuchem.bsky.social for the amazing hospitality. Time now for some holiday!

Amazing hospitality in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. It was a pleasure to visit 3 new campus and to catch up with previous PhD students! Very, very impressive facilities!

Wonderul time at the City University of Hong Kong! It was nice to catch up with some many bioinorganic chemistry colleagues! Thanks heaps @thebabaklab.bsky.social for the invitation!
@bhkenlo.bsky.social

My week in Macau is coming to an end. Had an absolute wonderful time. Many thanks to Duncan Leung and all his students for the amazing hospitality!

Very honored to have been appointed as a University of Macau Distiguished Visiting Scholar. Thanks once again to Duncan Leung and his group for the amazing hospitality.
@chimieparistechpsl.bsky.social

Happy to start my University of Macau Distinguished Visiting Scholar stay. Many thanks to Duncan Leung and his students for the amazing hospitality! Such impressive facilities on this new campus!

There have been some papers to celebrate! Will need soon a new cupboard to put them all on top! Thanks for your hard work guys!
@chimieparistechpsl.bsky.social

We are able to put two different cofactors in one protein scaffold and make them do catalysis together. It is amazing that it actually works. Chemchat chemsky

Was great to be in London over the last 3 days for the fantastic @chemicalscience.rsc.org symposium and a talk at the @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social. Thanks Ramon Vilar for the invitation! Back to Paris for 2 days now…

Inverse Correlation between Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Intensity and Antitumor Immune Response with Ruthenium(II)-Based Photosensitizers for the Photodynamic Therapy of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising strategy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but the immune consequences of tumor cell death remain incompletely understood. We compared two ruthenium(II) polypyridine photosensitizers (PSs) in HNSCC models and found that both were potently phototoxic (nanomolar IC50s), triggered diverse cell death pathways (including autophagy and ferroptosis), and promoted hallmark danger signals of immunogenic cell death (ICD). Strikingly, only one PS induced apoptosis and strong endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, yet paradoxically led to immune tolerance in vivo. Conversely, the PS that did not induce apoptotic cell death with milder stress responses resulted in a better antitumor immunity in vivo. These unexpected findings challenge the prevailing view that PDT-triggered apoptosis and ER stress are essential for ICD. Our study underscores the complexity of PDT-induced cell death balance and immunogenic signals and highlights the need to redefine ICD-inducing criteria for the rational design of next-generation PSs.

Thrilled to announce that the last two collaborations from my postdoc in the @gassergroup.bsky.social are now published in J. Med. Chem. and JACS. ⚗️🧪
Congrats to all co-authors for the excellent work!
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Professor Gilles Gasser from ChimieParis Tech presenting at the 2025 Chemical Science Symposium.

Professor Gilles Gasser is delivering the third talk of our #ChemSciSymposium day 1 afternoon session, presenting on 188Re radiopharmaceuticals.

🤝 L’Université PSL et Rice University renforcent leur collaboration avec la création d’un parcours international d’ingénierie responsable.
+ d'infos 👉 psl.eu/actualites/l...
@minesparis-psl.bsky.social @chimieparistechpsl.bsky.social @espciparispsl.bsky.social

Supramolecular Assembly of a Macrocyclic Rhodium(I) Isocyanide Complex with Long-Lived Near-Infrared Luminescence Strategic ligand engineering is essential for the development of new photoactive transition metal complexes. One such application is the control of supramolecular, one-dimensional stacking of square-planar d8-organometallic systems. Here, we report the synthesis of a macrocyclic, tetradentate isocyanide ligand, CN4, and facile coordination to rhodium(I) yielding [Rh(CN4)][BArF4]. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction upon acetone-solution grown crystals reveals formation of a tetrameric RhI stack, constructed of two dimeric forms of monomers. UV–visible absorption spectroscopy shows two prominent absorption bands, assigned to dimer (525 nm) and tetramer (840 nm), confirming stacked species. These assignments are further supported by DOSY measurements. Solvent control over this equilibrium is achieved first with acetonitrile, favoring only tetrameric aggregation, and also with dichloromethane, disabling aggregation completely. Upon excitation, the monomeric form returns to its electronic ground state in less than 10 ns. The near-infrared-absorbing tetramer exhibits an excited state with a lifetime of 150 ns in deaerated acetonitrile and NIR-II emission at 1040 nm. This discovery provides new opportunities for innovation in photophysics and photochemistry through polynuclear architectures that exhibit emergent properties compared to traditional mononuclear transition metal complexes.

Macrocyclic Rh(I) complexes stack into tetramers and unlock red absorption and NIR luminescence

Alex Bukvic and Mathis Brändlin in @jacs.acspublications.org

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...