Prof. João Honorato de Araujo Neto is a faculty member at the Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (IQ-USP), working at the interface of bioinorganic chemistry and structural determination. His research focuses on the development of bioactive metal complexes and on understanding their interactions with biomolecules at the molecular level.
His work is guided by a simple premise: structure is not only descriptive, it is explanatory. Within this framework, he uses diffraction-based approaches to obtain high-resolution structural information and relate it to chemical properties and biological activity. His research spans classical coordination chemistry as well as more complex systems, including bioinspired ligands and functional materials.
A central aspect of his work is the establishment of structure–activity relationships in metal complexes with therapeutic potential, particularly targeting diseases that exhibit resistance to conventional treatments, such as cancer, malaria, and tuberculosis. This involves combining synthesis, structural characterization, and functional evaluation, with particular attention to how coordination environments modulate reactivity and cytotoxicity.
His work in structural crystallography includes single-crystal X-ray diffraction and, more recently, the application of emerging techniques such as MicroED (electron diffraction), enabling structural determination of systems that do not yield suitable single crystals.
He received his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from UFSCar (2020) and completed postdoctoral research in crystallography at IFSC-USP. He was awarded the Young Researcher Award from the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ) in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
Metallis Vitae
Metallis Vitae is the research group led by João Honorato at IQ-USP. The group operates at the interface of synthesis, structure, and function, focusing on metal-based systems of biological interest.
The guiding question of the group is straightforward:
how does atomic-level structure govern biological activity in metal-based systems?
From this perspective, the group investigates how variations in coordination environments influence properties such as stability, reactivity, and cytotoxicity. The approach combines the synthesis of new complexes with advanced structural determination techniques, with a strong emphasis on diffraction methods.
In addition to X-ray diffraction, the group has been incorporating MicroED as a tool for solving challenging structures, allowing access to structural information from nanocrystalline samples.
The overall goal is to establish consistent structure–activity relationships that can guide the rational design of new bioactive metal complexes.
Links
Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/Q-1094-2019
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1127-6083
Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/3415730412834731
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metallisvitae/
