Natural and artificial siderophores: Iron-based applications and beyond

Zih-Jheng Lin; Cheng-Yu Fang; Tsung-Shing Andrew Wang

doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102601

Natural and artificial siderophores: Iron-based applications and beyond

Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2025 May 23:87:102601. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102601. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zih-Jheng Lin¹, Cheng-Yu Fang¹, Tsung-Shing Andrew Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Center for Emerging Material and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106319, Taiwan, ROC.
² Department of Chemistry and Center for Emerging Material and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106319, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: wangts@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 40412201
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102601

Abstract

Siderophores are iron chelators secreted by microorganisms to scavenge iron from the environment. Natural siderophores have gained remarkable importance because their conjugates can be applied as antibiotics and diagnostic imaging agents. By utilizing the iron uptake system of microorganisms, functional molecules such as antibiotics or imaging agents can be delivered into cells. Notably, artificial siderophores have also been developed to increase stability and broaden metal chelating diversity. Various strategies, including backbone fine-tuning, artificial chelation moieties, and direct metal swapping, can be employed. Therefore, artificial siderophores can bind biorelated metals or radioactive isotopes, expanding their biological and medical applications. The aim of this review is to introduce recent advances in natural and artificial siderophore applications and highlight future challenges in this area of research.

Publication types

Review