Professional Profile

2007.09-2011.06 BSc in Chemistry, Jiangsu University, China

2011.09-2014.06 MSc in Organic Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), China    

2014.09-2018.06 PhD in Bio-organometallic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, UK; under the supervision of Prof. Peter J. Sadler FRS.

Working Experience

2018.10-2020.09，Nanjing University, postdoctoral

2020.11-now, Jiangsu University, lecturer

Research area:

Bioinorganic and medicinal inorganic chemistry. Screening of novel metallic antibiotics against Gram-positive and negative bacteria.

1. Design and synthesis of novel transition-metal photosensitizers as potent anticancer and antimicrobial reagents.

2. Design and synthesis of transition-metal based photothermal complexes and study their applications in anticancer and antibacterial research.

Publications:

[1] F. Chen, J. J. Soldevila-Barreda, I. Romero-Canelón, J. P. C. Coverdale, J. Song, G. J. Clarkson, A. Habtemariam, J. A. Wolny, V. Schünemann, and P. J. Sadler. ‘Effect of sulfonamidoethylenediamine substituents in Ru^II arene anticancer catalysts on transfer hydrogenation of coenzyme NAD⁺ by formate’. Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 7178–7189.

[2] F. Chen, I. Romero-Canelón, J. J. Soldevila-Barreda, J. Song, J. P. C. Coverdale, G. J. Clarkson, J. Kasparkova, A. Habtemariam, M. Wills, V. Brabec and P. J. Sadler. ‘Transfer hydrogenation and antiproliferative activity of tethered half-sandwich organoruthenium catalysts’. Organometallics, 2018, 37, 1555−1566.

[3] F. Chen, J. Moat, D. McFeely, G. Clarkson, J. P. Furner-Pardoe, F. Harrison, C. G. Dowson and P. J. Sadler. ‘Biguanide iridium(III) complexes with potent antimicrobial activity’. J. Med. Chem., 2018, 61, 7330−7344.

[4] X. Wang, F. Chen, J. Zhang, J. Sun, X. Zhao, Y. Zhu, W. Wei, J. Zhao & Z. Guo. ‘A ferroptosis-inducing iridium(III) complex’. Sci. China Chem. 2020, 63, 65-71.

[5] F. Chen, I. Romero-Canelón, A. Habtemariam, J.-I. Song, S. Banerjee, G. J. Clarkson, L. Song, I. Prokes and P. J. Sadler. ‘Effect of cysteine thiols on the catalytic and anticancer activity of Ru(II) sulfonyl-ethylenediamine complexes’ Dalton Trans. 2022, 51, 4447–4457.

[6] F. Chen, X. Lv, D. Kuzuhara, T. Zhang, J. Pan, F. Qiu, T. Teranishi, and S. Xue. ‘Effect of Peripheral Functionalization of Pt(II) Porphyrin(2.1.2.1) on Singlet Oxygen Generation’. Inorg. Chem. 2024, 63, 21025−21030.

[7] F. Chen, K. Cui, S. Si, Y. Liu, S. Xue, G. Wang, X. Liang, C. Zhu, Q.-Y. Chen. ‘Polypyridyl Os(II) complexes as efficient human non-small cell lung cancer photosensitizers with enhanced singlet oxygen generation via the fused π-ring elongation’. Inorg. Chim. Acta 2025, 578, 122537.

[8] Y. Lu and F. Chen*. ‘Synthesis and Spectroscopic Study of a Homogenous Bimetallic Os(II) Complex as a New Gastric Cancer Photosensitizer’ Chem. Eur. J. 2024, 30, e202402861.

[9] K. Cui, Y. Wei, S. Si, Q. Chen, G. Wang, S. Xue, Y. Wang, C. Zhu and F. Chen*. ‘A bimetallic Ru(II)–Ru(II) complex as an effective non-small cell lung cancer photosensitizer with potential ferroptosis photoinduction’. Dalton Trans. 2025, 54, 16372–16379.

[10] C. Zhu, K. Cui, G. Wang, S. Xue, Y. Wang, F. Chen*. ‘Trinuclear Ru(II)-Ru(II)-Ru(II) Complexes as Efficient Photosensitizers for Potent Aqueous Singlet Oxygen Generation and NADH Photo-Oxidation’. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2026, e202500608.