Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Field of Chemistry - Maria Matlinska

When we observe a typical lab setup, we often don't acknowledge just how inaccessible these spaces are. From tall lab benches to microscopes, these spaces and instruments are largely exclusive to able-bodied individuals. Those with disabilities face many barriers in lab spaces, and this ultimately leads to the underrepresentation of scientists with disabilities. One individual who has taken a stand against this is Maria Matlinska. Maria is the leader of the Ableism Fighters committee among the Chemical Institute of Canada, and she has devoted an inspiring amount of time to promoting inclusivity in chemical workspaces. Maria recently completed her Masters in Materials Chemistry, but despite her leaving the University of Alberta, her passion for equity, diversity and inclusion is likely to live on amongst her peers.

Maria’s efforts in social work weren’t the only thing she dedicated her time towards; she has also done great work in the field of chemistry, investigating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are an extensive class of crystalline materials that are unique due to their ultrahigh porosity. They have many applications in energy solutions such as gas storage and catalysis, but they also have interesting uses within biomedicine as well. Maria’s thesis involved the incorporation of biologically necessary metals into MOFs. These MOFs can be delivered within the body and are used to promote bone tissue regeneration. This is particularly useful for those suffering from osteoporosis. 

Osteoporosis is a severe bone disorder that causes a loss of bone density, thereby threatening the skeletal integrity of those diagnosed. There is a strong connection between osteoporosis and deficiencies in specific elements, such as phosphorus. Previous research in MOFs has established biocompatible MOFs equipped with the phosphorus-based compound p-xylylenebisphosphonate (PXBP) to deliver sufficient quantities for bone health maintenance. However, in addition to phosphorus, alkaline-earth metals such as calcium and strontium are also required in the regulation of bone health. For this reason, Maria sought to incorporate these additional metals into phosphorus-based MOFs to develop next-generation pharmaceutical therapies aiming to treat bone tissue disorders. 

Through a one-pot synthesis, she was able to prepare both [Sr(H2O)3(H2PXBP)] and [SrCa(H2O)3(H2PXBP)], 2 examples of MOFs integrating the calcium and strontium needed to maintain bone integrity (Figure 1). The complex structure of these compounds was identified via X-ray diffraction and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. 

Figure 1: Crystal structure of the novel MOFs that are capable of integrating the alkaline earth metals strontium and calcium.

The next step was to determine the toxicity and biocompatibility of these MOFs, where they found them to be biologically safe for human osteosarcoma (bone) cells. They also determined that calcium and strontium ions were able to successfully be integrated into bone tissue. The last thing to investigate was how well they could integrate into living systems, and protein adsorption studies determined that the MOFs were able to successfully merge with proteins in the body. Thus, bioavailability, biosafety, and biocompatibility were all confirmed for these MOFs, marking them a great candidate for further investigation. They have created a biofunctional platform for targeted delivery against osteoporosis, and further research will be able to bridge the current MOFs into clinical candidates! 

The finding of this work has been published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces: Matlinska, M. A.; Ha, M.; Hughton, B.; Oliynyk, A. O.; Iyer, A. K.; Bernard, G. M.; Lambkin, G.; Lawrence, M. C.; Katz, M. J.; Mar, A.; Michaelis, V. K. Alkaline Earth Metal–Organic Frameworks with Tailorable Ion Release: A Path for Supporting Biomineralization. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2019, 11 (36), 32739–32745. DOI:10.1021/acsami.9b11004.