Choosing the right abstract category for ISABC 2023

The decision about which session to submit to shapes how your work is received at a specialist meeting. ISABC 2023 gathers chemists, biologists and pharmacologists around a shared interest in the role of metals in living systems, and each track is curated by a different scientific committee. Aligning your submission with the most relevant category increases the chance of being placed with reviewers who understand your methodology. For early-career researchers, a well-targeted abstract often draws the kind of feedback that leads to a more confident poster or oral presentation.

Researchers based in Australia will recognise the logistical challenge of reaching Ioannina in western Greece. Direct flights from Sydney or Melbourne to Athens are rare, and most travellers connect through Doha, Singapore or Dubai, adding roughly twenty hours of total travel time. Planning a year ahead, including arranging the visa, is normal practice for delegates from Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide. Many Australians combine symposia with visits to European collaborators, which can strengthen grant applications under programs such as the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects scheme.

The symposium is hosted by the University of Ioannina, set among the lakes and mountains of Epirus in early summer. Sessions balance established themes such as medicinal inorganic chemistry with emerging areas including metallomics and bio-electrochemistry. Understanding how the tracks are defined allows you to frame your abstract with the right keywords and outcome statements. Authors who are unsure about a placement are encouraged to contact the scientific committee.

Several Australian researchers have already contributed to international bioinorganic forums, including the broader Heraeus conference network, which supports regional collaboration. The rest of this article walks through the main abstract categories and offers practical guidance on matching your project to the most appropriate session.

Metals in medicine and therapeutic agents

This session covers coordination compounds used as drugs, prodrugs or delivery vehicles for metal centres. Common submissions include platinum, ruthenium and gold complexes with antitumour activity, alongside antimicrobial silver and copper agents. Work on siderophore-mediated antibiotic transport, chelation therapy for iron overload and radioisotope-based radiopharmaceuticals also fits here. If your abstract describes in vitro cytotoxicity, in vivo efficacy in murine models, or pharmacokinetic profiling, this is the correct track.

Australian authors should be aware of the Therapeutic Goods Administration framework, which governs how a candidate moves from laboratory proof-of-concept to a clinical trial notification. References to TGA-aligned experimental design, or to oversight by a local animal ethics committee, strengthen the translational argument. Researchers from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Sydney often frame their platinum and ruthenium work for medicinal audiences.

Bioinspired catalysis and biomimetic systems

This track welcomes contributions on synthetic systems that mimic the function of natural metalloenzymes. Submissions may describe model complexes for oxygen evolution, hydrogen production, nitrogen reduction or selective oxidation. Work on artificial photosynthesis, electrocatalytic water splitting and enzyme-inspired heterogeneous catalysts also belongs here. If your abstract focuses on turnover numbers, overpotentials, faradaic efficiency or product selectivity under sustainable conditions, you are looking at the right category.

Australian groups active in solar fuels research, particularly those linked to the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics or the Monash University catalysis network, frequently publish in this area. The country’s abundant solar resource has shaped national priorities around green hydrogen, and bioinspired water oxidation catalysts often attract funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

Metalloproteins, metalloenzymes and structural studies

Submissions that explore the structure, spectroscopy or reactivity of native metal-containing biomolecules fit into this track. Typical topics include iron–sulfur cluster assembly, heme enzyme mechanisms, copper transport proteins, zinc finger domains and molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis. Methods commonly reported include X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance and resonance Raman spectroscopy.

If your contribution draws on the Australian Synchrotron in Clayton, Victoria, mention the beamline and proposal number, as this adds reproducibility. Many teams in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane rely on the Australian and New Zealand Beamline at the Photon Factory in Japan for complementary measurements. Reviewers tend to look for a clear connection between spectroscopic data and a proposed mechanism.

Metal-based imaging and diagnostics

This category addresses contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, luminescent probes for cellular imaging, radioactive tracers for positron emission tomography and related tools. Submissions often include responsive probes that report on pH, metal ions, redox state or enzyme activity in living cells. If your abstract is built around signal-to-noise ratios, relaxivity values, in vivo biodistribution or selectivity over competing analytes, choose this track.

Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council has invested in molecular imaging infrastructure through programs at the University of Queensland and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. Authors preparing a submission should highlight compliance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research if any clinical imaging data is included, which reassures reviewers that the work meets internationally recognised ethical benchmarks.

Environmental bioinorganic chemistry and metal speciation

Researchers examining the behaviour of metals in soils, sediments, waterways and biological waste streams should select this session. Topics include biogeochemical cycling of iron, manganese and trace metals, metal–microbe interactions, biomineralisation and remediation strategies. Submissions often feature field studies, microcosm experiments or synchrotron-based speciation analysis.

The Australian context is particularly relevant here, given the country’s long history of mining and ongoing concerns about heavy metal contamination around legacy sites such as Boolaroo in New South Wales and Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory. Studies that link analytical speciation to remediation outcomes, including work supported by CSIRO or the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, tend to be well received.

Supramolecular and coordination chemistry in biology

This track gathers work on designed molecular architectures, self-assembled structures and host–guest systems that involve metal ions. Submissions may describe DNA-based architectures, metal–organic frameworks with biological function, rotaxanes, cages and switchable systems. The session also welcomes studies on sensing, delivery and logic-gate behaviour built from coordination chemistry.

If your work uses spectroscopic, electrochemical or mass spectrometric techniques to characterise a supramolecule and explores its interaction with biomolecules, you are in the right place. Reviewers value abstracts that explicitly state the design principle, the binding affinity or catalytic outcome, and the biological relevance of the system, and consulting the poster prize guidelines can sharpen the visual narrative.

Computational and theoretical approaches

Contributions using density functional theory, molecular dynamics, multiscale simulations, machine learning or quantum chemical calculations to model bioinorganic systems belong here. Topics can include reaction pathway analysis, redox potential prediction, ligand field interpretation, metalloprotein dynamics and data-driven discovery of new metal complexes. The track also welcomes methods development aimed at handling open-shell systems or large active spaces.

Australian researchers have strong representation in this area through the National Computational Infrastructure in Canberra, which is widely used for high-throughput screening of metal complexes. Acknowledging supercomputing allocations, including those granted through the ANU and the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Perth, adds credibility.

Time to submit your abstract. The abstracts submission portal walks you through category selection, formatting requirements and the timeline for review. Register through Zita Congress, the official secretariat, to secure accommodation near the University of Ioannina before the early-bird deadline.