Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal for the human organism and for all ecosystems. Cd is naturally found at low levels; however, higher amounts of Cd in the environment result from human activities as it spreads into the air and water in the form of micropollutants as a consequence of industrial processes, pollution, waste incineration, and electronic waste recycling. The human body has a limited ability to respond to Cd exposure since the metal does not undergo metabolic degradation into less toxic species and is only poorly excreted. The extremely long biological half-life of Cd essentially makes it a cumulative toxin; chronic exposure causes harmful effects from the metal stored in the organs. The present paper considers exposure and potential health concerns due to environmental cadmium. Exposure to Cd compounds is primarily associated with an elevated risk of lung, kidney, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. Cd has also been linked to cancers of the breast, urinary system, and bladder. The multiple mechanisms of Cd-induced carcinogenesis include oxidative stress with the inhibition of antioxidant enzymes, the promotion of lipid peroxidation, and interference with DNA repair systems. Cd²⁺ can also replace essential metal ions, including redox-active ones. A total of 12 cancer types associated with specific genes coding for the Cd-metalloproteome were identified in this work. In addition, we summarize the proper treatments of Cd poisoning, based on the use of selected Cd detoxifying agents and chelators, and the potential for preventive approaches to counteract its chronic exposure.

The combination of diol-type ligands with paramagnetic transition metal ions has led to the isolation of a host of new homometallic and heterometallic clusters, high-spin molecules and single molecule magnets ranging in nuclearity from two to forty four and with spin ground states as large as S = 61/2. The ligands, whose cluster coordination chemistry is discussed in this article, are 1,3-propanediol and its derivatives, diethanolamine and its derivatives, pyridine-2,6-dimethanol and the gem-diol form of di-2-pyridyl ketone. The structural diversity of the complexes stems from the ability of the ligands to adopt a variety of bridging coordination modes depending on the positions of the two hydroxyl groups in the molecule, the presence/absence of extra donor groups and on the reaction conditions. Examples of ‘true’ reactivity chemistry involving clusters of diol-type ligands are also given. The activation of pyridine-2,6-dimethanol and di-2-pyridyl ketone by 3d-metal centres towards further reactions seems to be an emergent area of synthetic chemistry.

The reaction of di-2-pyridyl ketone, (2-py)₂CO, with Ni(O₂CMe)₂·4H₂O yields the cage [Ni₉(OH)₂(O₂CMe)₈{(2-py) ₂CO₂}₄], which reacts further with N₃ ⁻ ions to give the structurally similar cluster [Ni₉(N₃)₂(O₂CMe)₈ {(2-py)₂CO₂}₄] containing extremely rare η¹,μ₄-N₃ ⁻ groups; magnetic studies reveal that the spin ground state of the latter is nine times the ground state of the former.