zinc

Overview

Zinc is a chemical element and essential trace metal with broad biological importance. In living systems, it serves as a structural, catalytic, and regulatory cofactor for many proteins, and its ionic form, Zn(II), is frequently involved in metal coordination chemistry that influences enzyme activity, protein folding, and signaling. Because of these properties, zinc is relevant to nutrition, metabolism, microbial physiology, and drug design.

In biomedical research, zinc is often studied in two contrasting contexts: deficiency and excess. Zinc deficiency has been associated with impaired physiological function, while elevated zinc can alter cellular processes, including microbial growth, protein aggregation, and metabolic pathways. Recent studies also exploit zinc’s coordination behavior in drug delivery systems, metal-based nanomedicine, and inhibitor design for metalloenzymes such as metallo-β-lactamases and autotaxin. Zinc is therefore both a biologically essential nutrient and a useful chemical target in therapeutic and materials research.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications have examined zinc in a range of biological and translational contexts, most often as a trace element measured in serum or incorporated into zinc-containing complexes and materials. In a biobank quality-control study, serum zinc was quantified by ICP-MS alongside other metals in long-term versus short-term cryopreserved samples, and zinc concentrations were reported to differ significantly with storage duration. That work also showed that prolonged cryopreservation altered the broader serum metallome and proteome, underscoring that archived specimen handling can affect zinc measurements and related downstream analyses.

Several clinical studies linked zinc status to human phenotypes. In children with short stature, serum zinc showed a weak positive correlation with height, alongside stronger associations for iron, hemoglobin, IGF1, and IGF binding protein 3. In polycystic ovary syndrome, circulating zinc was evaluated together with copper and related ratios; in the insulin-resistant subgroup, elevated zinc, copper, and Cu/Zn ratio were observed, while lower Zn/Cu ratio was seen in participants with body mass excess and subclinical inflammation. The authors concluded that trace-element interactions in PCOS are complex and that any supplementation should be approached cautiously.

Zinc was also studied in mechanistic and materials-based systems. In a fungal thermophile, elevated zinc altered germination behavior in a temperature-dependent manner, dampening wild-type germination at 50°C but promoting it at lower temperatures; this effect was partly mediated by the zinc transporter zip. In another study, zinc was coordinated with epigallocatechin gallate to form a stable antioxidant complex that was incorporated into testosterone-modified liposomes for testis-targeted delivery. This EGCG-Zn@T-Lipo system scavenged reactive oxygen species, inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation, reduced IL18 and other inflammatory mediators, and improved orchitis-related outcomes in vitro and in vivo.

Zinc has also been used in nanomedicine and food-structure applications. A copper/zinc disruptor was designed to exploit zinc as a metabolic inhibitor, suppressing glycolysis through direct restraint of L-lactate dehydrogenase and downregulation of the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α axis, thereby contributing to energy depletion and enhancing cuproptosis, pyroptosis, and antitumor immune responses. In a separate study of whey protein isolate fibrils for high internal phase Pickering emulsions, zinc-driven fibrils produced a multilayered microstructure and influenced interfacial behavior and emulsion stability. Together, these reports portray zinc as a biologically active ion with roles in metabolism, inflammation, development, and formulation science.

Key Publications

NEWJun Impact of long-term cryopreservation on serum proteome and metallome: Implications for Biobank quality control. (PloS one, 2026, PMID 42348576): "Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to quantify ten metals: vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), and cesium (Cs)."
May The correlation between height and assay parameters in children with short stature. (Medicine, 2026, PMID 42175428): "The findings revealed moderate positive correlations between height and iron, hemoglobin, as well as a weak correlation with zinc."
May Association of serum levels of zinc and copper with pathophysiological features of polycystic ovary syndrome. (African journal of reproductive health, 2026, PMID 42137979): "This study was designed to assess the relationship between circulating levels of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) and the pathophysiological features of PCOS."
May High-throughput screening reveals mechanisms of environmental control of germination in a fungal thermophile. (mBio, 2026, PMID 42007705): "we surveyed media conditions and established that elevated zinc dampened germination of wild-type T. thermophilus at 50°C but promoted it at lower temperatures;"
Apr Testosterone-Modified Liposomes Loaded with the Zn-Polyphenol Complex for Treatment of Male Infertility. (ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2026, PMID 41985533): "...EGCG coordinated with Zn2+ to form a stable antioxidant complex..."
Apr Dual Energy Depletion by Zinc/Copper Disruptor to Potentiate Cuproptosis and Pyroptosis for Enhanced Tumor Immunotherapy. (ACS nano, 2026, PMID 41941350): "Functionally, Zn2+ acts as a metabolic inhibitor to suppress glycolysis by directly restraining lactate dehydrogenase activity and downregulating the PI3K/Akt/HIF-1α axis, thus reducing lactate output and limiting adenosine triphosphate generation."
May Double-aimed superstructure: delivering nutritional divalent cations as whey protein isolate fibril mediator to stabilize tunable high internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs). (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41762572): "The multi-layered microstructure of Zn2+-driven fibrils reduced fibril-water interactions."