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Funding: SL, AB and HP report financial support was provided by Natural Environment Research Council. Anthropogenic activities have significantly enhanced atmospheric metal inputs to the ocean, which has potentially important consequences for marine ecosystems. This study assesses the potential of Zn and Cu isotope compositions to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic atmospheric inputs of these metals to the surface ocean. To this end, the isotopic compositions of Zn and Cu in aerosols collected from the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean on the GEOTRACES GA06 cruise are examined. Enrichment factors and fractional solubility measurements indicate the presence of a significant anthropogenic component in the aerosols collected furthest from the North African dust plume for both Zn and Cu. The mean δ65CuNIST SRM 976 for the fully digested aerosols is +0.07 ± 0.39 ‰ (n = 9, 2 SD), which is indistinguishable from the lithogenic value, and implies that Cu isotopes are not an effective tracer of aerosol sources in this region. The mean δ66ZnJMC-Lyon value for the aerosols that underwent a total digestion is +0.17 ± 0.22 ‰ (n = 11, 2 SD). The aerosols leached with ammonium acetate have similar Zn isotope compositions, with a mean of +0.15 ± 0.16 ‰ (n = 7, 2 SD). The aerosols were collected in a region with prevalent mineral dust but, despite this, exhibit isotopically lighter Zn than lithogenic Zn with δ66Zn ≈ +0.3 ‰. When coupled with the previously published Pb isotope data, the aerosols exhibit coupled Zn-Pb isotope systematics that are indicative of mixing between mineral dust (δ66Zn = +0.28 ‰ and 206Pb/207Pb = 1.205) and anthropogenic emissions (δ66Zn = −0.22 ‰ and 206Pb/207Pb = 1.129). This demonstrates the potential of Zn isotopes to trace atmospheric Zn inputs from anthropogenic sources to the surface ocean. Publisher PDF

The success of metal‐based anticancer therapeutics in the treatment of cancer is best exemplified by cisplatin. Currently used in 32/78 cancer regimens, metal‐based drugs have a clear role in cancer therapy. Despite this, metal‐based anticancer therapeutics are not without drawbacks, with issues such as toxic side effects and the development of resistance mechanisms. This has led to investigations of other metal‐based drug candidates such as auranofin, a gold‐based drug candidate as well as ruthenium‐based candidates, NAMI‐A, NKP‐1339 and TLD‐1433. All are currently undergoing clinical trials. Another class of complexes under study are rhenium‐based; such complexes have undergone extensive in vitro testing but only nine have been reported to display antitumour in vivo activity, which is a necessary step before entering clinical trials. This review will document, chronologically, the rhenium‐based drug candidates that have undergone in vivo testing and the outlook for such complexes., Beyond cisplatin: The use of animal models, otherwise known as in vivo testing, is a crucial step in drug development. To date there have only been nine reported cases of rhenium‐based complexes undergoing in vivo testing. This concept article explores the history of these complexes.

The application of Pb isotopes to marine geochemistry is currently hindered by challenges associated with the analysis of Pb isotopes in seawater. The current study evaluates the performance of multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) measurements of seawater Pb isotope compositions following Pb separation by either solid-phase extraction with Nobias Chelate PA-1 resin or coprecipitation with Mg(OH)2 and using either a Pb double spike or external normalization to Tl for mass bias correction. The four analytical combinations achieve results of similar quality when measuring 1-7 ng of seawater Pb, with reproducibilities (two standard deviations, 2SD) of 100-1200 ppm for 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/207Pb and 300-1700 ppm for ratios involving the minor 204Pb isotope. All four procedures enable significantly improved sample throughput compared to an established thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) double-spike method and produce unbiased seawater Pb isotope compositions with similar or improved precision. Nobias extraction is preferable to coprecipitation due to its greater analytical throughput and suitability for analyses of large seawater samples with high Si(OH)4 contents. The most accurate Pb isotope data are produced following Nobias extraction and double-spike correction as such analyses are least susceptible to matrix effects. However, Nobias extraction with Tl normalization constitutes an attractive alternative as, unlike the double-spike procedure, only a single mass spectrometric measurement is required, which improves analytical throughput and optimizes Pb consumption for analysis. Despite the advantages of solid-phase extraction, coprecipitation represents a useful Pb separation technique for samples with low to moderate Si contents as it is inexpensive, simple to implement, and the data are only marginally less accurate, especially when combined with a Pb double spike for mass bias correction.

We have investigated the in situ formation of Low Molecular Weight Organogelator (LMWO) molecules in oil-on-water slicks through dual reactive precursor injection. This method alleviates the need for any carrier solvent or prior heating, therefore reducing the environmental impact of LMWOs, giving instantaneous gelation, even at low temperatures (−5 °C). We show minimal leaching from our gels into the water layer.

Gelation processes grant access to a wealth of soft materials with tailorable properties, in applications as diverse as environmental remediation, biomedicene and electronics. Several classes of self-assembling gelators have been studied and employ non-covalent bonds to direct assembly, but recently attention has come to focus on how the overall shape of the gelator molecule impacts its gelation. Here we study a new sub-family of low molecular weight organogelators and explore how steric rearrangement influences their gelation. The gels produced are characterised with X-ray diffraction and Small- Angle neutron scattering (SANS) to probe their ex-situ and in-situ gelation mechanisms. The best examples were then tested for environmental remediation applications, gelling petrol and oils in the presence of water and salts.