Bioinorganic chemistry is an interdisciplinary field of research that explores the role of metals and coordination compounds in biological systems. Its different sub-topics have fostered fruitful collaborations with scientists from different countries, and even continents, which often overcame technical hurdles and possibly other barriers. The Spanish-speaking community is an excellent example for such interdisciplinary, international, and intercontinental scientific exchange.

This special issue of JBIC, entitled “Collaborations in the Spanish-Speaking Bioinorganic Community”, is aimed at highlighting ongoing interactions within this community, and it is a great honour for us to act as Guest Editors for this Special Issue.

Bioinorganic chemistry in Spain is represented by the Spanish Association of Bioinorganic Chemistry (AEBIN; www.aebin.es), a number of members of which have contributed by sending an impactful collaborative article. The AEBIN currently has 173 members, the vast majority being young talented researchers, hence indicating a bright future for Bioinorganic Chemistry in Spain.

In Latin America, the scientific community devoted to Bioinorganic Chemistry gathers biennially at the Latin American Meeting on Biological Inorganic Chemistry, LABIC. This scientific discussion forum represents the collaborative effort to disseminate relevant research conducted in the region, promote closer associations among groups from different countries, and attract early career researchers towards this field.

The eighth version of LABIC was successfully held in 2023 in Viña del Mar, Chile, where world leaders in Bioinorganic Chemistry from Latin America, North America, and Europe shared knowledge and experiences with young researchers, joining over 120 participants. Again, several of the LABIC participants have contributed to this Special Issue.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the Spanish-speaking bioinorganic community, comprising most Latin American countries and Spain. A number of articles are collected in this first Issue of Volume 29 of JBIC. Others that were submitted later (or earlier but could be included by their nature) will be added to the Web Collection of articles upon publication (https://link.springer.com/collections/bfbefbhddf). Through a collection of high-quality articles, it aims to underline the opportunities that arise from sharing the same language to create new collaborative connections between countries and continents.

Patrick Gamez and Luis Lemus, December 2023