Siderophores are secondary metabolites produced by different organisms in order to scavenge iron from their surrounding environment making this essential element available to the cell. Presenting high affinity for ferric iron, siderophores are secreted out to form soluble ferric complexes that can be taken up by the organisms. Siderophores present complex chemistry that allows them to form the strongest iron-chelating complexes. Interest in this field is always up to date and new siderophores are found with new roles and applications. For example, siderophores participate to the mobilization of iron and other elements and are involved in virulence processes. Recently, a strong relation between siderophores and oxidative stress tolerance has been also highlighted. Their application in medicine has been widely studied as well as in agriculture. However, new fields are paying attention to the use of siderophores as green-iron chelators. In particular, siderophores have been proposed for the preservation of cultural heritage.

铁载体是由不同生物体产生的次级代谢产物，目的是清除周围环境中的铁，从而使该基本元素可用于细胞。由于对铁具有很高的亲和力，铁载体被分泌出来形成可被有机体吸收的可溶性铁络合物。铁载体具有复杂的化学性质，使它们能够形成最强的铁螯合物。人们对该领域的兴趣始终是最新的，并且发现了具有新角色和新应用的新铁载体。例如，铁载体参与铁和其他元素的动员，并参与毒力过程。近来，铁载体与氧化应激耐受性之间的紧密关系也已被强调。它们在医学以及农业上的应用已得到广泛研究。然而，新领域正在注意将铁载体用作绿铁螯合剂。特别地，已经提出了用于保护文化遗产的铁载体。