Everything about Bioinorganic Chemistry totally explained
Bioinorganic chemistry is a specialized field that spans the
chemistry of
metal-containing
molecules within biological systems. This field is concerned with the control and use of metal
ions in biochemical processes. Although bioinorganic chemistry includes the study of artificially introduced metals (for example medicinally), many natural occurring
biological processes (such as
respiration) depend upon molecules containing inorganic elements, such as
metalloproteins, and these natural processes are also studied by bioinorganic chemistry. Bioinorganic chemistry has developed from the continuing research in inorganic chemistry and its important associations in biological chemistry.
It is a discipline which is focussed on:
- the study of elements and inorganic compounds in biological systems and the study of inorganic models that could imitate the chemical behaviour in those biological systems.
- the study of non-essential elements with an application in the diagnosis and therapeutic field.
As a mix of
biochemistry and
inorganic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry is important in realizing the implications of electron-transfer
proteins, substrate bindings and activation, atom and group transfer chemistry as well as metal properties in biological chemistry.
History
Paul Ehrlich used
organoarsenic (“arsenicals”) for the treatment of
syphilis, demonstrating the relevance of metals, or at least metalloids, to medicine, that blossomed with Rosenberg’s discovery of the anti-cancer activity of “
cisplatin (cis-PtCl
2(NH
3)
2). The first protein ever crystallized (see
James B. Sumner) was
urease, later shown to contain nickel at its
active site.
Vitamin B12, the cure for
pernicious anemia was shown crystallographically by
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin to consist of a cobalt in a corrin macrocycle. The Watson-Crick structure for
DNA demonstrated the key structural role played by phosphate-containing polymers.
Research areas
There are several distinct systems of interest in bioinorganic chemistry. These areas include metal ion transport and storage, metallo
hydrolase enzymes, metal-containing
electron transfer proteins, oxygen transport and activation proteins, bioorganometallic systems such as hydrogenases and alkyltransferases, and enzymes involved in nitrogen
metabolism pathways.
Metal ion transport and storage covers a diverse collection of
ion channels, ion pumps (for example
NaKATPase),
vacuoles,
siderophores, and other
proteins and small molecules whose aim is to carefully control the concentration of metal ions in the cell.
Hydrolase enzymes include a diverse collection of proteins that interact with water and substrates. Examples of this class of
metalloproteins are
carbonic anhydrase, metallo
phosphatases, and
metalloproteinases.
Metal-containing electron transfer proteins are organized into three major classes:
Oxygen transport and activation proteins make extensive use of metals such as iron, copper, and manganese.
Heme is utilized by
red blood cells in the form of
hemoglobin for oxygen transport and is perhaps the most recognized metal system in biology. Other oxygen transport systems include
myoglobin,
hemocyanin, and
hemerythrin.
Oxidases and
oxygenases are metal systems found throughout nature that take advantage of oxygen to carry out important reactions such as energy generation in
cytochrome c oxidase or small molecule oxidation in
cytochrome P450 oxidases or
methane monooxygenase. Some metalloproteins are designed to protect a biological system from the potentially harmful effects of oxygen and other reactive oxygen-containing molecules such as
hydrogen peroxide. These systems include
peroxidases,
catalases, and
superoxide dismutases. A complementary metalloprotein to those that react with oxygen is the
oxygen evolving complex present in plants. This system is part of the complex protein machinery that
produces oxygen as plants perform
photosynthesis.
Bioorganometallic systems such as
hydrogenases and
methylcobalamin are biological examples of
organometallic chemistry.
The nitrogen metabolism pathways make extensive use of metals.
Nitrogenase is one of the more famous
metalloproteins associated with nitrogen metabolism. More recently, the
cardiovascular and
nueronal importance of
nitric oxide has been examined, including the enzyme
nitric oxide synthase. (See also:
nitrogen assimilation.)
Metals in medicine is the study of the design and mechanism of action of metal-containing pharmaceuticals, and compounds that interact with endogenous metal ions in enzyme active sites. This diverse field includes the platinum and ruthenium anti-cancer drugs, chelating agents, gold drug chaperones, and gadolinium contrast agents.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bioinorganic Chemistry'.
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