Bioinorganic chemistry

In this chapter we survey the molecular mechanics and dynamics studies of bioinorganic systems reported to date. We also address the problems involved in carrying out such studies and point to possible strategies for dealing with them. 

The vast majority of biochemical processes in which a metal plays a role involve a only a relatively small number of metals. Those metals include Na, K, Mg, Ca, Mo, or the first-row transition metals from V to Zn. Only molybdenum could be considered as a heavy metal. It should also be observed that the metal ions constitute those that can be considered as hard or borderline in hardness. It is a general property that ions of heavy metals having low charge (that is to say soft ) are toxic. These include Hg, Pb, Cd, H, and numerous others. Some heavy metals bind to groups such as the sulfhydryl (-SH) group in enzymes, thereby destroying the ability of the enzyme to promote the reaction in a 

Of the metals that were just listed as the major participants in biochemical functions, some (such as Mg and Zn) rarely change oxidation states. Therefore, metals such as these are involved in processes in which there is no redox chemistry taking place. These metals function in some other way. On the other hand, metals such as Fe, Mn, Mo, and Cu can change oxidation states more easily, so they are the metals that participate in redox reactions. For example, the role of iron in oxygen transport requires it to bond to oxygen and thereby, at least formally, to become oxidized in the process. There are other instances of this type of behavior. As mentioned earlier, the list of metals that are involved in the vast majority of biochemical processes is not a particularly long one. 

Absolute specificity, in which the enzyme catalyzes a single reaction. 

Manganese is an essential metal cofactor in enzymes that coyer the entire range of enzyme functionality. It is only possible to include some of the more important and better-characterized 

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W. KaIM and B. SchwederSKI, Bioinorganic Chemistry Inorganic Elements in the Chemistry of Life, Wiley, Chichester, 1994, 401 pp. 

K. D. Karlin and Z. Tyeklar (eds.). Bioinorganic Chemistry of Copper, Chapman Hall, New York, 1993, 506 pp. 

X-ray absorption spectroscopy a new structural method and its applications to bioinorganic chemistry. S. P. Kramer and K, O. Hodgson, Prog, Inorg. Chem., 1979, 25,1-39 (71). 

Transition metal thiometalates properties and significance in complex and bioinorganic chemistry. A. Muller, E. Diemann, R. Jostes and H. Bogge, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 1981, 20, 934-955 (227). 

Nagy, L. Theoretical Background ofEXAFS and XANES Spectroscopies. Application in Inorganic and in Bioinorganic Chemistry. Novel Results in Chemistry, Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, 1999 p. 63. 

Link, T. A. Hatzfeld, O. M. Saynovits, M. In Bioinorganic Chemistry— Transition Metals in Biology and their Coordination Chemistry Trautwein, A. X., Ed. Wiley-VCH Weinheim, 1997, 312-325. 

Bioinorganic Chemistry of Pterin-Containing Molybdenum and Tungsten Enzymes John H. Enemark and Charles G. Young... 

Vol. 135. Element Speciation in Bioinorganic Chemistry. Edited by Sergio Caroli... 

Trautheim AX (1997) Bioinorganic chemistry transition metals in biology and their coordination chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim... 

Gold drugs used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Perspectives on Bioinorganic Chemistry, 1,... 

The effect of gold compounds on human neutrophil myeloperoxidase, in Bioinorganic Chemistry of Gold Coordination Compounds (eds B.M. Sutton and R.G. Franz), SK F, Philadelphia, pp. 58-66. 

After a consideration of optical transitions in which MMCT plays a role, and after a characterization of the excited states involved, a short review of mixed-valence compounds and their spectroscopy is in order. For more extended reviews we refer to Refs. [60,97], At least 40 elements of the periodic table form mixed-valence species which are of importance in solid state physics and chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials science, geology and bioinorganic chemistry. It is usually their colors which are their most striking property (see also above), but they have more intriguing properties, for example electrical and magnetic properties. 

Orbitally degenerate grormd states, in general, cannot be treated in the spin-Hamiltonian approach. In this case, SOC has to be evaluated explicitly on an extended basis of spin-orbit functions. However, in coordination chemistry and bioinorganic chemistry, this is only of marginal importance, because the metal centers of... 

Girerd, J.J., Joumaux, Y. Molecular Magnetism in Bioinorganic Chemistry. In Que, L. (ed.) Physical Methods in Bioinorganic Chemistry, p. 321. University Science Books, Sausalito (2000)... 

Bertini, I. Luchinat, C. In Bioinorganic Chemistry, Bertini, I. Gray, H. B. Lippard, S. Valentine, J. Eds. University Science Books Mill Valley, CA, 1994 Chapter 2, and references therein. 

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