Biological systems, phosphorus compounds

PHOSPHORUS (In Biological Systems). Phosphorus is required by every living plant and animal cell. Deficiencies of available phosphorus in soils are a major cause of limited crop production, Phosphorus deficiency is probably the most critical mineral deficiency in grazing livestock. Phosphorus, as orthophosphate or as the phosphoric acid ester of organic compounds, has many functions in the animal body. As such, phosphorus is an essential dietary nutrient. 

Compared with peroxysulfur compounds, very few peroxyphosphorus compounds are reported. Phosphorus peroxide derivatives have been postulated as possible intermediates in certain biological transformations, although they have never been isolated in such systems . Monoperoxyphosphonic acid can be prepared in situ and applied for some common oxidation reactions ". Only one example of phosphorus peroxide, i.e. bis(phenylphosphinyl) peroxide, has been studied . It is believed that when trivalent phosphorus compounds are allowed to react with ozone and a source of singlet oxygen, phosphorus ozonides 54 are obtained (equation 89). ... 

The present volume comprises 17 chapters, written by 27 authors from 11 countries, and deals with theoretical aspects and structural chemistry of peroxy compounds, with their thermochemistry, O NMR spectra and analysis, extensively with synthesis of cyclic peroxides and with the uses of peroxides in synthesis, and with peroxides in biological systems. Heterocyclic peroxides, containing silicon, germanium, sulfur and phosphorus, as well as transition metal peroxides are treated in several chapters. Special chapters deal with allylic peroxides, advances in the chemistry of dioxiranes and dioxetanes, and chemiluminescence of peroxide and with polar effects of their decomposition. A chapter on anti-malarial and anti-tumor peroxides, a hot topic in recent research of peroxides, closes the book. 

The dissolved phosphorus fraction is the most important aquatic phosphorus compartment in terms of biological growth in an aquatic system because it provides the major source of available phosphorus to phytoplankton. To be biologically useful the dissolved phosphorus compounds must... 

Derivatives of phosphoric acid, pyrophosphoric acid, and related compounds are very important in biological systems. Pyrophosphoric acid is an anhydride of phosphoric acid. Adenosine triphosphate, an energy carrier that is universally found in living organisms, has a phosphorus dianhydride connected to an adenosine group by a phosphate ester linkage. Phosphorus ester bonds are used to form the polymeric backbone of DNA (see Chapter 27). 

It is well known that pentacovalent cyclic phosphorus compounds play an important role as intermediates in reactions involving nucleophilic attack on tetracoordinated phosphorus in biological systems. According to this background it appears to us that it is important to prepare the arsenic derivatives, which are more stable than the corresponding phosphorus compounds and allow the study of their conformation. 

Phosphorus compounds are important in biological systems. The element occurs in phosphate groups in RNA and DNA, the molecules responsible for the control of protein biosynthesis and transmission of genetic information. It also occurs in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which stores energy in biological cells and has the following structure ... 

Organic phosphorus compounds play an important role in biological systems. In chemical investigations, chiral phosphorus compounds have found extensive applications as chiral ligands occurring in many catalysts used in asymmetric syntheses [77,78]. 

Several methods for the preparation of the parent compound in this system, tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphite, have been reported.114 118 The application of this and related reagents in reaction with alkyl halides has been reported and used for the preparation of a variety of phosphonic acid analogues of phospholipids.114119-124 Interestingly, alkyl chlorides appear to be more reactive with the silyl reagents than do alkyl iodides, a reversal of the normally observed trend with alkyl esters of the phosphorus acids. (The particular use of silyl phosphorus reagents for the synthesis of biologically significant compounds has... 

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