Coordination compounds in living system

Coordination compounds play many roles in animals and plants. They are essential in the storage and transport of oxygen, as electron transfer agents, as catalysts, and in photosynthesis. Here we will briefly discuss the coordination compounds containing the porphyrin group and cisplatin as an anticancer drag. 

The chlorophyll molecule, which is necessary for plant photosynthesis, also contains the porphyrin ring, but in this case the metal ion is rather than Fe.  

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Coordination Compounds in Living Systems Coordination compounds play many important roles in animals and plants. They are also used as therapeutic drugs. 

Coordination compounds are found in living systems and have many uses in the home, in industry, and in medicine. We describe a few examples here and in the Chemistry in Action essay on p. 976. 

Most of the reactions the inorganic chemist encounters in the laboratory involve ionic species such as the reactants and products in the reactions just discussed or those of coordination compounds (Chapter 13). However, in the atmosphere there are many free radical reactions initiated by sunlight. One of the most important and controversial sets of atmospheric reactions at present is that concerning stratospheric ozone. The importance of ozone and the effect of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on life has been much discussed. Here we note briefly that only a small portion of the sun s spectrum reaches the surface of the earth and that parts of the UV portion that are largely screened can cause various ill effects to living systems. 

Enzymes are large protein molecules (apoenzymes), which act as catalysts for almost all the chemical reactions that occur in living organisms. The structures of a number of enzymes contains groups of metal ions, known as metal clusters, coordinated to the peptide chain. These enzymes are often referred to as metalloenzymes. Many enzymes require the presence of organic compounds (co-enzymes) and/or metal ions and inorganic compounds (co-factors) in order to function. These composite active enzyme systems are known as holoenzymes. 

As discussed previously, read time is often a bottleneck in the HCS process and will dictate upstream liquid handling processes unless a pause step (as with fixed cells) is included. Assays with many 384-well plates in live cell mode become difficult, even with a fully integrated robotic system, because the cell growth, cell plating, compound addition, and other steps require precise coordination with imaging that is often not worth the cost. 

Coordination compounds are found in many places on the earth s surface. Every living system includes many coordination compounds. They are also important components of everyday products as varied as cleaning materials, medicines, inks, and paints. A list of important coordination compounds appears to he endless because new ones are discovered every year. 

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