Molybdenum biological relevance

Holm, R.H. (1990). The biological relevant oxygen atom transfer of molybdenum. Coordin. Chem. 

The chief use of molybdenum is in steels. The oxides and sulfides have some applications as catalysts. Molybdenum is the only element in the second and third transition series which appears to have a major role as a trace metal in enzymes. Several aspects of molybdenum chemistry have been widely studied in order to gain a better understanding of the biological relevance. Molybdenum is one of the few elements which currently has its own series of international conferences.1... 

Molybdates, heptacyano-, 1235 Molybdates, hexaaqua-, 1235 oxidation, 1236,1237 substitution reactions, 1235 Molybdates, hexachloro-, 1234 Molybdates, hexaisocyanato-, 1235 Molybdates, hexaoxo-reduction, 1242 Molybdates, octachlorodi-aqueous solution chemistry, 1232 Molybdates, pentachlorooxo- 0-exchange, 1254 Molybdates, tetraoxo- 0-exchange, 1259 Molybdates, tetrathio-iron complexes, 1426 Molybdenite, 1229,1431 Molybdenum, 1229 aqueous solution chemistry, 1229 biological relevance, 1229 occurrence, 1229 uses, 1229... 

The molybdenum (Mo) is the one of the most important trace elements, being essential for plants and animals. The most important biogeochemical role of this metal is related to the process of biological fixation of molecule nitrogen (N2) from the atmosphere, since Mo is the obligatory constituent of the relevant biochemical ferment at N-fixing leguminous species. 

In biological systems Mo is present as the Fe/Mo cofactor of the nitrogenase enzymes (2) and of the multitude of oxidoreductases (3). In the latter the common molybdopterin cofactor (4), in addition to a dithiolene functionalized pyranopterin (5) ligand (Fig. 1), contains terminal oxo ligands and in the case of xanthine oxidase both oxo and thio ligands. Some aspects of molybdenum sulfur chemistry discussed in this work may be relevant to the biosynthesis of the molybdopterin cofactor and the function of xanthine oxidase (6). 

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