The Biological Chemistry Of The Elements

This text describes the functional role of the twenty inorganic elements essential to life in living organisms.

The authors of this study on bio-inorganic chemistry seek to examine the importance of inorganic elements. They survey chemical and physical factors controlling the elements of life, discuss the functions of inorganic elements and examine the co-operative interaction in living systems.

This book is written for researchers and students interested in the function and role of chemical elements in biological or environmental systems. Experts have long known that the Periodic System of Elements (PSE) provides only an inadequate chemical description of elements of biological, environmental or medicinal importance. This book explores the notion of a Biological System of the Elements (BSE) established on accurate and precise multi-element data, including evolutionary aspects, representative sampling procedures, inter-element relationships, the physiological function of elements and uptake mechanisms. The book further explores the concept Stoichiometric Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze the biological roles of chemical species. Also discussed is the idea of ecotoxicological identity cards which give a first-hand description of properties relevant for biological and toxicological features of a certain chemical element and its geo biochemically plausible speciation form. The focus of this book goes beyond both classical bioinorganic chemistry and toxicology.

The importance of metals in biology, the environment and medicine has become increasingly evident over the last twenty five years. The study of the multiple roles of metal ions in biological systems, the rapidly expanding interface between inorganic chemistry and biology constitutes the subject called Biological Inorganic Chemistry. The present text, written by a biochemist, with a long career experience in the field (particularly iron and copper) presents an introduction to this exciting and dynamic field. The book begins with introductory chapters, which together constitute an overview of the concepts, both chemical and biological, which are required to equip the reader for the detailed analysis which follows. Pathways of metal assimilation, storage and transport, as well as metal homeostasis are dealt with next. Thereafter, individual chapters discuss the roles of sodium and potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, copper, nickel and cobalt, manganese, and finally molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten and chromium. The final three chapters provide a tantalising view of the roles of metals in brain function, biomineralization and a brief illustration of their importance in both medicine and the environment. Relaxed and agreeable writing style. The reader will not only fiind the book easy to read, the fascinating anecdotes and footnotes will give him pegs to hang important ideas on.Written by a biochemist. Will enable the reader to more readily grasp the biological and clinical relevance of the subject.Many colour illustrations. Enables easier visualization of molecular mechanismsWritten by a single author. Ensures homgeneity of style and effective cross referencing between chapters

The aim of this text is to discuss, describe, and explain the functional relevance of 20 inorganic elements that are consistently found in living systems and are essential for living systems to function correctly.

The present book might be regarded as a sequel to my previous work, Bioinorganic Chemistry: An Introduction (Allyn and Bacon, 1977). The latter is essentially a collection of chemical and physical data pertinent to an understanding of the biological functions of the various elements and the proteins dependent on them. The ten years since its publication have seen an enormous increase in research activity in this area, hence of research papers. A number of monographs and review series on specific topics have also appeared, including the volumes in the series of which the present volume is a part. Nevertheless, a gap has developed between the flood of information available at a detailed level (papers and reviews) and a general description of the underlying principles of biofunctions of the elements as presently conceived. It is hoped that this book will help bridge this gap and at the same time provide an overview of the entire Biochemistry of the Elements series. Specifically, the work attempts to focus on "why" questions, especially, "Why has an element been chosen by organisms for a specific biofunction?" and "Why does an element behave the way it does in biological systems?" It therefore complements my 1977 book and, together with Laboratory Introduction to Bio-Inorganic Chemistry (E. -I. Ochiai and D. R. Williams, Macmillan, 1979), completes a trilogy on the topic of bioinorganic chemistry. This book consists of five parts. Two chapters constitute Part I.

Conventionally, evolution has always been described in terms of species. The Chemistry of Evolution takes a novel, not to say revolutionary, approach and examines the evolution of chemicals and the use and degradation of energy, coupled to the environment, as the drive behind it. The authors address the major changes of life from bacteria to man in a systematic and unavoidable sequence, reclassifying organisms as chemotypes. Written by the authors of the bestseller The Biological Chemistry of the Elements - The Inorganic Chemistry of Life, the clarity and precision of The Chemistry of Evolution plainly demonstrate that life is totally interactive with the environment. This exciting theory makes this work an essential addition to the academic and public library. * Provides a novel analysis of evolution in chemical terms* Stresses Systems Biology * Examines the connection between life and the environment, starting with the ‘big bang’ theory* Reorientates the chemistry of life by emphasising the need to analyse the functions of 20 chemical elements in all organisms

When this innovative textbook first appeared in 1984 it rapidly became a great success throughout the world and has already been translated into several European and Asian languages. Now the authors have completely revised and updated the text, including more than 2000 new literature references to work published since the first edition. No page has been left unaltered but the novel features which proved so attractive have been retained. The book presents a balanced, coherent and comprehensive account of the chemistry of the elements for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. This crucial central area of chemistry is full of ingenious experiments, intriguing compounds and exciting new discoveries. The authors specifically avoid the term `inorganic chemistry' since this evokes an outmoded view of chemistry which is no longer appropriate in the final decade of the 20th century. Accordingly, the book covers not only the 'inorganic' chemistry of the elements, but also analytical, theoretical, industrial, organometallic, bio-inorganic and other cognate areas of chemistry. The authors have broken with recent tradition in the teaching of their subject and adopted a new and highly successful approach based on descriptive chemistry. The chemistry of the elements is still discussed within the context of an underlying theoretical framework, giving cohesion and structure to the text, but at all times the chemical facts are emphasized. Students are invited to enter the exciting world of chemical phenomena with a sound knowledge and understanding of the subject, to approach experimentation with an open mind, and to assess observations reliably. This is a book that students will not only value during their formal education, but will keep and refer to throughout their careers as chemists. Completely revised and updated Unique approach to the subject More comprehensive than competing titles

The remarkable development of molecular biology has had its counterpart in an impressive growth of a segment of biology that might be described as atomic biology. The past several decades have witnessed an explosive growth in our knowledge of the many elements that are essential for life and maintenance of plants and animals. These essential elements include the bulk elements (hydro gen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur), the macrominerals (sodium, potas sium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphorus), and the trace elements. This last group includes the ultra trace elements and iron, zinc, and copper. Only the ultratrace elements are featured in this book. Iron has attracted so much research that two volumes are devoted to this metal-The Biochemistry of Non-Heme Iron by A. Bezkoravainy, Plenum Press, 1980, and The Biochemistry of Heme Iron (in preparation). Copper and zinc are also represented by a separate volume in this series. The present volume begins with a discussion of essentiality as applied to the elements and a survey of the entire spectrum of possible required elements.