Chemistry · Chapter 11
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
Bio-inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies the role of metal ions and other inorganic elements in biological systems (living organisms). Although life is built mainly from the organic elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, a range of inorganic elements, especially metal ions, are essential for life: they build tissues, carry oxygen, transmit nerve signals, and act at the heart of many enzymes. This chapter looks at which elements the body needs, why metal ions matter, how the body moves ions across membranes, and what happens when metals become toxic.
The elements required by living organisms are classed by the quantity needed.
Macronutrients are elements required in relatively large amounts. They include the bulk elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur (which build carbohydrates, proteins, fats and nucleic acids) and the bulk mineral ions sodium ($\ce{Na+}$), potassium ($\ce{K+}$), calcium ($\ce{Ca^2+}$), magnesium ($\ce{Mg^2+}$) and chloride ($\ce{Cl-}$). For example, calcium and phosphorus build bones and teeth, and sodium and potassium maintain fluid balance.
Micronutrients are elements required only in very small (trace) amounts, yet they are essential. They are mostly transition-metal ions: iron ($\ce{Fe}$), copper ($\ce{Cu}$), zinc ($\ce{Zn}$), manganese ($\ce{Mn}$), cobalt ($\ce{Co}$), molybdenum ($\ce{Mo}$), along with iodine and selenium. For example, iron is central to haemoglobin, iodine to thyroid hormones, and cobalt to vitamin $\text{B}_{12}$. A deficiency of a trace element causes specific diseases (e.g. iron deficiency causes anaemia; iodine deficiency causes goitre).
Bio-inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies the role of metal ions and other inorganic elements in biological systems (living organisms). Although life is built mainly from the organic elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, a range of inorganic elements, especially metal ions, are essential for life: they build tissues, carry oxygen, transmit nerve signals, and act at the heart of many enzymes. This chapter looks at which elements the body needs, why metal ions matter, how the body moves ions across membranes, and what happens when metals become toxic.
The elements required by living organisms are classed by the quantity needed.
Macronutrients are elements required in relatively large amounts. They include the bulk elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur (which build carbohydrates, proteins, fats and nucleic acids) and the bulk mineral ions sodium (), potassium (), calcium (), magnesium () and chloride (). For example, calcium and phosphorus build bones and teeth, and sodium and potassium maintain fluid balance.
Micronutrients are elements required only in very small (trace) amounts, yet they are essential. They are mostly transition-metal ions: iron (), copper (), zinc (), manganese (), cobalt (), molybdenum (), along with iodine and selenium. For example, iron is central to haemoglobin, iodine to thyroid hormones, and cobalt to vitamin . A deficiency of a trace element causes specific diseases (e.g. iron deficiency causes anaemia; iodine deficiency causes goitre).