Modeling the biological chemistry of vanadium: Structural and reactivity studies elucidating biological function

Prior to the 1980s vanadium was primarily studied because of its role as an industrial catalyst. However, with the discovery of its insulin-mimetic properties and its presence and functional role in certain haloperoxidases and nitrogenases, interest in vanadium chemistry from a biological and pharmacological perspective has exploded over the past 20 years. This paper addresses the biological roles of vanadium including (1) the coordination chemistry for biologically relevant oxidation states, (2) theories and discoveries related to the transport, coordination environment, and role of vanadium in both tunicates and Amanita muscaria mushrooms which accumulate vanadium in unusually high concentrations, (3) selective cleavage of proteins by photoactivation of vanadium-protein complexes, (4) the insulin-mimetic abilities of vanadyl, vanadate, and peroxovanadate complexes and their proposed mechanisms of action, and (5) the role of structural and functional model compounds in helping to elucidate the structure and function of vanadium in haloperoxidase and nitrogenase enzymes.