Metal complexes in biology and medicine: The system aluminum (III) / chromium (III) / iron (III) – norvaline

Title : Metal complexes in biology and medicine: The system aluminum (III) / chromium (III) / iron (III) – norvaline

Abstract:

In coordination compounds studies, knowledge of the stability constants of complexes is necessary for preliminary quantitative treatment. Metal complexes can offer their action such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibiotic, anti-thyroid   and anticancer compounds.  Metal based drugs bioactivity can be increased by metal chelation, which in turn increase their absorbance and stability. Recent advances in inorganic chemistry have made possible formation of number of transition metal complexes with organic ligands of interest which can be use as therapeutic agents. Aluminum prefers oxygen donor groups for complexation. The stability of complexes in biological systems depends on pH, which in blood plasma is 7.4. Chromium is a very adaptable metal, and it can form copious species with variable oxidation numbers from (-VI) to (+VI).  Iron is a component of heme and chlorophyll and serves as micronutrient of plants and animals. Ferric ion from Industrial effluent has the potential to poison animals and plants.  The present technique involving the use of paper ionophoresis is described for the study of equilibria in binary complex systems in solution. The method is based on the movement of a spot of a metal ion in an electric field at various pH’s of background electrolyte. A graph of pH versus mobility was used to obtain information in the binary complexes and to calculate its stability constants. Using this method, the stability constants of binary complexes metal (III) – norvaline  have been determined to be (8.73 ± 0.03, 7.20 ± 0.04); (9.00 ± 0.01, 7.41 ± 0.05); and (9.41± 0.01, 7.66 ± 0.11) (logarithm stability constant values) for aluminum (III), chromium (III) and iron (III) complexes, respectively, at ionic strength 0.1 Mol /L and a temperature of 35 ⁰C.The first and second stability constants of metal complexes follow the order Fe(III)> Cr(III)>Al(III).

Keywords:  Paper electrophoretic technique, Overall mobility, Metal complexes, Stability constants.

Biography:

Brij Bhushan Tewari is a Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at University of Guyana. Prof. Tewari obtained the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Science (Chemistry) 1985 from Allahabad University, India.  He has taken teaching/research appointments at several universities in Asia, Europe, USA, Canada and Guyana. His major research interests are in the area of (i) Metal complexes in biology and medicine (ii) Astrobiology & chemical evolution and origins of life (iii) Environment, Microbiology and Agriculture. He has published 133 research papers in international journal, one book and seven book chapters.