Preface The aim of this book is to interest students from pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and related subjects to the area of inorganic chemistry. There are strong links between pharmacy/pharmaceutical sciences and inorganic chemistry as metal-based drugs are used in a variety of pharmaceutical applications ranging from anticancer drugs to antimicrobial eye drops.
The idea of this introductory-level book is to teach basic inorganic chemistry, including general chemical principles, organometallic chemistry and radiochemistry, by using pharmacy-relevant examples.
Each chapter in this book is dedicated to one main group of elements or transition-metal group, and typically starts with a general introduction to the chemistry of this group followed by a range of pharmaceutical applications.
Chemical principles are introduced with relevant pharmaceutical examples rather than as stand-alone concepts.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction to medicinal inorganic chemistry and provides an overview of the basic inorganic principles. The electronic structures of atoms and different bond formations are also discussed.
Chapter 2 is dedicated to alkali metals. Within this chapter, the basic chemistry of group 1 elements is discussed, together with the clinical use of selected examples. The reader is introduced to the clinical use of lithium salts in the treatment of bipolar disorder together with its historical development. In addition, the central role of sodium and potassium ions in many physiological functions is discussed within this chapter.
Furthermore, the reader is introduced to a variety of chemical concepts, such as oxidation states, reduction and oxidation reactions, osmosis and others.
The chemistry of alkaline-earth metals and their clinical applications are the topic of Chapter 3. The potential biological role, clinical use and toxicity of a variety of examples are covered in this chapter.
This includes issues relating to excessive beryllium uptake and the central physiological role magnesium and calcium play in the human body as well as the clinical use of barium salts and their potential toxicity.
After an introduction to the general chemistry of group 13 elements, the clinical uses of multivalent boron, aluminum and gallium are discussed in Chapter 4. The concept of metalloids is introduced, together with the general chemical behavior of group 14 elements.
Chapter 5 concentrates on the general chemistry of group 14 elements and the clinical application of silicon and germanium-based compounds. Silicon-based compounds are under discussion as novel drug alternatives to their carbon-based analogues. Germanium-based compounds have a very varied reputation for clinical use, ranging from food supplementation to proposed anticancer properties.
The biological role of phosphate and its clinical use together with potential drug interactions are discussed in Chapter 6.
Furthermore, this chapter focusses on the long-standing research history of arsenic-based drugs. During the development of the most famous arsenic-based drug, Salvarsan, Ehrlich created the term the Magic Bullet – a drug that targets only the invader and not the host. This is seen as the start of chemotherapy.
Chapter 7 gives an overview of the area of transition-metal-based drugs with cisplatin being the most widely used example. In addition, developments in the area of iron and ruthenium-based compounds for clinical use are also discussed.
Other topics include the clinical use of coinage metals and the biological role of zinc. The reader is introduced to a variety of concepts in connection to d-block metals including crystal field theory.
The concept of organometallic chemistry with a focus on d-block metals is introduced in Chapter 8. Clinical
developments in the area of ferrocenes, titanocenes and vanadocenes are used as examples for current and
future research
