More about the programme
This Scientific Programme was launched in January 1991 and the five-year period granted ended in December 1995. Funding has been provided by ESF Member Organisations from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. An application for a two-year extension of the Programme has recently been granted by the ESF.
Nature uses metal ions for the control of many fundamental biochemical processes; for example, the selective binding of oxygen from air and its reduction in respiration, the oxidation of water to oxygen in photosynthesis, the conversion of dinitrogen into ammonia, or the regulation of the proteins that a cell will synthesise. These few examples indicate how pertinent metal ions are for life processes; indeed when nature has to perform a difficult task a metal ion, or a cluster of such ions, is usually employed. However, a further aspect is that heavy metal ions, which often are only thought of as being toxic to life, have recently been introduced as drugs to treat diseases such as cancer (platinum) or arthritis (gold) and to assume a vital role in diagnostic medicine (indium, gallium, technetium). The more familiar these facts are becoming, the more Bioinorganic Chemistry is burgeoning. Clearly, the fascinating scientific problems of this rapidly expanding field are evident at the interface of several traditional disciplines including Chemistry, Biology, Agriculture, the Environmental Sciences, Toxicology, Medicine, and also successful research programmes require the application of advanced physical techniques. Consequently, this type of research is truly interdisciplinary and, therefore, a principle guiding the actions of the Steering Committee of this Programme is the stimulation of communications between the various disciplines.
