Calcium Ion in Biological Systems

Abstract

This chapter discusses calcium in biological systems, in particular its interaction with its immediate environment. It describes various aspects of the inorganic chemistry of calcium that are of relevance to the numerous and highly important roles of this element in biological systems—what might be called “Biorelevant Calcium Chemistry”. The chapter focuses on kinetic aspects, stability constants, and structures of the biochemical entities and their place in the overall scheme of calcium in biological systems. The great advances in recent years in the knowledge of the part played by calcium in biology indicate that the importance of calcium is probably second only to that of iron amongst the metallic elements.