Vanadium: Biological, Environmental, and Engineering Aspects

Vanadium is an element that is widely distributed in Earth’s crust as well as in sea-water and ground-water reservoirs. Therefore, it exerts a great influence on the issues related to life and environment. Vanadium is utilized by several marine organisms. For example, there are vanadate-dependent haloperoxidases in algae and several bacteria, e.g., Azotobacter, use it for nitrogen fixation and bacterial reduction involves the conversion of vanadate to oxidovanadium (IV). The similarity between vanadate and phosphate imparts a physiological functional role to vanadate (V), and consequently, several aspects of medicinal potential to vanadate and vanadium coordination compounds, such as their use in the treatment of diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular problems, which may be explained in conjunction with vanadate/phosphate antagonism. Similar considerations apply to the efficacy of vanadium compounds in the treatment of HIV and [tropical] diseases caused by bacteria and protozoa. In addition to this biological efficacy, vanadium plays an increasingly recognized role in industrial processes, such as steel production, oxidation catalysis, and vanadium-based energy storage (batteries) and solar cells.