Vanadium: The Versatile Metal

The chemistry of vanadium has expanded considerably in the last decade. The element is a main consitutent and focus of research on orally administered anti-diabetes therapies, catalysts for bulk preparation of organic feedstock, and primary metallic component of certain haloperoxidases and tunicate blood cells. No less important is vanadium’s function in human, animal and plant nutrition, as aw contaminant of coal and petroleum, and as an often toxic pollutant in air, soil and water. This book describes several recent developments in experimental techniques for studying vanadium, new vanadium compounds and new advances in fundamental inorganic, organic and biochemical studies of vanadium, and includes applications to the enzymology, toxicology and anitcarcinogenic and insulin-enhancing abilities of vanadium compounds.