Issue 4, 2021

Minerals in biology and medicine

Abstract

Natural minerals (‘stone drugs’) have been used in traditional Chinese medicines for over 2000 years, but there is potential for modern-day use of inorganic minerals to combat viral infections, antimicrobial resistance, and for other areas in need of new therapies and diagnostic aids. Metal and mineral surfaces on scales from milli-to nanometres, either natural or synthetic, are patterned or can be modified with hydrophilic/hydrophobic and ionic/covalent target-recognition sites. They introduce new strategies for medical applications. Such surfaces have novel properties compared to single metal centres. Moreover, 3D mineral particles (including hybrid organo-minerals) can have reactive cavities, and some minerals have dynamic movement of metal ions, anions, and other molecules within their structures. Minerals have a unique ability to interact with viruses, microbes and macro-biomolecules through multipoint ionic and/or non-covalent contacts, with potential for novel applications in therapy and biotechnology. Investigations of mineral deposits in biology, with their often inherent heterogeneity and tendency to become chemically-modified on isolation, are highly challenging, but new methods for their study, including in intact tissues, hold promise for future advances.

Graphical abstract: Minerals in biology and medicine

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
25 Nov 2020
Accepted
21 Dec 2020
First published
06 Jan 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2021,11, 1939-1951

Minerals in biology and medicine

O. W. L. Carter, Y. Xu and P. J. Sadler, RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 1939 DOI: 10.1039/D0RA09992A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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