Aspects of the bioinorganic chemistry of silicon in conjunction with the biometals calcium, iron and aluminium.

Silicon, in its various forms (silicic acid (Si(OH)4) through to hydrated amorphous silica (SiOn(OH)4-2n, n = 2-4) is important in geological and biological processes. Silicon is considered to be an 'essential' element for some plants and higher animals and when present as silica imparts structural, defensive and photosynthetic advantages to many plants. For the majority of essential elements specific molecular binding sites have been identified, but this is not the case for silicon. This has lead to the proposal that silicon may not act directly on biological systems but may exert its influence via interactions with biometals. Metals for which this may be a viable option include aluminium, iron and calcium, all of which can be found co-located with silicon in both minerals and living organisms. This article briefly reviews the pertinent solution and solid state chemistry of silicon in relation to aluminium, iron and calcium. Examples where silicon and an additional metal are found in solid state phases are described. The biological systems where these deposits are found are extremely complex and preliminary results from a model system designed to study silicon-biometal interactions are described.