Application of Arsenic, Antimony and Bismuth in Medicine

Abstract

With deep understanding of the biological functions of the main group elements : arsenic , antimony and bismuth , more interests have been shifted from the biological toxicity of these elements to their potential application in chemotherapies. This paper reviews the medical history of arsenic , antimony and bismuth , and summarizes the applications of their compounds in human health as anti2cancer , anti2leukemia , anti2microbial and anti2parasite agents. The uses of modern bio2technology for the identification of targets or binding proteins of these elements are briefly mentioned. 近年来，由于对主族元素砷、锑、铋的生物功能研究的不断深入，人们已经从仅仅关注它们对人体的生物毒性到开始研究它们在化学药物领域的应用和潜力。本文简要的介绍了砷、锑、铋作为药物应用的历史，综述了近年来砷、锑、铋的化合物在抗癌、治疗白血病、抗寄生虫病和抗菌方面的一些应用，以及用于发现这些药物的靶分子和结合蛋白的现代生物技术。