Boon and bane of metal ions in medicine

In biological systems metal ions promote responses that range from deficiency to toxicity. Some, such as iron and zinc, have a known optimal intake range for normal, healthy individuals. Metal ions contained within well-designed molecules already constitute a great boon for the medicinal pharmacopoeia. However, whether essential or not, the threshold for toxicity can be very low. One of the challenges of designing metal-based drugs is to balance the potential toxicity of an active formulation with the substantial positive impact of these increasingly common therapeutic and diagnostic aids.