Solid state structures of lead complexes with relevance for biological systems

Structural information on the interaction between lead ion and its targeting biological substances is important not only for enriching coordination chemistry of lead but for successfully treating lead poisoning that is a present-day problem. This chapter provides structural data, mainly metal binding sites/modes, observed in crystal structures of lead complexes with biorelevant molecules, obtained from the Cambridge Structural Database (the CSD version 5.36 updated to May 2015) and the Protein Data Bank (PDB updated to February 2016). Ligands include (i) amino acids and small peptides, (ii) proteins, (iii) nucleic acid constituents, (iv) nucleic acids, (v) simple saccharides, and (vi) other biorelevant molecules involving leaddetoxification agents. For representative complexes of these ligands, some details on the environment of the metal coordination and structural characteristics are described.