Implications of vanadium in technical applications and pharmaceutical issues

Vanadium is a constituent of two types of enzymes (nitrogenase, peroxidase) and further accumulates unspecifically in a few organisms. Elemental vanadium is a constituent in steels; the use of vanadium compounds in technical applications includes catalysts, high-performance batteries, metal-organic frameworks and quantum information. Potential pharmaceutical issues are directed towards type 2 diabetes, infectious (viral, bacterial, protozoan and amoebic) diseases, tumours and cardio-vascular defects. [Display omitted] •Vanadium compounds for industrial exploitation (catalysis, batteries, qubits, MOFs).•Naturally occurring vanadium compounds and implications for applications.•Potentiality of vanadium compounds in medicinal issues. This overview addresses technical, biological and medicinal aspects of vanadium chemistry with special emphasis directed towards recent developments in industrial areas and (potential) pharmacological applications, along with novel insight into vanadium compounds occurring in, or associated with, living organisms. This includes the model character and potentiality of some of these systems for application domains. Focal points are industrial processes such as oxidation and polymerisation catalysis, vanadium-based batteries, breathing metal-organic frame-works, and quantum information, along with environmental concern. Examples for the latter aspect are the detoxification of exhaust gases, and the (bacterial) detoxification of soils and water. With respect to pharmacological and thus health issues, diabetes and tropical diseases (sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and amoebiasis) are accentuated.