Biological responses related to agonistic, antagonistic and synergistic interactions of chemical species

The fact that the essential or toxic character of elements is species specific has encouraged the development of analytical strategies for chemical speciation over the last twenty years; indeed, there are now a great number of them that provide very good performance. However, biological systems are exposed to a complex environment in which species of elements can interact in a synergistic/antagonistic fashion. Thus, the metabolism of trace elements cannot be considered in isolation. On the other hand, biological systems are dynamic, so it is necessary to study the trafficking of species of elements between organs, tissues or cell compartments in order to decipher the biochemical processes of the interactions in which they are involved. Although the application of liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-based "metallomics" methods in combination with organic mass spectrometry can provide much-needed insight, new analytical strategies are required to really understand the role of species of elements in biological systems and the mechanisms of their interactions. In the present paper, the interactions of the most widely studied elements in this context (Se, Hg and As) are discussed, as well as other important interactions between different elements.