Bioinorganic chemistry

Okay kiddo, let's start with what "bioinorganic" means. "Bio" means living things like plants, animals, and humans. "Inorganic" means things that are not living, like rocks and metal. So, "bioinorganic" chemistry is when we study how living things use things that are not alive, like metal, to stay alive and healthy.

You know that we need food to survive, right? Well, our bodies also need certain metals, like iron, copper, and zinc, to work properly. We call these metals "essential" because we cannot live without them. In bioinorganic chemistry, scientists study these essential metals and figure out how they help our bodies function.

For example, iron is really important for making red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout our bodies. Copper is necessary for enzymes that help us process oxygen and make energy. Zinc helps our bodies fight off infections by strengthening our immune system.

Scientists also study how toxic metals, like lead and mercury, can harm our bodies. Even though these metals are not essential, we can still accidentally become exposed to them and they can make us sick. Bioinorganic chemists work to understand how these toxic metals can damage our bodies and how to prevent that damage from happening.

So, to sum it up, bioinorganic chemistry is all about how living things use metals to stay healthy and how we can avoid harmful exposure to toxic metals.