For a long time the biological role of vanadium was not known, while now the possibility of using its derivatives as potential therapeutic agents has given rise to investigations on their probable side effects. Vanadium compounds may inhibit different biochemical processes and lead to a variety of toxic effects and serious diseases. But, on the other hand, vanadium is an essential element for life. In recent years, increasing evidence has been acquired on the possible roles of vanadium in the higher forms of life. Despite several biochemical and physiological functions that have been suggested for vanadium and notwithstanding the amount of the knowledge so far accumulated, it still does not have a clearly defined role in the higher forms of life. What functions could vanadium or its very stable oxidovanadium(IV) derivatives have had in the prebiotic world and in the origins of life? In this review, we have briefly tried to highlight the most useful aspects that can be taken into consideration to give an answer to this still unresolved question and to show the high versatility of the oxidovanadium(IV) group to act as promoter of several oxidation reactions when coordinated with a variety of ligands, including diketones like acylpyrazolones.
Keywords: acylpyrazolone ligands; astrobiology; bioinorganic chemistry; catalytic oxidation; oxidovanadium complexes; prebiotic life; vanadium oxides.