Shows how stability constants can reveal factors in ligand design which could not be readily deduced from other physical techniques. Considers the basic chemistry of metal ions in solution as revealed by stability constants; details solution chemistry; describes the uses of metal ions in biomedical

Stability constants are fundamental to understanding the behavior of metal ions in aqueous solution. Such understanding is important in a wide variety of areas, such as metal ions in biology, biomedical applications, metal ions in the environment, extraction metallurgy, food chemistry, and metal ions in many industrial processes. In spite of this importance, it appears that many inorganic chemists have lost an appreciation for the importance of stability constants, and the thermodynamic aspects of complex formation, with attention focused over the last thirty years on newer areas, such as...