Free learning from The Open University

Metals in medicine

This free course, Metals in medicine, focuses on the use of metals and their compounds in the production of images of internal structures in our bodies and on the role of metal-containing compounds as drugs in the treatment of disease. In terms of medical imaging, the high atomic numbers of many metals, their magnetism and radioactivity have all been harnessed in a range of techniques to provide contrast between tissues and to highlight diseased or otherwise changed tissues. These techniques have become some of the most important weapons in our fight against disease. When considering drugs used for the treatment of disease, your first thoughts might lean towards treatments involving organic compounds. But metals and their compounds have been used for medical applications since ancient times. The use of metal-containing drugs is a wide-ranging, exciting and ever-expanding research area. In this course you will learn the underlying chemistry behind both uses of metal-containing compounds and see their major impact on human health.