Inorganic ion

• • An ion is an atom that has an electric charge, cation = positive, anion = negative.
• Inorganic ions

  are one which does not contain carbon, they are inorganic ions in solutions, in cytoplasms of cells and body fluids of organisms.
• examples: Iron ions in haemoglobin:

  • haemoglobin is a large protein that carries oxygen around the body in red blood cells, it is made up of 4 different polypeptide chains each with an Fe2+ in the centre. It is the Fe2+  that actually binds to the oxygen in haemoglobin. When oxygen is bound, the Fe2+ temporarily becomes an Fe3+ ion until oxygen is released.
• examples: Hydrogen ion:

  • pH is calculated based on concentration of H+ in the environment, the more hydrogen ions present the lower pH (acidic)
• examples: sodium ions

  •  a molecule of glucose or amino acid can be transported into cell surface membrane along sodium ions known as co transport.
• examples: phosphate ions

  • when a phosphate ion [PO3 (3-)] is attached to another molecule it is known as a phosphate group. DNA,RNA and ATP all contain phosphate groups, its the bonds between phosphate groups that store energy in ATP, phosphate groups in DNA and RNA allow nucleotides to join up to form polynucleotides.