Biological Activity of Aminophosphonic Acids and Their Short Peptides

The biological activity and natural occurrence of the aminophosphonic acids were described half a century ago. Since then the chemistry and biology of this class of compounds have developed into the separate field of phosphorus chemistry. Today it is well acknowledged that these compounds possess a wide variety of promising, and in some cases commercially useful, physiological activities. Thus, they have found applications ranging from agrochemical (with the herbicides glyphosate and bialaphos being the most prominent examples) to medicinal (with the potent antihypertensive fosinopril and antiosteoporetic bisphosphonates being examples).