Li Lithium

Lithium is best known from batteries, but lithium salts were also reported as a psychiatric treatment in 1949.

Basic facts

Symbol	Li
Atomic number	3
Standard atomic weight	7.0
Group	1
Period	2
Block	s-block
Category	Alkali metal
Standard state	Solid
Discovered	1817

Source: PubChem, Lithium (periodic table data, retrieved 2026-10-19). Group and period follow the standard 18-column periodic table.

Biotech uses & experiments

biomedical

prototype biomedical 1949

Lithium salts for psychotic excitement

Cade reported on using lithium salts to treat psychotic excitement.

As reported in: Cade (1949). LITHIUM SALTS IN THE TREATMENT OF PSYCHOTIC EXCITEMENT. Medical Journal of Australia. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1949.tb36912.x

Abstract only

Topics on this site about lithium

Lithium (batteries)
5 entries

Entries elsewhere on the site that mention lithium

Found by name, common compounds and chemical formulas in each entry.

Boron neutron capture therapy · Boron · 2005
Batteries for the grid · Electricity storage (supercapacitors, sodium-ion, solid-state, flow batteries) · 2011
Record solid electrolyte · Electricity storage (supercapacitors, sodium-ion, solid-state, flow batteries) · 2011
Sodium-ion batteries · Electricity storage (supercapacitors, sodium-ion, solid-state, flow batteries) · 2017
Biomass carbon battery anodes · Graphene & carbon from biomass · 2017
Lithium cobalt oxide cathode · Lithium (batteries) · 1980
Lithium iron phosphate · Lithium (batteries) · 1997
Challenges for lithium batteries · Lithium (batteries) · 2001
Li battery challenges (Goodenough) · Lithium (batteries) · 2009
Virus-built battery nanowires · Virus-templated materials (M13 phage) · 2006
High-power virus batteries · Virus-templated materials (M13 phage) · 2009

Patents

Search Google Patents for lithium in biological and medical uses: all patents · recent applications (2022+)

A patent is a legal claim, not proof that something works. See the Patents page.