Vanadates exhibit a variety of biological activities, in part because they serve as structural mimics of phosphates. It acts as a competitive inhibitor of ATPases, alkaline and acid phosphatases, and protein-phosphotyrosine phosphatases, and its inhibitory effects can be reversed by dilution or the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).
Orthovanadate is activated by boiling and adjusting pH to ~10; this depolymerizes decavanadate into the active inhibitor, monovanadate.