Lists of metalloids cluster. Cluster 1 (93%) = B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te; cluster 2 (44%) = Po, At; cluster 3 (24%) = Se; cluster 4 (9%) = C, Al; cluster 5 (5%) = Be, P, Bi; cluster 6 (3%) = Sn; and cluster 7 (1%) = H, Ga, S, I, Pb, Fl, Mc, Lv, Ts. The resulting geometric trend line has the formula y = 199.47e and an R value of 0.9962. The elements commonly classified as metalloids are boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony and tellurium. The status of polonium and astatine is not settled. Most authors recognise one or the
Germanium element for any living organism. Some complex organic germanium compounds are being investigated as possible pharmaceuticals, though none have yet proven successful. Similar to silicon and aluminum, natural germanium compounds tend to be insoluble in water and thus have little oral toxicity. However, synthetic soluble germanium salts are nephrotoxic, and synthetic chemically reactive germanium compounds with halogens and hydrogen are irritants and toxins. In his report on "The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements" in 1869, the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev predicted the existence of several unknown chemical elements, including one that would fill a gap in the carbon family