NCBI Taxonomy: 1978213

Copper

Cu (62.9296)

Copper is an essential nutrient to all higher plants and animals. Physiologically, it exists as an ion in the body. In animals, it is found primarily in the bloodstream, as a cofactor in various enzymes, and in copper-based pigments. In the body, copper shifts between the cuprous (Cu1+) and cupric (Cu2+) forms, though the majority of the bodys copper is in the Cu2+ form. The ability of copper to easily accept and donate electrons explains its important role in oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions and in scavenging free radicals. Copper is a critical functional component of a number of essential enzymes known as cuproenzymes. For instance, the copper-dependent enzyme, cytochrome c oxidase, plays a critical role in cellular energy production. By catalyzing the reduction of molecular oxygen (O2) to water (H2O), cytochrome c oxidase generates an electrical gradient used by the mitochondria to create the vital energy-storing molecule, ATP. Another cuproenzyme, lysyl oxidase, is required for the cross-linking of collagen and elastin, which are essential for the formation of strong and flexible connective tissue. Another cuproeznyme, Monoamine oxidase (MAO), plays a role in the metabolism of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine. MAO also functions in the degradation of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is the basis for the use of MAO inhibitors as antidepressants. One of the most important cuproenzymes is Superoxide dismutase (SOD). SOD functions as an antioxidant by catalyzing the conversion of superoxide radicals (free radicals or ROS) to hydrogen peroxide, which can subsequently be reduced to water by other antioxidant enzymes. Two forms of SOD contain copper: 1) copper/zinc SOD is found within most cells of the body, including red blood cells, and 2) extracellular SOD is a copper-containing enzyme found at high levels in the lungs and low levels in blood plasma. In sufficient amounts, copper can be poisonous or even fatal to organisms. Copper is normally bound to cuproenzymes (such as SOD, MOA) and is thus only toxic when unsequestered and unmediated. It is believed that zinc and copper compete for absorption in the digestive tract so that a diet that is excessive in one of these minerals may result in a deficiency in the other. An imbalance of zinc and copper status might be involved in human hypertension. Furthermore, copper is found to be associated with hyperzincaemia and hypercalprotectinaemia and Wilsons disease, which are inborn errors of metabolism. Copper(2+), also known as copper, ion (cu2+) or copper (ii) ion, is a member of the class of compounds known as homogeneous transition metal compounds. Homogeneous transition metal compounds are inorganic compounds containing only metal atoms,with the largest atom being a transition metal atom. Copper(2+) can be found in a number of food items such as common grape, black cabbage, loquat, and spelt, which makes copper(2+) a potential biomarker for the consumption of these food products. Copper(2+) can be found primarily in blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), saliva, and urine, as well as throughout most human tissues. Copper(2+) exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to humans. In humans, copper(2+) is involved in several metabolic pathways, some of which include tyrosine metabolism, disulfiram action pathway, riboflavin metabolism, and histidine metabolism. Copper(2+) is also involved in several metabolic disorders, some of which include monoamine oxidase-a deficiency (MAO-A), hawkinsinuria, tyrosinemia type I, and alkaptonuria. Moreover, copper(2+) is found to be associated with alzheimers disease, wilsons disease, hyperzincaemia and hypercalprotectinaemia, and multiple sclerosis. Copper(2+) is a non-carcinogenic (not listed by IARC) potentially toxic compound. In cases of suspected copper poisoning, penicillamine is the drug of choice, and dimercaprol, a heavy metal chelating agent, is often administered. Vinegar is not recommended, as it assists in solubilizing insoluble copper salts (T3DB). G - Genito urinary system and sex hormones > G02 - Other gynecologicals > G02B - Contraceptives for topical use > G02BA - Intrauterine contraceptives D018977 - Micronutrients > D014131 - Trace Elements

Copper

Cu (62.9296)

G - Genito urinary system and sex hormones > G02 - Other gynecologicals > G02B - Contraceptives for topical use > G02BA - Intrauterine contraceptives D018977 - Micronutrients > D014131 - Trace Elements Copper (pronounced /?k?p?r/, KOP-?r) is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color. It is used as a thermal conductor, an electrical conductor, a building material, and a constituent of various metal alloys.; Copper can be found as native copper in mineral form (for example, in Michigans Keewenaw Peninsula). It is a polycrystal, with the largest single crystals measuring 4.4x3.2x3.2 cm3. Minerals such as the sulfides: chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), bornite (Cu5FeS4), covellite (CuS), chalcocite (Cu2S) are sources of copper, as are the carbonates: azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) and malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2) and the oxide: cuprite (Cu2O).; Copper compounds are known in several oxidation states, usually 2+, where they often impart blue or green colors to natural minerals such as turquoise and have been used historically widely as pigments. Copper as both metal and pigmented salt, has a significant presence in decorative art. Copper 2+ ions are soluble in water, where they function at low concentration as bacteriostatic substances and fungicides. For this reason, copper metal can be used as an anti-germ surface that can add to the anti-bacterial and antimicrobial features of buildings such as hospitals. In sufficient amounts, copper salts can be poisonous to higher organisms as well. However, despite universal toxicity at high concentrations, the 2+ copper ion at lower concentrations is an essential trace nutrient to all higher plant and animal life. In animals, including humans, it is found widely in tissues, with concentration in liver, muscle, and bone. It functions as a co-factor in various enzymes and in copper-based pigments.; Copper has a reddish, orangish, or brownish color because a thin layer of tarnish (including oxides) gradually forms on its surface when gases (especially oxygen) in the air react with it. But pure copper, when fresh, is actually a pinkish or peachy metal. Copper, caesium and gold are the only three elemental metals with a natural color other than gray or silver. The usual gray color of metals depends on their "electron sea" that is capable of absorbing and re-emitting photons over a wide range of frequencies. Copper has its characteristic color because of its unique band structure. By Madelungs rule the 4s subshell should be filled before electrons are placed in the 3d subshell but copper is an exception to the rule with only one electron in the 4s subshell instead of two. The energy of a photon of blue or violet light is sufficient for a d band electron to absorb it and transition to the half-full s band. Thus the light reflected by copper is missing some blue/violet components and appears red. This phenomenon is shared with gold which has a corresponding 5s/4d structure. In its liquefied state, a pure copper surface without ambient light appears somewhat greenish, a characteristic shared with gold. When liquid copper is in bright ambient light, it retains some of its pinkish luster. When copper is burnt in oxygen it gives off a black oxide.; Copper is a finite resource, but, unlike oil, it is not destroyed and therefore can be recycled. Recycling is a major source of copper in the modern world.; Copper is malleable and ductile and is a good conductor of both heat and electricity.; Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metals to occur naturally as an un-compounded mineral. Copper was known to some of the oldest civilizations on record, and has a history of use that is at least 10,000 years old. Some estimates of coppers discovery place this event around 9000 BC in the Middle East. A copper pendant was found in what is now northern Iraq that dates to 8700 BC. It is probable that gold and meteoritic iron were the only metals used by humans before copper. By 5000 BC, there are signs of copper smelting: the re...