| Compound Description | Copper is a metal that occurs naturally throughout the environment, in rocks, soil, water, and air. Copper is an essential element in plants and animals , which means it is necessary for us to live. Therefore, plants and animals must absorb some copper from eating, drinking, and breathing. Copper is used to make many different kinds of products like wire, plumbing pipes, and sheet metal. U.S. pennies made before 1982 are made of copper, while those made after 1982 are only coated with copper. Copper is also combined with other metals to make brass and bronze pipes and faucets. Copper compounds are commonly used in agriculture to treat plant diseases like mildew, for water treatment and, as preservatives for wood, leather, and fabrics.Reddish lustrous malleable odorless metallic solid.Copper atom is a copper group element atom and a metal allergen. It has a role as a micronutrient and an Escherichia coli metabolite.Copper is a transition metal and a trace element in the body. It is important to the function of many enzymes including cytochrome c oxidase, monoamine oxidase and superoxide dismutase. Copper is commonly used in contraceptive intrauterine devices .Copper is a metabolite found in or produced by Escherichia coli .Copper is an essential trace element that is included in some over-the-counter multivitamin and mineral supplements, even though copper deficiency is quite rare and supplementation is rarely needed. The amounts of copper found in typical supplements has not been associated with serum enzyme elevations or with clinically apparent liver injury. However, accidental or intentional copper overdose can cause an acute liver injury and chronic ingestion of excessive amounts of copper can result in copper overload and chronic liver injury.Copper is a natural product found in Artemia salina, Crotalaria prolongata, and Theobroma cacao with data available.Copper is an element with atomic symbol Cu, atomic number 29, and atomic weight 63.Copper is a mineral with formula of Cu. The IMA symbol is Cu.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 and cupric forms, though the majority of the body's copper is in the Cu2+ form. The ability of copper to easily accept and donate electrons explains its important role in oxidation-reduction 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 to water , 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 , 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 functions as an antioxidant by catalyzing the conversion of superoxide radicals 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 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. |
