Record Information
Version1.0
Creation date2010-04-08 22:05:52 UTC
Update date2019-11-26 02:59:24 UTC
Primary IDFDB003582
Secondary Accession NumbersNot Available
Chemical Information
FooDB NameCopper
DescriptionCopper (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 Michigan's 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 Madelung's 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 copper's 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 refining of copper from simple copper compounds such as malachite or azurite. Among archaeological sites in Anatolia, Çatal Höyük (~6000 BC) features native copper artifacts and smelted lead beads, but no smelted copper. Can Hasan (~5000 BC) had access to smelted copper but the oldest smelted copper artifact found (a copper chisel from the chalcolithic site of Prokuplje in Serbia) has pre-dated Can Hasan by 500 years. The smelting facilities in the Balkans appear to be more advanced than the Turkish forges found at a later date, so it is quite probable that copper smelting originated in the Balkans. Investment casting was realized in 4500-4000 BCE in Southeast Asia.; 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. The RDA for copper in normal healthy adults is 0.9 mg/day. On the other hand, professional research on the subject recommends 3.0 mg/day. Because of its role in facilitating iron uptake, copper deficiency can often produce anemia-like symptoms. In humans, the symptoms of Wilson's disease are caused by an accumulation of copper in body tissues.; Numerous copper alloys exist, many with important historical and contemporary uses. Speculum metal and bronze are alloys of copper and tin. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Monel metal, also called cupronickel, is an alloy of copper and nickel. While the metal "bronze" usually refers to copper-tin alloys, it also is a generic term for any alloy of copper, such as aluminium bronze, silicon bronze, and manganese bronze. Copper is one of the most important constituents of carat silver and gold alloys and carat solders used in the jewelry industry, modifying the color, hardness and melting point of the resulting alloys.; The catalytic activity of copper is used by the enzymes that it is associated with and is thus only toxic when unsequestered and unmediated. This increase in unmediated reactive radicals is generally termed oxidative stress and is an active area of research in a variety of diseases where copper may play an important but more subtle role than in acute toxicity. 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. 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 sufficient amounts, copper can be poisonous or even fatal to organisms.; The metal, when powdered, is a fire hazard. At concentrations higher than 1 mg/L, copper can stain clothes and items washed in water.; The purity of copper is expressed as 4N for 99.99% pure or 7N for 99.99999% pure. The numeral gives the number of nines after the decimal point when expressed as a decimal (e.g. 4N means 0.9999, or 99.99%). Copper is often too soft for its applications, so it is incorporated in numerous alloys. For example, brass is a copper-zinc alloy, and bronze is a copper-tin alloy.
CAS Number7440-50-8
Structure
Thumb
Synonyms
SynonymSource
Not AvailableNot Available
Predicted Properties
PropertyValueSource
Water Solubility0 g/LALOGPS
logP-1.3ALOGPS
logP0.16ChemAxon
logS1.08ALOGPS
Physiological Charge0ChemAxon
Hydrogen Acceptor Count0ChemAxon
Hydrogen Donor Count0ChemAxon
Polar Surface Area0 ŲChemAxon
Rotatable Bond Count0ChemAxon
Refractivity0 m³·mol⁻¹ChemAxon
Polarizability1.78 ųChemAxon
Number of Rings0ChemAxon
BioavailabilityYesChemAxon
Rule of FiveYesChemAxon
Ghose FilterNoChemAxon
Veber's RuleYesChemAxon
MDDR-like RuleNoChemAxon
Chemical FormulaCu
IUPAC namecopper
InChI IdentifierInChI=1S/Cu
InChI KeyRYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Isomeric SMILES[Cu]
Average Molecular Weight63.546
Monoisotopic Molecular Weight62.929601079
Classification
Description Belongs to the class of inorganic compounds known as homogeneous transition metal compounds. These are inorganic compounds containing only metal atoms,with the largest atom being a transition metal atom.
KingdomInorganic compounds
Super ClassHomogeneous metal compounds
ClassHomogeneous transition metal compounds
Sub ClassNot Available
Direct ParentHomogeneous transition metal compounds
Alternative ParentsNot Available
Substituents
  • Homogeneous transition metal
Molecular FrameworkNot Available
External Descriptors
Ontology
OntologyNo ontology term
Physico-Chemical Properties
Physico-Chemical Properties - Experimental
PropertyValueReference
Physical stateSolid
Physical DescriptionNot Available
Mass CompositionNot Available
Melting Point1083 oC
Boiling PointNot Available
Experimental Water SolubilityNot Available
Experimental logPNot Available
Experimental pKaNot Available
Isoelectric pointNot Available
ChargeNot Available
Optical RotationNot Available
Spectroscopic UV DataNot Available
DensityNot Available
Refractive IndexNot Available
Spectra
Spectra
EI-MS/GC-MSNot Available
MS/MS
TypeDescriptionSplash KeyView
Predicted MS/MSPredicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Positivesplash10-03di-9000000000-59c652eccc13cc365f652016-06-03View Spectrum
Predicted MS/MSPredicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Positivesplash10-03di-9000000000-59c652eccc13cc365f652016-06-03View Spectrum
Predicted MS/MSPredicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Positivesplash10-03di-9000000000-59c652eccc13cc365f652016-06-03View Spectrum
Predicted MS/MSPredicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Negativesplash10-03di-9000000000-9acd78ab9faeb89677a72016-08-03View Spectrum
Predicted MS/MSPredicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Negativesplash10-03di-9000000000-9acd78ab9faeb89677a72016-08-03View Spectrum
Predicted MS/MSPredicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Negativesplash10-03di-9000000000-9acd78ab9faeb89677a72016-08-03View Spectrum
NMRNot Available
ChemSpider ID25221
ChEMBL IDNot Available
KEGG Compound IDC00070
Pubchem Compound ID27099
Pubchem Substance IDNot Available
ChEBI ID30052
Phenol-Explorer IDNot Available
DrugBank IDNot Available
HMDB IDHMDB00657
CRC / DFC (Dictionary of Food Compounds) IDNot Available
EAFUS IDNot Available
Dr. Duke IDCOPPER
BIGG IDNot Available
KNApSAcK IDNot Available
HET IDCU
Food Biomarker OntologyNot Available
VMH IDNot Available
Flavornet IDNot Available
GoodScent IDNot Available
SuperScent IDNot Available
Wikipedia IDCopper
Phenol-Explorer Metabolite IDNot Available
Duplicate IDSNot Available
Old DFC IDSNot Available
Associated Foods
FoodContent Range AverageReference
FoodReference
Biological Effects and Interactions
Health Effects / Bioactivities
DescriptorIDDefinitionReference
anti anemic52217 Any substance introduced into a living organism with therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.DUKE
anti arthritic52217 Any substance introduced into a living organism with therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.DUKE
anti diabetic52217 Any substance introduced into a living organism with therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.DUKE
anti fatigue52217 Any substance introduced into a living organism with therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.DUKE
anti inflammatory35472 A substance that reduces or suppresses inflammation.DUKE
anti nociceptive35470 A class of drugs producing both physiological and psychological effects through a variety of mechanisms involving the central nervous system.DUKE
anti osteoporotic52217 Any substance introduced into a living organism with therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.DUKE
cardioprotective38070 A drug used for the treatment or prevention of cardiac arrhythmias. Anti-arrhythmia drugs may affect the polarisation-repolarisation phase of the action potential, its excitability or refractoriness, or impulse conduction or membrane responsiveness within cardiac fibres.DUKE
contraceptive52217 Any substance introduced into a living organism with therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.DUKE
hypocholesterolemicDUKE
immunomodulator50846 Biologically active substance whose activity affects or plays a role in the functioning of the immune system.DUKE
schizophrenigenicDUKE
Enzymes
NameGene NameUniProt ID
CP proteinCPA5PL27
PathwaysNot Available
MetabolismNot Available
BiosynthesisNot Available
Organoleptic Properties
FlavoursNot Available
Files
MSDSshow
References
Synthesis ReferenceNot Available
General ReferenceNot Available
Content Reference— Saxholt, E., et al. 'Danish food composition databank, revision 7.' Department of Nutrition, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (2008).
— U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2008. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 21. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page.
— Duke, James. 'Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. United States Department of Agriculture.' Agricultural Research Service, Accessed April 27 (2004).