Disruptions in metal ion homeostasis have been described in association with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for a number of years but the precise mechanism of involvement is poorly understood. Metal ions are especially important to familial ALS cases caused by mutations in the metalloenzyme copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1). To investigate the role of metals in aggregation of mutant ...

A simple and sensitive extraction-fluorimetric method for the determination of copper is reported. The 1,7-diaza-15-crown-5-copper-rose Bengal (DA15C5-Cu-RB) ternary complex is quantitatively extracted into chloroform, diluted with ammoniacal acetone and its fluorescence intensity is measured at 570 nm with excitation at 540 nm. A linear calibration graph was obtained over the copper concen...

NGO0579 is annotated copA in the Neisseria gonorrhoeae chromosome, suggesting that it encodes a cation-transporting ATPase specific for copper ions. Compared to wild-type cells, a copA mutant was more sensitive to killing by copper ions but not to other transition metals. The mutant also accumulated a greater amount of copper, consistent with the predicted role of CopA as a copper efflux pump. ...

The impact of copper ions on the oxidative and calcium signal transductions, leading to cell death in plant cells, have been documented. Copper induces a series of biological and chemical reactions in plant cells including the oxidative burst reflecting the production of reactive oxygen species and the stimulation of calcium channel opening allowing a transient increase in cytosolic calcium con...

Using a genetic screen we have identified two chromosomal genes, cusRS (ylcA ybcZ), from Escherichia coli K-12 that encode a two-component, signal transduction system that is responsive to copper ions. This regulatory system is required for copper-induced expression of pcoE, a plasmid-borne gene from the E. coli copper resistance operon pco. The closest homologs of CusR and CusS are plasmid-bor...

Tyrosinases are type 3 copper enzymes that are involved in the production of melanin and have two copper ions in the active site. Here, the crystallization and primary analysis of a tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium is reported. The purified protein was crystallized in the absence or presence of zinc ions and the crystals diffracted to a resolution of 2.0 A. Crystals obtained in the presence ...

Cow bone charcoal (CBC) was synthesized and used for the removal of metals ions (manganese, iron, nickel and copper) from aqueous solutions. Two different adsorption models were used for analyzing the data. Adsorption capacities were determined: copper ions exhibit the greatest adsorption on cow bone charcoal because of their size and pH conditions. Adsorption capacity varies as a function of p...

Copper is an essential trace element in living organisms with its levels and localisation being carefully managed by the cellular machinery. However, if misregulated, deficiency or excess of copper ions can lead to several diseases. Therefore, it important have reliable methods detect, monitor visualise this metal cells. Herein we report a new optical probe based on BODIPY, which shows switch-o...

The title compound, [Cu(ClO(4))(2)(C(3)H(4)N(2))(4)], was obtained unexpectedly by the reaction of copper(II) perchlorate hexa-hydrate with equimolar amounts of 1-chloro-1-nitro-2,2,2-tripyrazolylethane in methanol solution. The crystal structure comprises octa-hedrally coordinated Cu(2+) ions, located on an inversion centre, with four pyrazole ligands in the equatorial plane. The average Cu-N ...