While it is generally accepted that water hardness affects copper toxicity, the major ions that contribute to water hardness (calcium [Ca] and magnesium [Mg]) may affect copper toxicity differently. This is important because the Ca:Mg ratio in standard laboratory-reconstituted waters often differs from the ratio in natural surface waters. Copper toxicity was assessed for five different aquatic ...

Conventional water chemistry parameters such as hardness, alkalinity, and organic carbon are known to affect the acutely lethal toxicity of copper to fish and other aquatic organisms. In the present study, we investigate the influence of these water chemistry parameters on short-term (3 h), sublethal (0-40 microg/L) copper toxicity to the peripheral mechanosensory system of larval zebrafish (Da...

Algal toxicity tests based on growth inhibition over 72 h have been extensively used to assess the toxicity of contaminants in natural waters. However, these laboratory tests use high cell densities compared to those found in aquatic systems in order to obtain a measurable algal response. The high cell densities and test duration can result in changes in chemical speciation, bioavailability, an...

Copper, an essential transient element, can be toxic to cells when present in excess. Altered copper homeostasis is involved in pathological events of many diseases. Human CUTA isoform2 is a member of cation tolerance protein (CutA1) family. In this study, we examined the effect of CUTA isoform2 overexpression on copper toxicity. It was shown that overexpressed CUTA isoform2 sensitized HeLa cel...

In this study, we developed a toxicity model predicting the long-term effects of copper on the reproduction of the cladoceran Daphnia magna that is based on previously reported toxicity tests in 35 exposure media with different water chemistries. First, it was demonstrated that the acute copper biotic ligand model (BLM) for D. magna could not serve as a reliable basis for predicting chronic cop...

HD (Huntington's disease) is caused by a polyQ (polyglutamine) expansion in the huntingtin protein, which leads to protein misfolding and aggregation of this protein. Abnormal copper accumulation in the HD brain was first reported more than 15 years ago. Recent findings show that copper-regulatory genes are induced during HD and copper binds to an N-terminal fragment of huntingtin, supporting t...

(Scientific Chronicles 2013;18(1):7-12) ABSTRACT Although it is widely accepted that copper plays a key role in human nutrition the clinical picture of its deficiency is not always so straightforward. Moreover, serious concerns about the overuse of copper dietary supplements arouse when investigations revealed that copper toxicity in humans has probably been underestimated. This paper reviews t...

Zimmerman, Leonard (Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md.). Toxicity of copper and ascorbic acid to Serratia marcescens. J. Bacteriol. 91:1537-1542. 1966.-Neutral solutions of ascorbic acid were antibacterial to Serratia marcescens at low but not at high population densities. The toxicity of ascorbate was eliminated by metal-sequestering treatments, and was restored only by the addition of trace amounts...

In response to nuisance growths of algae and vascular plants, such as dioecious hydrilla ( Hydrilla verticillata L.f. Royle), copper formulations have been applied in lakes and reservoirs for a number of years. Concerns have arisen regarding the long-term consequences of copper applications and those concerns have appropriately focused on sediment residues. In this study, we evaluated the toxic...

A matter of current, intense debate with regard to the effects of metals on biological systems is the potential toxicity of metals associated with food particles. Recently developed biotic ligand models (BLM), which predict the toxicity of waterborne metals, may not be valid if the dietary exposure route contributes to metal toxicity. The present study is, to our knowledge, the first that inves...