Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having chelae or resembling a chela.
  • noun A chemical compound in the form of a heterocyclic ring, containing a metal ion attached by coordinate bonds to at least two nonmetal ions.
  • transitive verb Chemistry To combine (a metal ion) with a chemical compound to form a ring.
  • transitive verb Medicine To remove (a heavy metal, such as lead or mercury) from the bloodstream by means of a chelate, such as EDTA.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having a chela; terminated by a chela or forceps-joint.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) a compound formed by combination of a metal ion in solution with a compound containing heteroatoms (such as oxygen or nitrogen), in which at least two heteroatoms are bound to the metal. The bonds may be covalent or non-covalent. Chelates in some cases have very low dissociation constants, and organic compounds (chelating agents) which form such chelates are therefore used to reduce the concentration of free metal ions in solution.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Same as cheliferous.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective zoology having chelae, or in the form of a chela
  • noun chemistry a chelate compound
  • verb transitive (chemistry) to form a chelate compound by combining a metal atom to form a ring
  • verb transitive (medicine) to remove heavy metals from the bloodstream using a chelate (such as EDTA)

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective relating to or characterized by chelation
  • noun a heterocyclic compound having a metal ion attached by coordinate bonds to at least two nonmetal ions
  • verb form a chelate, in chemistry
  • adjective having or resembling chelae or claws

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From chela +‎ -ate.

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Examples

  • · Acts as a chelate, that is, it forms compounds with metal nutrients (usually iron, zinc, copper, or manganese) increasing their solubility and availability to plants.

    5. How plants live and grow 1991

  • We use only the finest and most advanced blend of creatine including magnesium creatine chelate, which is a patented form of the molecule that has been shown to boost strength after only 2 weeks of use.

    Wil's Ebay E-Store amp;34;Nutrition 2010

  • He believed he could rid Abubakar's body of the cause of his autism by using chelation therapy, a technique used to remove heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and mercury from the body by introducing chemicals that will attach to (or chelate) metals in the bloodstream or body tissues and then enhance their excretion from the body.

    Op-eds on vaccines by Paul Offit, MD 2010

  • Succimer is a heavy metal chelating agent that, in vitro, forms stable water soluble complexes with lead4 and consequently increases the urinary excretion of lead. 2-9 Succimer has also been found to chelate other toxic heavy metals such as arsenic10 and mercury. 11

    Succimer 2010

  • At about 10: 00 am, under the direction of Dr. Kerry, Abubakar's arm was cleaned with alcohol, and EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid), a chelate, was directly injected into the boy's bloodstream.

    Op-eds on vaccines by Paul Offit, MD 2010

  • The most important thing we did was to have his dental fillings15 removed safely † and slowly chelate out the mercury.

    The UltraMind Solution M.D. Mark Hyman 2009

  • Iron (as chelate), 8 to 12 mg (only for menstruating women)

    The UltraMind Solution M.D. Mark Hyman 2009

  • Iron sulfate or iron chelate will turn the lawn green within two days if it's low on iron.

    A summertime tune-up for your yard 2009

  • Iron sulfate or iron chelate will turn the lawn green within two days if it's low on iron.

    A summertime tune-up for your yard 2009

  • But magnesium citrate is a salt of magnesium, not a chelate.

    Talking diet with your doctor | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2008

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