Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A bluish, copper-containing protein with an oxygen-carrying function similar to that of hemoglobin, present in the circulatory system of certain mollusks and arthropods.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The coloring matter of the blood of various invertebrates. It contains copper. It is blue when oxidized, and colorless in the deoxidized state.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun biochemistry a blue
copper -containingrespiratory pigment (ametalloprotein ) found in mostmolluscs , and somearthropods
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hemocyanin.
Examples
-
In us, the oxygen is carried to the tissues, and the carbon dioxide carried away by an iron compound, hemoglobin, but in many animals of Earth, the same function is performed by a copper compound, hemocyanin, which is an intense blue.
The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940
-
Squids also use hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin - thus the protein that carries oxygen in their blood is copper-based, like Spock's on Star Trek.
Update frankwu 2006
-
Similarly, in crayfish, entry of nitrite into the blood plasma is associated with the oxidation of copper atoms (Cu1+ → Cu2+), whereby functional hemocyanin is converted into methemocyanin that cannot bind reversibly to molecular oxygen.
Inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems~ causes and consequences 2007
-
The main toxic action of NO3 – on aquatic animals, particularly on fish and crayfish, seems to be the conversion of oxygen-carrying pigments (hemoglobin, hemocyanin) to forms that are incapable of carrying oxygen (methemoglobin, methemocyanin).
Inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems~ causes and consequences 2007
-
Why mammals have a common blood structure (Types A,B,O also in chimps) based on cells, in contrast to circulating proteins (cf. hemocyanin, a copper-based porphyrin oxygen-carrier found in e.g. lobsters).
-
This line of thinking led me to suggest to Thorsten Burmester, an expert on arthropod gas exchange proteins, that he should check to see if stoneflies have hemocyanin in their blood.
Pharyngula: An evolutionary prediction - The Panda's Thumb 2005
-
Burmester found that stoneflies do indeed have hemocyanin in their blood Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101: 871-874 that reversibly binds oxygen, and it appears that no other pterygote insects possess this trait.
Pharyngula: An evolutionary prediction - The Panda's Thumb 2005
-
Burmester found that stoneflies do indeed have hemocyanin in their blood Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101: 871-874 that reversibly binds oxygen, and it appears that no other pterygote insects possess this trait.
Pharyngula: An evolutionary prediction - The Panda's Thumb 2005
-
Hemoglobin, such as in our blood, and hemocyanin, like that in the blue blood of the Venerians, are practically unique in that respect.
The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940
-
The DC were also exposed to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), which was used as a surrogate marker to show an immune response.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.