Trace elements cobalt

Coenzyme B12 is the cofactor form of vitamin B 2, which is unique among all the vitamins in that it contains not only a complex organic molecule but an essential trace element, cobalt. The complex corrin ring system of vitamin B12 (colored blue in Fig. 2), to which cobalt (as Co3+) is coordinated, is chemically related to the porphyrin ring system of heme and heme proteins (see Fig. 5-1). A fifth coordination position of cobalt is filled by dimethylbenzimidazole ribonucleotide (shaded yellow), bound covalently by its 3 -phosphate group to a side chain of the corrin ring, through aminoisopropanol. 

Calcium nitrate fertilizer, controlled-release Oxamide fertilizer, soluble Potassium phosphate fertilizer, specialty Potassium tripolyphosphate fertilizer, trace element Cobalt fiber... 

Cobalt, copper, molybdenum, iodine, iron, manganese, nickel, selenium, and zinc are sometimes provided to mminants. Mineral deficiency or toxicity in sheep, especially copper and selenium, is a common example of dietary mineral imbalance (21). Other elements may be required for optimal mminant performance (22). ExceUent reviews of trace elements are available (5,22). 

The sotrace elements, such as boron, cobalt, iron,copper, zinc, manganese, chromium, molybdenum and still others may also be used to advantage. Generally, these trace elements occur in sufficient quantities in the carbonaceous and nitrogenous constituents of the medium, particularly if derived from natural sources, or in the tap water, and the addition of further quantities of these trace elements may consequently be unnecessary. 

A current area of interest is the use of AB cements as devices for the controlled release of biologically active species (Allen et al, 1984). AB cements can be formulated to be degradable and to release bioactive elements when placed in appropriate environments. These elements can be incorporated into the cement matrix as either the cation or the anion cement former. Special copper/cobalt phosphates/selenates have been prepared which, when placed as boluses in the rumens of cattle and sheep, have the ability to decompose and release the essential trace elements copper, cobalt and selenium in a sustained fashion over many months (Chapter 6). Although practical examples are confined to phosphate cements, others are known which are based on a variety of anions polyacrylate (Chapter 5), oxychlorides and oxysulphates (Chapter 7) and a variety of organic chelating anions (Chapter 9). The number of cements available for this purpose is very great. 

Here we might note that cobalt(II) hydroxide, but not the oxide, also forms cements (Allen et al., 1984 Mansion Gleed, 1985 Prosser et al., 1986). It also is used in controlled-release devices for supplying trace elements to cattle and sheep. Nothing is known of its structure. 

Mansion, R. Gleed, P. T. (1985). Reaction cements as materials for the sustained release of trace elements into the digestive tract of cattle and sheep. II. Release of cobalt and selenium. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology Therapeutics, 8, 374-81. 

In a similar way there has been a passing reference to a cobalt oxychloride cement (Prosser et ai, 1986). No explicit details of the fabrication or chemical behaviour of this material were provided, but the ingredients were listed among series of acids and bases for forming cements as agents for the sustained release of trace elements to grazing animals. The implication of this paper was that cobalt oxide would function as the base... 

Itoh, S. and Kanehira, K. (1967) Trace elements in sulfide minerals from the Tsuchikura mine, Shiga Prefecture, with special reference to the contents of cobalt and nickel. Mining Geology, 17, 251-260 (in Japanese with English abst.). 

Figure 4.19 shows the p-PIXE X-ray spectra collected simultaneously from a fragment ( 1 mm in diameter) of an archaeological cobalt-blue glass (Uzonyi et al. 2001). This sample contains numerous minor and trace elements from carbon to lead, and the instrument employed both an ultra-thin window (UTW) detector as well as a Be-windowed detector. 

In July, 1970, 14 trace elements were known to be essential to human health. One of these is cobalt. Yet at least one researcher suggests that the addition of small amounts of cobalt to stabilize beer foam may have resulted in the deaths of a number of people in Minneapolis and Omaha. He theorizes that cobalt was necessary to activate the toxicity of selenium, which is naturally present in those areas. This is another example of a synergistic affect. Separately neither would have been harmful, but together they could cause fatalities. 

Dissolved organic carbon and plant- or microbe- produced phytosiderophores increase the solubility of most trace elements in arid and semi-arid soils. This is especially important in arid regions. High pH increases the solubility of organic matter as dissolved organic carbon in arid soils. Copper, lead and nickel have a strong tendency to form complexes, while Cd complexes are weaker. Zinc, cobalt and manganese are... 

McKenzie R.M. The mineralogy and chemistry of soil cobalt. In Trace Element in Soil-Plant-Animal Systems, Nicholas, D.J.D., Egan, A.R., eds. New York Academic Press Inc., 1975. 

Figure 7.1. Elovich model (b), respectively. Soils were incubated under the saturation paste regime (modified after Han et al., 2002b. Reprinted from J Environ Sci Health, Part A, 137, Han F.X., Banin A., Kingery W.L., Li Z.P., Pathways and kinetics of transformation of cobalt among solid-phase components in arid-zone soils, p 192, Copyright (2003), with permission from Taylor Francis). Trace element concentrations in plants on California Donimo soil (pH 7.5) amended with metal sulfate-enriched sludge (Data from Mitchell et al., 1978).

Willems et al. [37] used a polarographic method to study the miconazole complexes of some trace elements. Manganese, iron, cobalt, and zinc element formed miconazole complexes with different stability constants. Polarography was used for detecting stability constants. The evolution of the respective formation constants followed the natural (Irving-Williams) order. The stepwise constant of the complexes formed increased from manganese to cobalt and decreased for zinc. The results are discussed with respect to the possible mechanism of action of miconazole. 

Tseng et al. [69] determined 60cobalt in seawater by successive extractions with tris(pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate) bismuth (III) and ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and back-extraction with bismuth (III). Filtered seawater adjusted to pH 1.0-1.5 was extracted with chloroform and 0.01 M tris(pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate) bismuth (III) to remove certain metallic contaminants. The aqueous residue was adjusted to pH 4.5 and re-extracted with chloroform and 2% ammonium pyrrolidine thiocarbamate, to remove cobalt. Back-extraction with bismuth (III) solution removed further trace elements. The organic phase was dried under infrared and counted in a ger-manium/lithium detector coupled to a 4096 channel pulse height analyser. Indicated recovery was 96%, and the analysis time excluding counting was 50-min per sample. 

We can see that the soluble and exchange forms of these metals are present in small amounts accounting merely for a few percent of the total metal content in soil. The content of organometal species is relatively high in the upper profile rich in humic species, whereas it drops sharply in the mineral horizons. Copper is extensively involved in the biogeochemical cycle in the Forest ecosystems and this is less profound for cobalt. It is noteworthy that a large part of metals (in particular, of copper) become bound to iron hydroxides. This is typical for various trace elements, including arsenic, zinc and other elements with variable valence. 

The need to include a variety of minerals in experimental diets has already been mentioned this was especially stressed (1920-1930) by Boyd-Orr, the director of the Rowett Institute for Animal Nutrition in Scotland. Increasingly refined food sources led to the identification of large numbers of trace elements (e.g., Cu, Mn, Mo, Zn) whose importance in the diet was suggested from hydroponic experiments with plant seedlings. Cobalt is an example of such a trace element. Vitamin Bj2 is synthesized by bacteria in the rumens of sheep and cattle but is absent from their fodder. In Australia, sheep feeding on cobalt-deficient pastures failed to thrive because vitamin B12 could no longer be made. 

Many aquatic organisms exhibit an ability to concentrate a variety of trace elements and this ability has been identified as a function of the tendency of the elements to be complexed by ligands (159). The alkaline earth metals are poorly com-plexed in relation to the transition metals, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc and manganese. The actinides should be regarded as members of an intermediate group. It has been suggested by Martin (160) that at least five mechanisms may regulate the uptake of metals by marine biota. These are... 

Two types of metal-rich hydrogenous deposits are formed on the seafloor iron-manganese oxides and polymetallic sulfides. The iron-manganese oxides have been deposited as nodules, sediments, and crusts. They are enriched in various trace elements, such as manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, nickel, and zinc, making them a significant repository for some of these metals. Most of the metals in the polymetallic sulfides are of hydrothermal origin. These sulfides have been deposited as metalliferous sediments aroimd hydrothermal systems and as rocks that infill cracks within former... 

The major elements phosphorus and sulfur and the trace elements sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chlorine, iodine, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc, and a few others, play specific, critical roles in life. Several others occur in living systems but may not be essential for life. 

In addition to carbon and hydrogen, the key elements in the molecules of life include nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Also, a family of trace elements is required sodium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, calcium, chlorine, fluorine, iodine, iron, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, molybdenum, silicon and vanadium. 

Cobalt is an important trace element for proper human nutrition. It is also a natural component of vitamin... 

Cobalt is found in most natural foods. Although a necessary trace element, it is toxic to humans if ingested in large amounts. The human body does excrete in urine excessive amounts of cobalt compounds such as found in vitamin B ... 

Depending on type, uranium deposits exhibit characteristic primary alteration and trace element zoning patterns, the latter commonly including, but are not limited to, elements exhibiting changes in oxidation state such as vanadium, selenium, molybdenum, arsenic, cobalt, and nickel (Fig. 3). It can be shown that... 

The essential microelements are only required in trace amounts (see also p.2). This group includes iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), selenium (Se), and molybdenum (Mo). Fluorine (F) is not essential for life, but does promote healthy bones and teeth. It is still a matter of controversy whether vanadium, nickel, tin, boron, and silicon also belong to the essential trace elements. 

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