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chelate

American  
[kee-leyt] / ˈki leɪt /

adjective

  1. Chemistry.

    1. of or noting a heterocyclic compound having a central metallic ion attached by covalent bonds to two or more nonmetallic atoms in the same molecule.

    2. of or noting a compound having a cyclic structure resulting from the formation of one or more hydrogen bonds in the same molecule.

  2. Zoology. having a chela or chelae.


noun

  1. Chemistry. a chelate compound.

verb (used without object)

Chemistry.
chelated, chelating
  1. (of a heterocyclic compound) to react to form a chelate.

  2. (of a compound) to form a ring by forming one or more hydrogen bonds.

verb (used with object)

chelated, chelating
  1. Chemistry. to combine (an organic compound) with a metallic ion to form a chelate.

chelate British  
/ ˈkiːleɪt /

noun

  1. chem a coordination compound in which a metal atom or ion is bound to a ligand at two or more points on the ligand, so as to form a heterocyclic ring containing a metal atom

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. zoology of or possessing chelae

  2. chem of or denoting a chelate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) chem to form a chelate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
chelate Scientific  
/ kēlāt′ /
  1. A chemical compound in the form of a ring that contains a metal ion attached by coordinate bonds to at least two nonmetal ions. Many commercial dyes as well as important biological substances, such as chlorophyll and the heme of hemoglobin, are chelates.


Other Word Forms

  • chelatable adjective

Etymology

Origin of chelate

First recorded in 1820–30; chel(a) 1 + -ate 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For example, it may be possible to chelate magnesium ions from bacterial environments, which should selectively inhibit resistant strains without impacting the wild type bacteria that may be beneficial to our health.

From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2024

Many polydentate ligands are chelating ligands, and a complex consisting of one or more of these ligands and a central metal is a chelate.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Figure 19.15 showed one example of a chelate.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Although the prae-oral pair of appendages in the higher Arachnida is usually chelate, it is not always so; in spiders it is not so; nor in many Acari.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various

Appendages of 2nd pair, with their basal segments uniting in the middle line below the mouth, weakly chelate at apex.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various