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gold [Au]
From the Anglo-Saxon geolo meaning yellow. The symbol Au comes from the Latin aurum meaning shining dawn. Known to ancient civilizations.
Occurrence:
1) found free in nature & associated with quartz, pyrite & other minerals
2) 2/3 of the world's supply of gold comes from South Africa
3) 2/3 of the US supply is from South Dakota & Nevada
4) found in seawater, but no cost-effective process has been designed to extract it from its source
Characteristics:
1) yellow but may appear black, ruby or purple when finely divided
2) gold is the most malleable & ductile element
3) affected by air & most reagents
4) good conductor of heat & electricity
5) good reflector of infrared radiation
5) generally non-toxic
Uses:
1) pharmacology
a) gold salts used to treat rheumatoid arthritis
1] auranofin
2] aurothioglucose
3] gold sodium thiomalate
b) gold-198 is used in radiation therapy
2) coins, jewelry & dentures
3) often needs to be alloyed to give it strength
4) spacecraft as a shield from the sun's heat
Laboratory:
- gold in erythrocytes
- gold in hair
- gold in body fluid
- gold in CSF
- gold in blood
- gold in serum/plasma
- gold in urine
Related
auranofin [gold] (Ridaura)
aurothioglucose [gold] (Solganal)
gold sodium thiomalate; aurothiomalate (Myochrysine, Chrysothios)
gold toxicity
Useful
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD)
General
chemical element
metal
Properties
SIZE: AW = 196.97
atomic number
VALUE: 79
VALENCE: XE 4F14 5D10 6S1
Database Correlations
PUBCHEM cid=23985
References
- Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Miriam-
Webster Inc. Springfield, MA 1990
- Chemical & Engineering News, Sept 8, 2003