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Cadmium is toxic to people, yet one marine alga uses it in an enzyme, and cadmium selenide quantum dots light up cells.
| Symbol | Cd |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 48 |
| Standard atomic weight | 112.41 |
| Group | 12 |
| Period | 5 |
| Block | d-block |
| Category | Transition metal |
| Standard state | Solid |
| Discovered | 1817 |
Source: PubChem, Cadmium (periodic table data, retrieved 2026-10-19). Group and period follow the standard 18-column periodic table.
Lane and colleagues sequenced and characterised a cadmium-containing carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, which helps explain why cadmium behaves like a nutrient in the oceans.
As reported in: Lane, Saito, George et al. (2005). A cadmium enzyme from a marine diatom. Nature. doi:10.1038/435042a
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Chan and Nie attached zinc sulfide-capped cadmium selenide quantum dots to biomolecules; compared with rhodamine dye they were 20 times brighter and 100 times more stable against photobleaching, and transferrin-labelled dots were taken up by HeLa cells.
As reported in: Chan, Nie (1998). Quantum Dot Bioconjugates for Ultrasensitive Nonisotopic Detection. Science. doi:10.1126/science.281.5385.2016
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Found by name, common compounds and chemical formulas in each entry.
Search Google Patents for cadmium in biological and medical uses: all patents · recent applications (2022+)
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