iron [Fe]

Introduction

From the Anglo-Saxon iron. Fe comes from the Latin for iron, ferrum. Use of iron dates back to prehistoric times.

Occurrence

• composes 5.6% of the earth's crust
• it is thought that the core or the earth is mostly molten iron
• occurs native in meteorites & combined in most igneous rocks

Characteristics

• a heavy malleable ductile magnetic reddish-brown metallic element
• pure iron readily rusts in moist air

Uses

• component of many proteins, including hemoglobin
• steel is an alloy or iron & carbon; adding additional elements gives steel different properties

More general terms

• trace element
• metal

Additional terms

• Fe+2/Fe+3 (bioavailable iron)
• periodic table

Component of

• heme/iron/polysaccharide iron complex
• estradiol/ethinyl estradiol/ferrous fumarate/iron/norethindrone
• cobalamin/folic acid/iron/polysaccharide iron complex
• ascorbate/folic acid/iron/polysaccharide iron complex
• ascorbate/ca+2/cobalamin/folic acid/iron/polysaccharide iron complex
• ascorbate/biotin/ferrous fumarate/folic acid/iron/methylcobalamin/nicotinamide/pantothenate/pyridoxine/riboflavin/thiamine

Database

• PubChem: http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?cid=23925