chelator

1 7.2

A chemical that sticks to metals to remove them from liquids or the body

noun
/ˈkiːleɪtər/

Specialized

: quelante

There is a certain paradox in that gentamicin exerts its toxic actions as an iron chelator while other chelators are protective.
iron chelators

So many bacteria use non ribosomal peptide synthesis machinery in order to make chelators in order to acquire iron.

Examples

So many bacteria use non ribosomal peptide synthesis machinery in order to make chelators in order to acquire iron.

MIT OpenCourseWare
Of course, it seems unlikely that the chelators are particularly good anticoagulants.

Blog text (25)
And part of the reason that it is such an awesome metal chelator is because of entropy.
Recent evidence that gentamicin may act as an iron chelator has resolved this paradox.

Academic text (1998)
That's because certain chelators are known to have the side effect of acting as an anticoagulant.

Blog text (25)
Iron chelators also hold the most promise for clinical intervention since they are already commonly used clinical agents in cases of iron overload.

Academic text (1998)
Indeed, iron chelators were the most effective preventive agents in the guinea pig in vivo.

Academic text (1998)
Alternatively, if aminoglycosides act as iron chelators, less toxic iron chelators could provide a more direct method of intervention.

Academic text (1998)
Compelling evidence that this mechanism is part of the ototoxic actions of aminoglycosides comes from the success of iron chelators as antidotes in vivo.

Academic text (1998)
Doctors often use a chelator to help remove toxic metals from the patient's body.

Surface Forms

chelator singular

chelators plural

Morphology

chelator = chelate (transparent) = chelate + or

Formed from the verb 'chelate' plus the agentive suffix '-or', yielding 'one that binds chelate complexes'; morphology is straightforward though the root is specialised vocabulary.

Etymology

Chelator comes from the Greek word chela meaning 'claw', and the chemistry word chelate pictures a molecule 'clawing on' to a metal ion. So a chelator is a substance that 'grabs' metal and helps remove it from a solution or the body.