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heteroatom

 
Dictionary: het·er·o·at·om   (hĕt'ə-rō-ăt'əm) pronunciation
 
n.

An atom other than carbon in the structure of a heterocyclic compound.


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Wikipedia: Heteroatom
 

In the nomenclature of organic chemistry, a heteroatom (from Ancient Greek heteros, different, + atomos) is any atom that is not carbon or hydrogen. It is typically, but not exclusively, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus, boron, chlorine, bromine, or iodine.

In the description of protein structure, particularly in the now-deprecated Protein Data Bank file format, a heteroatom record (HETATM) describes an atom belonging to a small molecule cofactor rather than to part of a biopolymer chain.


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Heteroatom" Read more