26 Facts About Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34.

Selenium is found in metal sulfide ores, where it partially replaces the sulfur.

Selenium is still used in a few types of DC power surge protectors and one type of fluorescent quantum dot.

Selenium is listed as an ingredient in many multivitamins and other dietary supplements, as well as in infant formula, and is a component of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase as well as in 3 deiodinase enzymes.

Selenium has numerous unstable synthetic isotopes ranging from Se to Se; the most stable are Se with a half-life of 119.

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Selenium dioxide is formed by the reaction of elemental selenium with oxygen:.

Selenium trioxide is produced in the laboratory by the reaction of anhydrous potassium selenate and sulfur trioxide (SO3).

Selenium disulfide has been used in shampoo as an antidandruff agent, an inhibitor in polymer chemistry, a glass dye, and a reducing agent in fireworks.

Selenium was discovered in 1817 by Jons Jacob Berzelius and Johan Gottlieb Gahn.

Selenium came to medical notice later because of its toxicity to industrial workers.

Selenium was recognized as an important veterinary toxin, which is seen in animals that have eaten high-selenium plants.

Selenium occurs naturally in a number of inorganic forms, including selenide, selenate, and selenite, but these minerals are rare.

Selenium is most commonly found as an impurity, replacing a small part of the sulfur in sulfide ores of many metals.

Selenium is most commonly produced from selenide in many sulfide ores, such as those of copper, nickel, or lead.

Selenium can be refined from these muds by a number of methods.

Selenium is used with bismuth in brasses to replace more toxic lead.

Selenium was the basis of the very first solar cells, with the first example of rooftop solar being a selenium cell from 1884.

Selenium is a catalyst in some chemical reactions, but it is not widely used because of issues with toxicity.

Selenium is used in the toning of photographic prints, and it is sold as a toner by numerous photographic manufacturers.

Selenium is bioaccumulated in aquatic habitats, which results in higher concentrations in organisms than the surrounding water.

Selenium is a component of the unusual amino acids selenocysteine and selenomethionine.

Selenium is incorporated into several prokaryotic selenoprotein families in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes as selenocysteine, where selenoprotein peroxiredoxins protect bacterial and eukaryotic cells against oxidative damage.

Selenium enzymes are involved in the small reducing molecules glutathione and thioredoxin.

Selenium occurs in organic compounds, such as dimethyl selenide, selenomethionine, selenocysteine and methylselenocysteine, all of which have high bioavailability and are toxic in large doses.

Selenium deficiency, defined by low selenoenzyme activity levels in brain and endocrine tissues, occurs only when a low selenium level is linked with an additional stress, such as high exposures to mercury or increased oxidant stress from vitamin E deficiency.

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Selenium is a cofactor for the three thyroid hormone deiodinases, helping activate and then deactivate various thyroid hormones and their metabolites.