What substances are in the blood of an octopus and why is its blood blue?

Contains hemocyanin, which is the main reason why octopus's blood is blue.

The octopus is a mysterious creature with an intelligent mind, and may be the world's first "blue-blooded animal". So, how is the blue blood of an octopus different from the red blood of humans? What substances are in the blood of an octopus and why is its blood blue? <>

The color of blood is determined by the elements contained in the proteins of blood cells. It is hemoglobin that turns red in the blood because of the iron contained in the blood cell proteins; The blood that turns blue is hemocyanin, because blood cell proteins contain copper; The blood turns green is hemochlorvidin, and the blood cell protein contains the element vanadium.

Humans and vertebrates are red because of the presence of iron-containing hemoglobin in the blood cell protein, while the blood of octopus is blue because of the presence of hemocyanin in the blood cell protein, which appears blue; Both hemoglobin and hemocyanin transport oxygen, but the latter transports oxygen more efficiently, and as far as evolution is concerned, hemocyanin organisms are lower organisms. <>

Hemocyanin: energy storage, antimicrobial function, ensuring the survival of octopus, horseshoe crab (hòu), etc. in extreme environments. You may not believe it, you may have been saved by the blood of horseshoe crabs. Why is that?

Around the 50s of the 19th century, a coagulant called LAL reagent was found in the gray-blue blood of horseshoe crabs, which reacted with fungi and endotoxins and coagulated gels around it. LAL testing is a foolproof way to detect whether a drug product contains impurities. The horseshoe crab is not in danger of dying because of the blood extraction, and is released on the same day.

In arterial blood, it appears blue, with low concentration, almost colorless, and sometimes invisible to the naked eye. When the octopus blood is drawn out with a syringe, the oxygen content is high, and when coupled with oxygen, the hemocyanin formed has a high concentration and shows a thick blue color. <>

Animal blood is diverse, and in addition to red, there are also colors such as blue, green, and white. In addition to humans and vertebrates, king squid and squid are blue, river bees and clams are light blue, shrimp and crabs are cyan, and sea oysters and cuttlefish are green.

The color of octopus blood is different due to the elements in the blood cell proteins, if the blood cell protein contains iron, the blood will appear red, and if the blood cell protein contains copper, the blood will appear blue. The blood of octopuses contains a lot of copper, so it is blue.

Generally speaking, the blue blood of octopuses can be said to be due to hemocyanin, which contains other trace elements such as copper, and the main reason for turning blue is because of copper.

The color of octopus blood is caused by the elements in the blood cell protein, if the blood cell protein contains copper, then the blood will turn blue, and the octopus blood contains a lot of copper, so the octopus blood will be blue, the blood that makes the blood blue is called hemocyanin, because hemocyanin can store energy and antibacterial, which can make the octopus survive in extreme environments.

The blood of an octopus is blue.

The blood of many vertebrates is red because we have a protein called hemoglobin in our red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a molecule responsible for transporting oxygen. When red blood cells enter the lungs, hemoglobin binds oxygen molecules.

Hemoglobin's ability to bind oxygen comes from the presence of ferric ions (Fe2+) in it. When iron is combined with oxygen, it appears red. That's why our blood is red.

Octopuses do not have hemoglobin in their bodies, and what they use to bind oxygen is hemocyanin (also known as hemocyanin, ceruloplasmin). This protein uses two copper atoms (Cu) to link with an oxygen molecule (O2), which is blue because Cu2+ is formed after the oxidation state is formed; In the reduced state, it becomes colorless due to the formation of (Cu+).

Blue. The blood of an octopus contains copper ions, which are blue, so the octopus blood color is blue.

The blood of an octopus is blue.