What does "penicillamine" mean?

A crystalline, sulfur-containing amino acid produced by the hydrolysis of penicillins, used pharmacologically as a chelating agent to remove heavy metals such as copper from the body, and as an anti-inflammatory agent, especially for rheumatoid arthritis; 2-amino-3-methyl-3-mercaptobutanoic acid, (CH₃)₂C(SH)CH(NH₂)COOH.

What is a synonym for "penicillamine"?

Common synonyms include: cuprimine.

How do you pronounce "penicillamine"?

Pronounced //ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ə.miːn//.

Penicillamine

//ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ə.miːn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A crystalline, sulfur-containing amino acid produced by the hydrolysis of penicillins, used pharmacologically as a chelating agent to remove heavy metals such as copper from the body, and as an anti-inflammatory agent, especially for rheumatoid arthritis; 2-amino-3-methyl-3-mercaptobutanoic acid, (CH₃)₂C(SH)CH(NH₂)COOH. countable, uncountable
2
a drug (trade name Cuprimine) used to treat heavy metal poisoning and Wilson's disease and severe arthritis wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

cuprimine

Etymology

Blend of penicillin + amine.

Related phrases

heavy metal

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.