cystine

[ sis-teen, -tin ]
/ ˈsɪs tin, -tɪn /

noun Biochemistry.

a crystalline amino acid, C6H12O4N2S2, occurring in most proteins, especially the keratins in hair, wool, and horn, and yielding cysteine on reduction.

Origin of cystine

1835–45; cyst- + -ine2; so called because found in the bladder

Words nearby cystine

cysticercoid, cysticercosis, cysticercus, cystidium, cystiform, cystine, cystine calculus, cystinemia, cystinosis, cystinuria, cystistaxis

Example sentences from the Web for cystine

  • Ammonia, therefore, dissolves the cystine without entering into chemical union with it.

    Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II |Arnold Cooley

  • This action is due chiefly to its progressive formation of calcium sulphydrate from the cystine group of the softer keratins.

    Animal Proteins |Hugh Garner Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for cystine

cystine
/ (ˈsɪstiːn, -tɪn) /

noun

a sulphur-containing amino acid present in proteins: yields two molecules of cysteine on reduction. Formula: HOOCCH(NH 2)CH 2 SSCH 2 CH(NH 2)COOH

Word Origin for cystine

C19: see cysto- (bladder), -ine ²; named from its being discovered in a type of urinary calculus

Medical definitions for cystine

cystine
[ sĭs′tēn′ ]

n.

A white crystalline amino acid that is found in many proteins, especially keratin, and is the major source of metabolic sulfur.