Question

Discuss in detail the healthcare applications of chemical reactions. Which chemical reactions would you consider to be of importance to healthcare professionals? Why? In which situations are these chemical reactions useful to healthcare professionals?

Answer 1

If you could create a solution that when you add fluorine to it, Fluorine acts like a Nucleophile only, then you will solve a lot of peoples problems by detecting inflammation in early stages. Problem is fluorine wants Electrons and will act like a base a lot of the times. Solve this you will have a nobel prize

Answer 2

Several classes of reactions are important to the healthcare field. Redox reactions underly metabolism: the body gains energy by oxidizing glucose to CO2 and reducing O2 to H2O. Furthermore, this process is inherently "dangerous," because the various species of oxygen that take part in it tend to be very reactive, and unless the reactions are carefully controlled they can react with other important cell components, wreaking havoc. This is the origin of "oxidative stress," and the idea that it relates to aging, and the idea that "anti-oxidants" like vitamin C are helpful. This is why ozone from air pollution is bad for you (ozone is O3, a particularly reactive form of oxygen). But this is also how radiation therapy for cancer works: by creating very reactive forms of oxygen that damage cells; cancer cells are less able to repair this damage.

Acid-base reactions are also important, because the rates of many other important reactions in water solution (which is what you are, inside) are influenced by pH. If the pH is not right, the reactions don't go right, and there will be stress and harm. Blood pH is largely determined by the amount of dissolved CO2 (which forms carbonic acid), and therefore by respiration and circulation. Stomach and intestinal pH can be important in moderating or worsening gastric distress (hence the use of antacids, and proton-pump inhibitors that reduce stomach acid production), and also in making the environment more or less hospitable to microorganisms. For women the pH of the vagina is also important, because it tends to make the environment more or less hostile to microorganisms. You want the "good" bugs to proliferate and the bad bugs not to. It's also important in the oral cavity, for good breath and the prevention of cavities and gum disease.

Finally, while it isn't precisely a chemical reaction, it's good to understand the nature of concentration gradients and how they affect osmotic pressure (the tendency of water to move across membranes). This tends to affect how water and nutrients are absorbed or not by the digestive tract, whether and how the kidneys function, and at a deeper level how nerves fire and muscles contract.

Answer 3

Thanks Carl. Where did you find this information?

Answer 4

Out of my own head, sc. I have a PhD in chemistry, and I taught it in college for about 10 years. You could certainly acquire it the same way, but I would guess you don't have that kind of time handy. I figure that's the entire reason for this message board: so that you can get the kind of information you can ONLY get from other people, not books or googling.

Answer 5

you got that right. Thank you so much for sharing. lol :)