Why would nitrogen be in aerosol cans?

Ever wonder how aerosol cans spray? Every time you push the button something comes out. You didn't even have to pour the product out like most liquids. How does that work?...  The answer is pressure. 

By ChloeSmith08 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 ],
via Wikimedia Commons

What does nitrogen do in cans? 

Nitrogen gas creates pressure when used in aerosol cans.¹ It is preferred compared to other chemicals because it does the least amount of damage to our environment. Another way of getting a product out of its container is using a pump. ⁵ This is a better option for individuals who are trying to be more environmentally friendly. Products with a pump however will no longer be in a can. Some companies use other chemicals like butane, carbon dioxide and more to create pressure in aerosol cans.⁵ 

Where is nitrogen found? 

Air is made up of about 78% nitrogen, which makes it easy to access.² In the Nitrogen cycle there is a stage called denitrification. This is when oxidized forms of nitrogen are turned back to nitrogen gas, making more nitrogen available in our air.³

Why use nitrogen?

Nitrogen is used because it does not cause harmful effects like some of the other chemicals used to create pressure. CFCs and HCFCs use to be popular options however they break down our ozone.⁴ The ozone is a gaseous layer that surrounds the Earths and protects us from the harmful rays the sun makes. It can protect us from things like skin cancer and with out it all living things would not be able to survive.

Since nitrogen is available in such high amounts, one does not have to worry about it becoming a limited resource. Nitrogen has no odor, which make makes it wonderful to mix in with scented products as it does not change the original scent.

Can nitrogen be harmful?

Nitrogen pushes away oxygen molecules which means the more nitrogen present, the less oxygen will be. As we all know oxygen is important for humans and other animals to survive and without it, we’d all be dead. However, it is difficult to release such large amounts of nitrogen that can cause such harmful effects to us.


Reference:

¹Myers, B., (2015). Wired. https://www.wired.com/2015/12/whats-inside-febreze/ (assessed October 14, 2017).

²Toxnet. (2015). Nitrogen, Elemental. https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/f?./temp/~i7x54B:3 (assessed October 15, 2017).

³Harrison, J., (2013). Vision learning. https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Earth-Science/6/The-Nitrogen-Cycle/98 (assessed October 15, 2017).

⁴Carey, F., (2017). Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. https://www.britannica.com/science/chlorofluorocarbon (assessed October 17, 2017).

⁵Justo, P. Febreze. In This is what you just put in your mouth?, Three River Press: United States, 2015; pp 163.

The affect that caffeine has on your body will surprise you

                          The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0.

                    https://pxhere.com/en/photo/554594 

                                    The affect that caffeine has on your body will surprise you:

Most of the foods that we love contain caffeine in them! Foods such as chocolate, jellybeans, and even gum! The most popular drinks in the world such as tea, coffee, and coke also have caffeine in them.¹   

Caffeine alters the functioning of the body parts such as the brain, stomach, heart, and hormones. It works by blocking the sleep chemical in our brains called adenosine. It takes adenosine’s place therefore making us feel more alert rather than sleepy. Caffeine has both positive and negative effects. At low doses, caffeine makes us feel alert, happy, and increases our mental performance. It also provides a boost of energy through out the day.²

How much is too much though?

 An average adult will consume about two cups of coffee a day.³ The dose of caffeine everyone should consume is dependant on every individual. For example, how much you weigh, your sex, and genetic makeup all affect how much caffeine you can have. It is pretty hard to have too much or even to overdose on caffeine. You would need to drink roughly around 80 to 100 cups of coffee a day, for it do be dangerous to your health.⁴  

When taken at high doses caffeine can cause some mild effects to our bodies such as:

Ø  Anxiety

Ø  Shakiness

Ø  Frequent urination

Ø  Makes you less hungry

Ø  Increases blood pressure and makes you feel dizzy

Ø  Makes you irritable

Ø  Causes headaches

If you drink more then three cups of coffee a day and suddenly decide to stop drinking it, you can experience withdrawal symptoms which are similar to the symptoms listed above but may be more severe.⁴

Is caffeine controversial?

 Some controversies that we hear often about caffeine can make us wonder if it is actually worth drinking. One of the big issues caffeine causes is trouble sleeping. Because caffeine keeps you alert and messes with your hormones, it can make you lay awake at night regretting drinking the cup of coffee you had earlier in the day.

For those with anxiety and depression, caffeine may worsen your symptoms so it should be consumed lightly.⁴

 Did you know?

Ø  Caffeine is the earths most widely used drug, then alcohol is second, and nicotine is third.² Crazy right?

Ø  The darker the coffee, the less caffeine it has in it! ²

References: 

•     ¹ Windhols, M. (Ed). (1983). The merck index: an encyclopedia of chemicals and drugs (10 ed.). Rahway, NJ: Merck.

•     ²  Caffeine(n.d). Retrieved October 19 2017. From https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Caffeine

•     ³ Caffeine substitution ideas/Nutrition/ Healthy Eating. (n.d). Retrrieved October 19,2017, from http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/5-caffeine-substitution-ideas.html

•    ⁴ Caffeine Toxicity. (2017, June 06). Retrieved October 19, 2017, from

Aluminium Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly

Do you use antiperspirant? That stuff that looks and smells like deodorant, but some how stops you from sweating?  Ever wondered what the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant is? Well it’s a chemical called Aluminium Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly. Bit of

a mouthful eh?

So what is Aluminium Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly?

Well it’s a chemical compound used in antiperspirants, and cosmetics that has the ability to clog up pores blocking any sweat to come out of those pores. The compound is made up from 6 subgroups, those subgroups are; Glycine, Aluminium, Zirconium, Chlorine, Alcohol, and a water molecule¹.

So how does it work?

Well the Aluminum found in the compound binds to the proteins and to walls of the sweat duct. After it binds it continues to collect more proteins that are being carried by the sweat, growing and eventually blocking any sweat from coming through the pore⁶.

Any health risks?

All the health risks are linked to that Aluminium found in the compound. These health risks are developing a rash, acne, or itching in the area the product was applied to ⁴. If those side effects occur from using the product, you can stop using the product and the side effects will go away ^2,3.

How about all the controversies?

The controversies include: causing cancer since the pores are closed and toxins cannot leave the body and will cause infection in the lymph nodes and aluminum in high concentration can cause Alzheimer’s diseases ^2,3. Fortunately, the studies that show that are only found in “natural alternative medicine” websites, and do not have enough data to back up the claims. So until there are any real research that backs up the claims, you can feel free to use it safely!

References:

1.   Aluminum Zirconium Octachlorohydrex GLY. Pubchem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/72941670 (retrieved  October 17, 2017)

2.   Watson, S. Antiperspirant Safety: Should You Sweat It? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/antiperspirant-facts-safety#1 (retrieved October 15, 2017).

3.   Thurman, C. The Effects of Aluminum on the Skin. Livestrong. https://www.livestrong.com/article/201752-the-effects-of-aluminum-on-the-skin/ (retrieved October 15, 2017).

4.   Pharmacopeia, U. S., United States Pharmacopeial Convention, ebrary, I., Ebook Central - Academic Complete, & United States Adopted Names Council. (2007;2006;). 2007 USP dictionary of USAN and international drug names (43;43th; ed.). Rockville, Md: U.S Pharmacopeia.

6.   Bretagne A., Cotot, F. Arnaud-Roux M. The mechanism of eccrine sweat pore plugging by aluminium salts using microfluidics combined with small angle X-ray scattering. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/sm/c6sm02510b#!divAbstract. (retrieved October 19, 2017).

5.   Deodorant stick. ClipArt. http://images.clipartpanda.com/odor-clipart-deodorant-stick.png  (retrieved October 30, 2017).

6.   Skull. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/p-153588/?no_redirect (retrieved October 30,2017).

Acetylsalicylic Acid

Photo Credit: Acetylsalicylic Acid, Breanne Marois

What do you normally do when you’re in pain? Do you go to your medicine cabinet and reach for a drug to alleviate your headache? Most of us have taken some sort of pain medication in our lives. If you have, have you ever wondered where these drugs come from, and what exactly they do?

You may have heard of acetylsalicylic acid, but it more commonly referred to as Aspirin, which is a brand name for the drug². Acetylsalicylic acid not only relieves pain, but it can also reduce fevers³ and inflammation¹. On top of all of that, it can help to prevent heart attacks and heart disease by acting as a blood thinner³. There can be some side effects of taking acetylsalicylic acid, however, as with any drug, but these side effects are not usually serious².

Acetylsalicylic acid is a very interesting drug, as it is derived from the bark of willow trees. In the late 1700s, leaves and bark from willow trees were used to treat pain and reduce fevers³. Scientists in the 1870s found the chemical, salicin, in willow that produced these pain alleviating, fever reducing properties, and isolated it in a lab so that it could be mass produced for the needs of the population ³. Unfortunately, salicin tastes horrible and reacts with chemicals in the body to form another chemical, salicylic acid, which harms the stomach³. Scientists went back to the drawing board to try and find a better alternative. Finally, in Germany in the 1890s, scientists made acetylsalicylic acid, which has the medicinal properties of salicylic acid without the accompanying horrible taste, or stomach pain³. So when you take acetylsalicylic acid for your headache in the future, you can stop and think that it only exists because people in the 20^th century decided to chew willow bark to alleviate their pain.

As with any drug, only take the recommended dose of acetylsalicylic acid, as taking too much can lead to serious side effects or death¹. 



References

1. Drugbank. Acetylsalicylic acid, 2017. https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00945 (accessed Oct 14, 2017).

2. PubChem. Aspirin, 2017. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/aspirin (accessed Oct 14, 2017).

3. Lewis, D. Aspirin, 2nd ed.; Royal Society of Chemistry: London, 2003.

Radium

Radium

The story of radium begins in year 1898. The element was discovered by Marie and her husband Pierre Curie. The couple discovered the element from a radioactive element that is called uranium. The element radium is white in colour, but when exposed to air, the colour changes to a silvery black colour. Marie and her husband were extremely fascinated by radium because the element glows in the dark. The reason why radium glows in the dark is because radium is highly radioactive. After studying the element, scientists deemed radium as a non-harmful element that is extremely healthy and could cure almost any condition known to man. Marie and her husband were awarded the Nobel  Prize in physics in 1903. 

Because radium was thought to be so healthy, companies started to make a vast selection of products that contained radium and could be purchased by the public with no restrictions at all. Some of these products that contained radium were: Radium paint, radium chocolate, radium toothpaste, radium water, and many other products containing radium.

During the first World War, women sought employment to support the war effort. A group of girls from Newark, New Jersey got hired as dial painters for a company who produced clocks and watches. The ladies would apply highly radioactive paint that contained large amounts of radium to the dials of the watches so the dials would glow in the dark. The ladies were dubbed the nickname “The Radium Girls” because of their constant interaction to radium. In-order to keep a sharp on the paintbrush, the ladies would insert the bristles into their lips and pull it out so the bristles would, be straight. The ladies continued using this method for many years, the ladies were completely unaware to how lethal radium can be. In the year 1922, the ladies started to experience the toxic effects of radium. Some of the dial painters started to lose their teeth, and their hair, and develop cataracts, while some of the dial painters developed large cancerous tumours on their lower jaw or around their hips. The ladies all died a slow painful death. Unfortunately, the dial painters were not the only ones who suffered from a slow painful death; the people who consumed other products that contained radium started to suffer from radiation poisoning or cancer, and eventually led to death.

Scientists examined radium more in depth and learned that radium emits harmful radiation waves that are called beta and gamma rays. These harmful rays that are given off from radium are known to cause radiation poisoning, cancer, and can also alter a persons’ DNA. The commercial use of radium was banned for public use in 1938. Now radium is only produced in small quantities, it is estimated that approximately 100g is produced a year because it is so toxic.

References

DieGroteske (2015). Radium Old Fashioned Under Light. Retrieved from: https://pixabay.com/en/radium-old-fashioned-under-light-1005499/