The beautiful blue coloration in the wood block print by
Hokusai comes from a pigment known as
Prussian Blue. The pigment has been used for centuries by artists. A lesser known use for Prussian blue is as an
antidote for heavy metal poisoning, including cesium-137, a radioactive isotope which now threatens post-tsunami Japan.
I
tweeted yesterday about how the simple inorganic salt potassium iodide (KI) works to displace the radioactive isotope of iodine which gathers in the thyroid. I hope that the people most affected are the first in line to get these ready-made treatments.
The aptly-named crown ethers are also useful for sequesting mono-cations selectively. The selectivity is useful because normal mono-cations like sodium and potassium should remain untouched in vivo. As I understand things, the selective affinities for different cations can be tuned by varying such things as the ring size of the crown.
ReplyDeleteHa! I saw that same print at Patterico's and instantly fell in love with it.
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