Chemical Compounds Found in Generic Ibprofen

Whether we like it or not, chemistry is a part of our daily lives.  The products of chemistry (compounds and reactions) can be found in everything from toothpaste, to antibacterial hand soap, to gas, to even some processes in our body.  Without chemistry, or the chemical compounds that scientists have been working to create and perfect, the world would not have plastics, pharmaceuticals, or daily hygiene items.  While looking at a generic bottle of ibuprofen, I noticed about a dozen chemical compounds on the back; I decided to take a closer look at three of them.

Hypromellose (aka Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose)- This compound is used in a wide variety of items including cosmetics, paint, and cement.  Currently, research is being conducted to see if hypromellose can be used to replace gluten in breads.

CH₂CH(OH)CH₃

Polyethylene Glycol- This is used mainly in medications because it causes medicines to last longer and reduces the toxicity of the drug.  It is also used as the basis of many skin creams.  Research being done on this compound includes using it in gene therapy.

C_2NH_4N + 2O_N+1

Titanium Dioxide- The main use of this compound is for light refraction.  It is used in lines on tennis courts, materials to build space shuttles, and in all sunscreen- and in all cases to redirect the light. 

TiO₂

All of the chemicals listed are not only found in ibuprofen, they are also found in many other items.  Most compounds are versatile- they have many uses in very different places.  It is this versatility that makes chemical compounds essential in manufacturing the things we frequently use today.

What is Green CHemistry?

Green Chemistry is something that is completely new to me.  I took a general chemistry course at St. Anselm last year and nothing about green chemistry, even the existence of it, was mentioned.  Now, as I read the textbook and other sources about green chemistry I don't know why it wasn't mentioned.  Green chemistry is not throwing the ideas of traditional chemistry out the window; it is enhancing chemistry, making it friendly to a more conscientious world.

Green chemistry isn't just a focus of the impact of chemicals and by-products on the environment.  It also evaluates the impact of chemistry on the economy.  Chemicals, experiments, and research can begin to cost a great deal of money, especially because experiments must be done more than once.  With green chemistry, reduce, reuse, and recycle (now a common phrase) will help lower the final cost of the project or help sites break even.  Green chemistry also helps reduce waste.  Any person who has taken a chemistry lab knows that something has to be produced by the end of the lab in order to complete the report correctly.  Now imagine that on a larger scale put into toxic waste dumps.  These dumps have the power to completely alter the soil in which they are put.  The last concept that green chemistry covers is the reuse and recycling of materials.  With the constant use of recycled materials there will be little or no need to dip into unused resources. 

The three concepts above come from the text book to illustrate sustainability (a word that pops up constantly).  This sustainability is what I think green chemistry is all about.  If the world or even individual sites can reduce, reuse, and recycle enough, chemistry can become a sustainable science.