NMR spectroscopy using Deuterium oxide

Fig 1. NMR spectroscopy using Deuterium oxide

The NMR phenomenon is based on the interaction of the nuclei of specific atomic isotopes with a static magnetic field. The utility of NMR arise from the fact that chemically distinct nuclei differ in resonance frequency in the same magnetic field. This phenomenon is known as the chemical shift.

NMR spectroscopy is an essential tool for the determination of molecular structure, the study of molecular dynamics, and the characterization of materials at the molecular level by chemists, physicists, and molecular biologists.

Deuterium oxide (D₂O) is used in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy when using water as solvent if the nuclide of interest is hydrogen. This is because the signal from light water solvent molecules interferes with observing the signal from the molecule of interest dissolved in it.

 

Source:

http://chemnmr.colorado.edu/moreinfo/whatisnmr.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water

Deuterium oxide vs. deuterium depleted

Unlike deuterium oxide (heavy water) which is a form of water that contains a larger than normal amount of the hydrogen isotope deuterium, Deuterium-depleted water (DDW), also known as light water, has a lower concentration of deuterium than occurs naturally. Deuterium a heavier isotope of hydrogen which has, in addition to its one proton, a neutron, that roughly doubles the mass of the hydrogen atom.

All natural water contains deuterium. Most water contains about 150 ppm. Water with a concentration less than 140 ppm is considered deuterium-depleted. Despite the fact that the consumption of deuterium oxide is harmful, based on clinical studies even seemingly small reduction in deuterium content can improve a number of health parameters in human.

Scientists uncovered that healthy cells react well to reduced amounts of deuterium in water. However, cancer cells are more sensitive to deuterium depletion. Cancer cells, especially tumor cells, cannot adapt rapidly resulting in tumor regression without any side effects on healthy cells. They also studied DDW for metabolic disorders - especially diabetes - with desirable results.

 

Source:

http://www.dancingwithwater.com/deuterium-depleted-water-what-is-it/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium-depleted_water

Pharmacological use of deuterium oxide

Fig 1.Development of deuterated drugs using deuterium oxide

 

Deuterium oxide or heavy water is widely used in studies of metabolism of drugs in humans and other animals. Deuterium from deuterium oxide (D₂O) can be exchanged directly into finished drug compounds.

A deuterium containing or deuterated drug is a kind of medicine which one or more of its hydrogen atoms are substituted by deuterium atoms. Metabolic studies have shown that slower metabolism of deuterium containing drugs often allows for longer effective benefit, smaller or less frequent doses and fewer side effects of the drug.

In April 2017 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first deuterated drug, AUSTEDO™ by Teva (previously referred to as SD-809). Austedo was developed for the treatment of chorea, random involuntary twisting movements, which is associated with Huntington’s disease.

 

Source:

http://www.tevapharm.com/news/teva_announces_fda_approval_of_austedo_deutetrabenazine_tablets_for_the_treatment_of_tardive_dyskinesia_in_adults_08_17.aspx

Iran’s deuterium oxide market

Fig 1. Iran has exported 70 tonnes of its deuterium oxide to US and Russia

 

The U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, bought 32 metric tonnes of heavy water from Iran worth $8.6 million, a department spokeswoman said. Heavy water or deuterium oxide is a component of nuclear energy program that is not radioactive.

Under nuclear deal between Iran, the United States and five other world powers, Tehran can sell its heavy water.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told The Wall Street Journal that the United States tested Iran’s heavy water and “it’s perfectly good.” Moniz also said the U.S. purchase would be a “statement to the world” that Iran’s heavy water can be purchased.

U.S. officials hope the purchase will pave the way for other countries to buy the heavy water, which can be used in the development of semiconductors and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said that the United States had been the first buyer of Iranian heavy water and some other world powers were now showing an interest.

According to a sale between Iran and Russia, Iran has exported about 38 tonnes of its heavy water to Russia. The general director of Russia’s State Corporation on Atomic Energy, Rosatom, confirmed that Iran delivered about 40 of heavy water to Russia.

 

Source:

www.reuters.com

www.wsj.com

Countries make deuterium oxide

When Norsk Hydro began producing deuterium oxide (heavy water) in 1934, Norway became the first country with a commercial heavy water plant. The Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940 transferred control of the plant—and most of the world's deuterium oxide—to Germany. In the early 1940s, Allied countries joined the race for heavy water, and by 1944, the Manhattan Project had made 20 tons of the precious liquid, more than enough to fill the first heavy water nuclear reactor.

America's atomic weapons program ultimately relied more on graphite than on heavy water in nuclear reactors, but the United States has continued to produce deuterium oxide for military use ever since the '40s. Today, Canada and India, which both rely on heavy water nuclear power plants for electricity, make the most heavy water. Other countries with heavy water production facilities include Argentina, Iran, Romania, and Russia.

 

Fig 1. Norsk Hydro – Norwegian heavy water facility

Fig 2. Iran heavy water production plant

Source:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hydro/water.html