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JCE WebWare
William F. Coleman Wellesley College Wellesley, MA 02481
Featured Molecules: Ascorbic Acid and Methylene Blue
Randall J. Wildman University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI 53715
May Featured Molecules The WebWare molecules of the month for May are featured in several articles in this issue. “Arsenic: Not So Evil After All?” (p 497) discusses the pharmaceutical uses of methylene blue and its development as the first synthetic drug used against a specific disease. The JCE Classroom Activity “Out of the Blue” (p 536A) and the article “Greening the Blue Bottle” (p 537) feature methylene blue and ascorbic acid as two key ingredients in the formulation of the blue bottle. You can also see a colorful example of these two molecules in action on the cover. “Sailing on the ‘C’: A Vitamin Titration with a Twist” (p 550) describes an experiment to determine the vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content of citrus fruits and challenges students, as eighteenth-century sea captains, to decide the best fruit to take on a long voyage. Fully manipulable (Chime) versions of these and other molecules are available at the Only@JCE Online Web site: http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCEWWW/Features/WebWare/ MonthlyMolecules/2003/May/.
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ascorbic acid
methylene blue
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 80 No. 5 May 2003 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
