
By: Raymond Eucgang
Dati it was only the ‘Sigbins’ who were believed to eat the uling /charcoal. But nowadays uso na ang charcoal ice cream. First time ko makakain was in Davao. Maganda daw sa health ang pagkain nito coz it will detox your body esp your gut. How true are the sabi sabi?. Let us look at the mechanism how carbon can remove toxins.
MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF DETOXIFICATION USING ACTIVATED CHARCOAL.
Activated carbon, also known as activated charcoal, is a highly porous form of carbon with an extensive surface area, making it effective at adsorbing toxins. The process of adsorption involves the adherence of molecules from a gas or liquid to the surface of a solid—in this case, activated carbon.
Molecular Mechanism of Adsorption:
1. Surface Area and Porosity:
Activated carbon possesses a vast network of microscopic pores, significantly increasing its surface area. This extensive surface provides numerous active sites for toxin molecules to adhere. One gram of activated carbon can have a surface area exceeding 3,000 square meters.
2. Van der Waals Forces and Induced Dipole Interactions
The adsorption process is primarily driven by physical forces, such as van der Waals interactions. Neutral organic molecules can be induced into intra-molecular dipoles by the graphitic platelets of activated carbon. These induced dipoles cause the molecules to be attracted to each other and stick together, leading to their precipitation out of solution into the carbon’s nano-sized pores.
3. Chemical Composition and Surface Functional Groups:
The surface of activated carbon contains various functional groups that can interact with different toxins. These interactions can enhance the adsorption capacity for specific substances, depending on the chemical nature of both the toxin and the carbon surface.
Applications in Toxin Removal:
Medical Use: In cases of certain poisonings or drug overdoses, activated charcoal is administered to adsorb toxins present in the gastrointestinal tract, preventing their absorption into the bloodstream. By binding to these substances, it facilitates their elimination from the body through the digestive system.
In summary, the efficacy of activated carbon in adsorbing toxins is attributed to its high surface area, porous structure, and the physical and chemical interactions that occur at the molecular level between the carbon surface and the toxin molecules.