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The toxicity of heavy water is not related to its molecular weight, rather to the difference in strength of its hydrogen bonds.
by causi 3y ago
The toxicity of heavy water is not related to its molecular weight, rather to the difference in strength of its hydrogen bonds.
- shadowgovt 3y agoI was under the impression that the difference in mass results in slowing down metabolic processes (mainly because it takes more energy per unit time to move a more massive molecule). I wouldn't expect the hydrogen bond strength to be affected because hydrogen bonds are electromagnetic bonds, and the electromagnetic properties of deuterium and (H1) water are the same (other than the mass-effected ones; heavy hydrogen in an electric field will accelerate more slowly than light hydrogen, but that's because it's more massive, not because it's more weakly coupled to the electric field).
- causi 3y agoHeavy water hydrogen bonds are a couple percent stronger because the molecules themselves are very slightly smaller. Smaller molecules result in a shorter range of vibration at a given temperature, hence less inherent "fighting" of the hydrogen bond.