News tagged with acetone

Acetone is the organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.

Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory. About 6.7 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2010, mainly for use as a solvent and production of methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A. Familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and as paint thinner. It is a common building block in organic chemistry.

Acetone is naturally produced and disposed of in the human body as a result of normal metabolic processes. It is normally present in blood and urine. Diabetic people produce it in larger amounts. Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems. In fact, the body naturally increases the level of acetone in pregnant women, nursing mothers and children because their higher energy requirements lead to higher levels of acetone production. Ketogenic diets that increase acetone in the body are used to reduce epileptic attacks in infants and children who suffer from recalcitrant refractory epilepsy.

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