Mariano

MarianoMarcos
MarcosState
StateUniversity
University
College
CollegeofofHealth
HealthSciences
Sciences
Pharmacy
PharmacyDepartment
Department
City
CityofofBatac
Batac2906
2906Ilocos
IlocosNorte
Norte

PCHM 121: Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry with Qualitative Analysis

1st Semester of A.Y. 2020-2021

Title
Chapter 8: Group Properties of Elements (Group VA, VB, VIA, VIB, VIIA, VIIB, VIIIA
and VIIIB)
Introduction

The pnictogens or nitrogen group is a significant element family. Group

15 or VA comprise the nonmetals nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P), the
metalloids arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb), and the metal bismuth (Bi). The
name “pnictogen” is not in common usage; it derived from the Greek work
pnigein,“choke” or “stifle”, which is a property of breathing pure nitrogen gas.
Oxygen group element, also called chalcogen, any of the six chemical
elements making up Group 16 (Via) of the periodic classification-namely,
oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), polonium (Po), and
livermorium (Lv).
Group 7 elements are called halogens. They are placed in the vertical
column, second from the right, in the periodic table. Chlorine, bromine and
iodine are the three common Group 7 elements. Group 7 elements form salts
when they react with metals. The term ‘halogen’ means ‘salt former’.
The noble gases are a group of elements wearing crowns, sitting on
thrones and feasting on the finest foods. Despite their name, the noble gases
are not actually nobility, but they are a group of gases located on the far right
of the periodic table. The noble gases include helium (He), neon (Ne), argon
(Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe) and radon (Rn)

Presentation of Outcomes

Having successfully completed this lesson the student must have:

1. Described elements of groups VA, VB, VIA, VIB, VIIA, VIIB, VIIIA and VIIIB;
2. Evaluated the elements in the above groups that are used in pharmacy and
medicine.
Warm-up Activity
Question.
What do you like the most about virtual school? What about the least?

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Central Activities

Learning Input 1 (Lecture)

Group VA (Nitrogen Family: N, P, As, Sb, Bi)

Chemical properties:
1. The elements have the electron configuration of ns2np3 in their outer shell where
n is equal to the principal quantum number.
2. Compounds are usually covalent, all the elements combine with hydrogen to
form hydrides, all of which except ammonia tend to be flammable and poisonous
3. They react with oxygen to form oxides. Oxides of nitrogen and phosphorous are
strongly acidic, arsenic and antimony are amphoteric while bismuth is basic.

Elements
1. Nitrogen (N): aka mephitic air, azote (“without life”)
- most abundant gas in air consists of 71% N2 and 29% O2
- Used as inert gas in ampules
- Important compounds:
a. Diatomic nitrogen- very inert and stable; used as diluent for pure O2;
stored in black containers.
b. Nitrous oxide (N2O)- aka laughing gas; used as general inhalational
anesthetic; S/E is hypoxia; stored in blue container
2. Phosphorous (P):aka St. Elmo’s fire, light carrier
- 2 forms: white phosphorous (poisonous and burst into flame in the presence
of air) and red phosphorous (used in matches)
- Allotropes:
a. Scarlet phosphorous- tribromide heated to 240oC with mercury
b. Violet phosphorous- white phosphorous heated at 200oC with Na
c. Metallic or black phosphorous- heated at 530oC with Pb
d. Red phosphorous- white phosphorous + chromic acid
3. Arsenic (As): aka Lewisite metal
- Used by Paul Erlich to treat syphilis
- Considered as protoplasmic poison because it is toxic to all living things
- it is a heavy metallic inorganic irritant poison; inorganic arsenic compounds
are poisonous (ex. Arsenic trioxide, sodium arsenite, arsenic sulphide) and
metallic arsenic is non-poisonous if ingested because it is not absorbed.
- MOA: arsenic ion binds with sulphydryl group (-SH) of enzymes in the liver,
lungs, intestinal walls, spleen), it replaces phosphorous in bones where it
may remain for years, it also gets deposited in the hairs.
- Toxicity (Signs & Symptoms):
a. Acute fulminating type: symptoms occur within half an hour when heavy
dose (3-5 gm) is taken; acts on sulphydryl groups of enzymes and

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 capillaries inhibiting cellular metabolism and causing marked dilation of
capillaries and myocardial failure resulting in shock and death.
b. Sub acute type (Gastroenteritis type): when small doses of arsenic are
given at repeated intervals; resembles case of cholera or food poisoning.
c. Chronic type: presents with a sequence of 5 different set of
manifestations:
• Gastrointestinal: presents with gradual weight loss, malnutrition,
fatigue, loss of appetite
• Catarrhal changes: presents with running nose, headache,
conjunctivitis, bronchial catarrh
• Raindrop pigmentation: known to produce milk and roses
complexion initially, followed by patchy brown pigmentation of
the skin (especially forehead, neck and shoulders).
o It might also show hyperkeratosis of the skin of palms and soles
o Mees lines: whitish lines 1-2 mm breath across the nails of fingers and
nose
o Arsenical neuritis: polyneuritis, optic neuritis, paresthesias, atrophy
of extensors resulting in wrist and foot drop.
- Treatment: butter and greasy substances that act as demulcents; gastric
lavage with warm water or freshly prepared hydrated ferric oxide solution;
hemodialysis is the line of choice in massive arsenic poisoning; BAL, DMSA,
Penicillamine.
- Important compounds:
a. Arsenic trioxide (As2O3): used as insecticide, anti-leukemic
b. Potassium arsenite solution: aka fowler’s solution; used as
antileukemic agent
- Medicolegal importance: considered as ideal homicidal poison as it was
cheap, easy to obtain, could be easily mixed and given and symptoms were
similar to cholera.
4. Antimony/Stibium (Sb)
- Used as semiconductor in making infrared detectors, expectorant, emetic,
anti-protozoal and anti-helminthic.
- Important compounds:
a. Antimony potassium tartrate- aka tartar emetic, brown mixture. Used as
emetic, expectorant, treatment of schistosomiasis
5. Bismuth: aka beautiful meadow
- Pharmacological action: astringent, antiseptic, internal protective for ulcer,
treatment of stomach upset, found in hemorrhoid creams (Bismuth oxide)
- Other uses: silvering mirror; manufacture of low-melting alloys used in
electrical fuses and automatic fire alarm system.

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 - Causes dark stools and blue lined gums; Antidote: BAL and Dimercaprol.

Group VB (Vanadium Subgroup: V, Nb, Ta)

Chemical Properties:
1. Form oxides whose acidity decreases with progressing atomic number.
2. Form hydroxides whose basicity decreases with increasing oxidation state.
3. Compounds with low oxidation states are usually colorful.
4. Inert to chemical action in finely subdivided form.

Elements
1. Vanadium
- Named for the Norse goddess of beauty Vanadis because of its beautiful
colors.
- Uses: treatment of diabetes, low blood sugar, high cholesterol, heart
disease, tuberculosis, syphilis.
2. Niobium
- Pure metal is soft and ductile
- Looks like steel and when polished, platinum
- Uses: alloys and superconductive magnets
3. Tantalum (Ta)
- Not affected by body fluids = INERT
- Filament for evaporating other metals
- Used in some surgical instruments and as coating for certain medical
implants to minimize rejection; also used in the repair of bones, nerve and
tissue.

Group VIA (Oxygen Group/Chalcogens: O, S, Se, Te, Po )

Chemical properties:
1. Sulfur and the higher elements have oxidation states of -2, 0, +2, +4 and +6
whereas oxygen only has the oxidation states of -2, -1, and 0.
2. These elements are among the most electronegative in the periodic table, with
oxygen being the second most electronegative of all elements, fluorine first.

Elements
1. Oxygen (O): aka ampyreal air (Scheele), acid former (Lavoisier), dephlogisticated
air (Priestly) and Yne.
- Most abundant and most important element on earth’s crust
- Use: treatment of hypoxia/asphyxia; treatment of respiratory diseases and
is mixed with other gases for respiration in submarines, high flying aircraft
and spacecraft.
- Stored in green container
- 3 allotropes:

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 • Nascent oxygen (O)
• Molecular oxygen (O2)
• Ozone (O3)- powerful oxidizing agent, highly toxic
2. Sulfur (S): aka brimstone of shulbari, asupre
- Sulfides: SbS (red orange); ZnS (white); CdS (yellow); Fe2S (pyrite or fool’s
gold)
- Uses: treatment of seborrhea, acne, psoriasis
- Important compounds:
a. Sublimed sulfur- aka flowers of sulfur; used in Vleminckx’s solution (tx of
acne, seborrhea, psoriasis)
b. Precipitated sulfur- aka milk of sulfur; used in sulfur ointment (tx of
scabies)
c. Sulfurated lime solution- aka Vleminckx lotion/solution; used for acne
3. Selenium (Se)- aka selena, moon
- Essential trace element because it helps in the utilization of Vitamin E
- Used as antiseborrheic (dandruff), radioisotope to image the pancreas and
parathyroid glands
- Important compounds:
a. Selenium sulfide (SeS2)- Selsun Blue; used as antidandruff

Group VIB (The Chromium Subgroup: Cr, Mo, W, U)

Chemical Properties:
1. Chromium forms compounds with oxidation states of +2, +3 and +6.
2. Form oxides of which those of higher molecular weight are acidic.

Elements
1. Chromium (Cr)
- From Greek “chromos”, color
- 21st most abundant element
- Sources: butter, margarine, sugar
- Uses: glucose tolerance factor
- Deficiency: hyperglycemia
2. Molybdenum (Mo): aka molybdos; molybdoena
- Essential trace elements
- Cofactor
- Uses: nuclear energy application, missile and aircraft plates; catalyst in
refining petroleum, lubricant (molybdenum sulfide), essential trace element
in plant nutrition
- Important compound:
a. Molybdenum oxide- Brand Name: Mol-Iron (hematinic)
3. Uranium (U)
- Discovered by Becquerel

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 - it gives interesting yellow and green colors and fluorescence effects when
included to glass in conjunction with other additives
- radioactive, heaviest atom among the natural elements
- Radioactive element used in the manufacture of atomic bombs and nuclear
fuel

Group VIIA (Halogen: F, Cl, Br, I, At)

Chemical Properties:
1. Fluorine is the best oxidizing agent
2. Oxidizing property decreases with increasing atomic number

Elements
1. Fluorine
- Strongest oxidizing agent
- Superhalogen (Linus Pauling)
- Lightest halogen
- Pale yellow gas
- Natural sources: fluorspar, cryolite, apatite, fluorite
- Poisoning: fluorosis (manifested by mottled enamel and abnormal bone
growth)
- Uses: anticariogenic, refrigerants (freon), lubricant and inert solvent
(fluorocarbons), valuable in production of computer chips, used in the
production of polymer and plastics
2. Chlorine: aka dephlogisticated muriatic acid
- “chloros”- greenish yellow
- Most abundant extracellular anion
- Used as water disinfectant
- Chlorides are precipitated with silver nitrate
- Uses: important in water purification, disinfectant and bleaching wood pulp
- Important compounds:
a. Hypochlorite- bleaching agent
b. Hydrochloric acid- aka muriatic acid, chlorohydric acid, spirit of salt
• Concentration: 36.5-38.0% by weight of HCl
• Used in the treatment of achlorhydria (lack of HCl in the stomach)
3. Bromine (Br)
- Dark reddish brown fuming liquid with a suffocating odor
- Less active chemically than chlorine and fluorine but more active than iodine.
- Pharmacologic action: sedative and depressant
- Poisoning: Bromism; manifested by skin eruption, psychosis, weakness,
headache; antidote: NaCl and NH4Cl
**Bromism- bromide rashes
- Fumes: highly irritating to the skin and mucus membrane

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 - Burn and form blisters on the skin (treated by the solution of sodium
bicarbonate; glycerin, ammonia water)
- Other uses: disinfectant of swimming pools; used in making fumigants,
flameproofing agent
4. Iodine (I)
- Elemental iodine is TOXIC
- Toxicity: Iodism; chemical antidote: corn starch and sodium thiosulfate
- Dark gray/purple black solid
- Dissolves in carbon tetrachloride
- Uses: manufacture of printing inks and dyes, photography (silver iodine),
ingredient of water purification tablet
- Elemental iodine preparations:
a. Strong iodine solution- Lugol’s solution; 5% I in water with KI
b. Iodine tincture- disinfectant; 2% Iodine; 50% alcohol with KI
c. Povidone-Iodine- Betadine
d. Iodine Solution- 2% iodine in water
e. Phenolate Iodine Solution- Boulton’s Solution; antibacterial, irritant
5. Astatine (As)
- Only metallic
- Only synthetic halogen
- Only radioactive halogen

Group VIIB (Manganese Subgroup: Mn, Tc, Re)

Chemical Properties:
1. Manganese exhibits oxidation states of 2+ to 7+, the 2+ are good reducing
agents.
2. In acid solution, the manganese is reduced to the 2+ state and in the basic
solution, the manganese is reduced to manganese (IV) oxide.

Elements
1. Manganese (Mn)- from latin “magnes”, magnet
- Uses: essential to iron and steel production; catalyst (manganese dioxide),
decolorize glass and make violet-colored glass.
- Cofactor in protein synthesis, phosphorylation and fatty acid and cholesterol
synthesis
- Poisoning: Parkinson-like symptoms
- Important compounds
a. Potassium permanganate- aka mineral chameleon; used as a powerful
oxidizing agent and antiseptic
b. MnO2- masks the blue-green color of the glass
2. Technetium (Tc)- from “technetos”, artificial
- First element produced artificially

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 - Used in radiopharmaceuticals
- Important compounds:
a. Technetium Elidronate- bone imaging
b. Technetium 99m-heptagluconate- kidney imaging, determining renal
function
c. Technetium 99m-IDA- hepatobiliary studies
d. Technetium 99m-Phytate- liver imaging and potency studies

Group VIIIA (Noble gases: He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn)
Chemical Properties:
1. Virtually unreactive and shows no affinity with other elements

Elements
1. Helium (He)
- Second most common element in the Universe (after hydrogen), making up
around 24% of its mass
- 2nd lightest gas
- Toxicity: Donald Duck-like sound
- Use: carrier or diluent of medicinally important gases; component of artificial
gas
- Stored in brown container
2. Neon
- Neon lamps and lights
- For advertising
3. Argon
- Most abundant noble gas
- Substitute for N2 in providing an inert environment
4. Krypton
- Have inhalational anesthetic activity
5. Xenon
- Least abundant of all noble gas
- Has an investigational anesthetic activity
6. Radon: aka Niton
- Synthetic noble gas
- Recovered from the natural decay products of radium
- Investigational drug for the treatment of cervical cancer

Group VIIIB (Triads)

Chemical Properties:
1. Grayish white metals with high melting and boiling points.
2. In the three subgroups, the chemical properties are more similar in the
horizontal sequence than the vertical.

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The Iron Triad (Fe, Co, Ni)
1. Do not occur free in nature
2. They all exhibit oxidation states of 2+ and 3+
3. They are the only elements possessing magnetic properties at room
temperature.

Elements
1. Iron (Fe)- aka ferrum
- Present in proteins (hemoglobin, transferrin, ferritin, cytochrome oxidase
enzyme)
- Enhance absorption with Vitamin C and Copper
- Duodenum: best site of absorption
- Mucosal block postulation (best known hypothesis for iron absorption)
- Most important element in engineering
- Use as hematinic
- Toxicity: GI distress and cardiovascular collapse
- Antidote: Deferroxamine
- Types:
a. Cast iron- aka pig iron
• Obtained from the blast furnace
• 92-94% iron
• Other component: carbon
b. White cast iron- aka cementite
c. Gray cast iron-aka graphite scales
d. Wrought iron- most impurities from cast iron is removed
• Contains 99.8 to 99.9% pure iron
• Very malleable and ductile
- Compounds:
a. Iron sulfide- aka iron pyrites, fool’s gold
b. Ferrous sulfate (FeSO4)- aka green vitriol, iron vitriol
• Used as hematinic
• ADR: GI irritation, constipation, black stool
c. Ferrous gluconate- Fergon; less irritating than FeSO4
d. Ferrous carbonate- aka chalybeate pills, bland’s pills, ferrugious pills;
used as hematinic
- Other compounds:
a. Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3- ferriferrocyanide; Prussian blue
b. Fe3[Fe(CN)6]2- ferroferricyanide; turnbull’s blue
c. Ferric ammonium sulfate [FeNH4(SO4)2]- aka ferric alum; used in
analytical chemistry (indicator in Volhard method)

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 d. Iron sorbitex- complex of iron, sorbitol, citric acid
e. Ferric subsulfate solution- aka Monsel’s solution; Indication: styptic or
hemostatic agent
2. Cobalt (Co)
- Present in Vitamin B12
- Essential in the development of erythrocytes and hemoglobin
- Deficiency: Megaloblastic anemia
- Treat anemia in pregnant women
- Used in the manufacture of beers, batteries and magnet
- Important compounds:
a. Cobaltous chloride (CoCl2)- aka lover’s ink; sympathetic ink
3. Nickel (Ni)- aka Old Nick’s Copper
- Found in fossil fuel combustion and fancy jewelries

The Platinum Triad

• Light Platinum Metals- Ruthenium, Rhodium and Palladium
• Heavy Platinum Metals- Osmium, Iridium and Platinum

Properties:
1. Very unreactive and occur chiefly in the free state
2. They are corrosion-resistant and good catalyst when hydrogen is involved
3. the platinum metals, along with gold, silver and mercury are sometimes called
the noble metals because they show low oxidation potentials and low reactivity

Elements
1. Osmium (Os)
- Heaviest or densest metal
2. Platinum- catalyst in finely divided steel
- Used in antineoplastic therapy (Cisplatin and Carboplatin)
3. Palladium
- Catalyst in finely divided steel
- Chemical stability and electrical conductivity
- Plating in electronic components
- Dental crowns and bridges

Activity 1
• Search the internet on the latest elements discovered. Identify their properties
and uses.

Learning Input 2 (Laboratory)

• Post Laboratory discussion of the previous laboratory activities.

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Wrap-Up Activity

1. Discussion Forum (Open-ended questions)

• You are expected to participate in the discussion forum scheduled on October
12, 2020 (unless otherwise rescheduled), Monday via video conferencing
• An invitation link will be available in the mVLE course site.
• Open-ended questions will be asked randomly among students during the
discussion proper.
• In addition, students are also given opportunity to ask/raise any question or
make clarifications during the discussion.

Assessment (Post-Assessment)

Problem-Based Learning Task 8

Assignment
• A detailed instruction will be available in the mVLE course page assignment portal
on October 13, 2020, 1:00 PM.
• Submit your output on or before 11:59 pm, October 19, 2020 (Sunday) via the same
portal in mVLE.

Laboratory-Based Learning Task 7

• A detailed instruction will be available on October 13, 2020, 1:00 PM.
Online Exam 5
• You are required to take the Post-Test on the topic learned.
• The link will be posted on October 19, 2020 (Monday) after the discussion forum
in the mVLE Quiz Portal.
• Accomplish and submit the said exam on or before 11:59 PM on the same date.
Course Facilitator

Kristian Gay D. Beltran

Assistant Professor II
Pharmacy Department
kdbeltran@mmsu.edu.ph

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