Question

Lead poisoning is a serious condition resulting from the ingestion of lead in food, water, or other environmental sources. It affects the central nervous system, leading to a variety of symptoms such as distractibility, lethargy, and loss of motor coordination. Lead poisoning is treated with chelating agents, substances that bind to metal ions, allowing it to be eliminated in the urine. A modern chelating agent used for this purpose is succimer (C4H6O4S2). Suppose you are trying to determine the appropriate dose for succimer treatment of lead poisoning.

What minimum mass of succimer (in mg) is needed to bind all of the lead in a patient's bloodstream? Assume that patient blood lead levels are 33 μg/dL , that total blood volume is 5.0 L, and that one mole of succimer binds one mole of lead.

Express your answer using two sigificant figures

Answer 1

mass of lead in blood = 33 μg/dL * 5 L = 33 μg/dL * 50 dL= 1650 μg = 0.001650 g

molar mass of lead= 207.2 g/mol

so, number of moles of lead = mass/ molar mass = 0.001650/207.2 = 7.963*10^-6 mol

So,

number of moles of succimer required= 7.963*10^-6 mol

Molar mass of succimer =182.2 g/mol

mass of succimer =molar mass * number of moles

                                   =182.2 * 7.963*10^-6

                                   = 1.5*10^-3 g

                                    =1.5 mg