Nitroglycerin is widely known as an explosive, but the fact that it can also be used to treat angina explains an interesting scientific principle, including an irony related to Nobel’s life.
Nitroglycerin, with a molecular formula of C3H5(NO3)3, is one of the most powerful explosives ever known. At room temperature, liquid nitroglycerin can increase its volume by 1200 times in an instant and reach a temperature of 5000°C, which is why it was commonly used as a bomb in wars and is currently used as a fuel for rockets. Nitroglycerin is also a very unstable substance that can explode when ignited, electrostatically, heated, or even mildly shocked. The first person to use nitroglycerin was Nobel. Nobel made a fortune using nitroglycerin to make dynamite. However, he suffered from a disease called angina pectoris, which eventually led to his death. Would you believe it if I told you that nitroglycerin, the main ingredient in dynamite, is now used to treat angina? In fact, nitroglycerin is currently used to treat angina, and it’s ironic that Nobel suffered from angina. Let’s take a look at the angina that plagued him and the nitroglycerin that made him rich.
The heart is an organ made up of muscles that acts as a pump to move blood throughout the body. It needs oxygen and nutrients to work, so it receives blood through channels called coronary arteries. When the blood vessels in these coronary arteries become hardened and narrowed, resulting in insufficient blood flow to the heart and chest pain, the condition is known as angina. The symptoms of angina usually occur in attacks. It’s a sudden, squeezing pain in the chest, often accompanied by shortness of breath, that lasts less than five minutes. In some rare cases, it can be dangerous enough to cause sudden fainting or even a heart attack.
Until recently, angina was a difficult condition to prescribe. However, the recent discovery that nitroglycerin, the main ingredient in dynamite, interacts with an enzyme in the mitochondria has led to the creation of drugs that treat angina with nitroglycerin. How does this dangerous substance work to treat angina?
To understand how nitroglycerin works, we must first understand nitric oxide. Nitric oxide, also known as nitric monoxide, is a molecule in the form of NO, which is made up of one nitrogen and one oxygen. This substance is known to help blood vessels dilate well and prevent platelets from aggregating and forming blood clots, which can cause heart attacks. Nitroglycerin is what the body produces this nitric oxide. Nitroglycerin works with enzymes in the mitochondria. According to Dr. Stemler”s team at Duke University Medical Center, they identified an enzyme in the mitochondria called mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (mtALDH), which breaks down nitroglycerin into nitric oxide and related substances. In this way, nitric oxide is produced in the body of the patient who ingests nitroglycerin and the blood vessels dilate to relieve angina.
As you can see, nitroglycerin is a double-edged sword, used both as an explosive and as a medicine. Nitroglycerin, the angel of death that killed so many men on the battlefield, is now an angel of life for those suffering from angina, a silent killer. Such is the nature of science and technology. If used for good, it becomes a technology that guides humanity’s prosperity, but if used for bad, it threatens humanity’s survival. Therefore, science and technology always force us to make harsh choices.
Many technologies and achievements are still being developed and discovered. How are we utilizing these technologies and what are our choices leaning towards? Furthermore, think about how many substances, like nitroglycerin, ironically offer us both sides of the coin: they are not just scientific discoveries, but can be important factors in determining the future of humanity, depending on how they are utilized and applied.
The progress of science and technology is unstoppable, and it presents us with many challenges and opportunities. In the face of these challenges, we will need to have the wisdom and responsibility to make better choices. The case of nitroglycerin is a good reminder of its importance.
