Volatile anesthetics flammability

Diethyl ether [60-29-7] is one of the more important members of the ether family. It is a colorless, very volatile, highly flammable Hquid with a sweet, pungent odor and burning taste. As a commercial product it is available in several grades it is used in chemical manufacture, as a solvent, extractant, or reaction medium, and as a general anesthetic. 

The term ether was first used in chemistry as a name for ethyl ether, the volatile, highly flammable substance that was commonly used as an anesthetic in surgery from 1842 into the twentieth century. Figure 23-7. As time passed, the term ether was applied to other organic substances having two hydrocarbon chains attached to the same oxygen atom. 

You are probably aware that diethyl ether is the ether that has been used as an anesthetic. A major drawback is that ether is very flammable and volatile mixtures of ether and air can be explosive. For this reason, ether has been replaced as an anesthetic by less hazardous compounds such as methoxyflurane ... 

Chloroform (KLOR-oh-form) is a clear, colorless, flammable, volatile liquid with a characteristic odor and a sweet taste. It was discovered almost simultaneously in 1831 by American chemist Samuel Guthrie (1782-1848), French chemist Eugene Soubeiran (1797-1858), and German chemist Justus von Liebig (1803-1873). The chemical structure of the compound was determined by French chemist Jean-Baptiste-Andre Dumas (1800-1884), who suggested its modern name of chloroform in 1834 or 1835. The compound s anesthetic effects on animals were first observed by French physiologist Marie Jean-Pierre Flourens (1794-1867) in 1847. 

The chief chemical property of ethers is that, like the alkanes, they are inert and do not react with most reagents. It is this property that makes diethyl ether such a useful solvent. Like hydrocarbons, ethers are flammable, and diethyl ether is especially flammable because of its high volatility. Diethyl ether was the first general anesthetic used in surgery. For many years, it was the most important compound used as an anesthetic, but it has now been largely replaced by other compounds. 

Diethyl ether (i)dl- e-thol- (ca. 1930) n. (1) A light volatile flammable liquid used as a sovlent and anesthetic. (2) Any of various organic compounds characterized by an oxygen atom attached to two carbon atoms. 

Being volatile and chemically inert, it is a useful solvent. It has been used to extract various organic molecules, like the antimalarial drug artemisinin (see p29) from Artemisia annua, in place of flammable hydrocarbons and supercritical COg. It is a propellant gas in aerosols, notably in drug delivery (though this can cause interference problems with infrared anesthetic gas monitors), as well as in the duster gas used to clean computers. 

Diethyl ether—often called ethyl ether or just ether —was used as a general anesthetic as early as 1842. Administered as a vapor, it acts as a depressant on the central nervous system, causing unconsciousness. However, its high flammability and volatility present hazards in the operating room. Ethers such as ethyl vinyl ether, divinyl ether, and methyl propyl ether have also seen use as anesthetics. All the low molecular weight ethers are potentially explosive when mixed with oxygen. 

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