Know Your Chemicals Zippeite | Zircon | Zyban

Chemical Compounds

Some are safe and part of our daily lives, some are hazardous and deadly. Today we talk about three Chemicals/minerals in details. The three chemicals/minerals are: Zippeite, Zircon, Zyban.

Chemical Compound	Chemical Formula	Mol. weight	Chem CID
Zippeite	H5KO12SU2	2,306.88 g/mol	N/A
Zircon	ZrSiO4	190.31 g/mol	61775
Zyban	C13H19Cl2NO	276.20206 g/mol	62884

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Zippeite

Also known as:
Potassium Bis(dioxouranium(VI)) Sulfate(V)Trihydroxide Hydrate, potassium uranium sulfate.

Physical Description:
Zippeite is a yellow to golden brown mineral that is radioactive and also fluoresces.

General information:

Zippeite was named after the Austrian mineralogist Franz Xaver Maxmillian Zippe, around its date of discovery in 1845. Uranblüte meaning "Uranium blossom" is another name for zippeite, given by German miners. It is a yellow to golden brown orthorhombic mineral that is radioactive and also fluoresces due to its Uranium content. It forms as a secondary mineral on the surface of rocks when salt solutions evaporate in mines, which is called efflorescence. This mineral is used as a mineral specimen. Zippeite is no longer used for the manufacture of paints, but is still used as a uranium ore, as is pitchblende.

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Zircon

Also known as:
Zirconium silicate; 10101-52-7; Hyacinth; Zircon; Zircon (Zr(SiO4)); Zirconite

Physical Description:
DryPowder, reddish brown, yellow, green, blue, gray, or colorless crystals.

General information:

Zircon (zirconium silicate) was found in Greece and Italy as far back as the 6th Century A.D. Zircon comes from the Persian word "zargun" which means gold-colored. Zircon has been used as a diamond substitute because it resembles diamond in luster and has been mistaken for diamonds by many experienced jewelers, although it is not the same as Cubic Zirconia. It can be brown, red, green, blue, yellow, black, violet, orange and colorless. A typical crystal of zircon is shaped like a tetragonal prism with four sided prisms at each end. Zircon can be found in Laacher Sea, Niedermendig and Germany, and is mined in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, and other countries. Colorless specimens that show gem quality are a popular substitute for diamond and are also known as "Matura diamond".

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Zyban

Also known as:
Bupropion hydrochloride; 31677-93-7; Bupropion Hcl; Wellbutrin; Wellbutrin XL; N-t-Butyl-1-(3-chlorobenzoyl)ethylammonium salt.

Physical Description:
White crystalline powder, odourless. pH about 1.5.

General information:

N.B. Mehta and D.A. Yeowell of the Wellcome Foundation, Ltd. first patented bupropion HCl as an antidepressant in 1971. Since then, the drug has been marketed under the names Wellbutrin and Zyban. Bupropion works by an unknown mechanism, but is involved in the dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems. It is a weak inhibitor of neuronal uptake of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. Bupropion is marketed as Wellbutrin for the treatment of depression and attention deficit disorder and as Zyban (in sustained release form) for help in smoking cessation. Bupropion is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants, and the available evidence indicates that it is effective in clinical depression.

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Commentary:

A few years ago during a visit to my family doctor, we discussed the fact that I was a heavy smoker. He wanted to prescribe Chantix for me so it would help me in quitting smoking. I have done some research before having this conversation as I was actually thinking about quitting smoking before my doctor mentioned it. Chantix was on my list of "no way I am taking this", as I read many horror stories about it.

I told the doctor I would try Bupropion, which is also known as Wellputrin or Zyban. The data I read about it were encouraging. So he gladly gave me a Wellputrin prescription and I opted for the generic brand which cost only $8 at the time for a one month supply. Less than a month of using it, I was smoke free. For two years I was as healthy as one can be. Then crypto came along, and I went back to smoking again, we smokers like to blame something for our relapse.

I am thinking I should pay my doctor a visit soon and try another round with Bupropion. My personal experience with this Chemical has been positive and I would recommend it for smokers like me.
@joseph

^{Sources: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Wikipedia. Reciprocal Net Common. Images by Pixabay, Wikimedia commons.}