. APPLICATION! Nanotechnology, the field of building microscale structures one a
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Question
. APPLICATION! Nanotechnology, the field of building microscale structures one atom at a time has progressed in recent years. One potential application of nanotechnology is the construction of artificial cells. The simplest cells could mimic red blood cells, the body's oxygen transporters. For example, nanocontainers, perhaps constructed of carbon, could be pumped full of oxygen and injected into a person's bloodstream. If the person needed additional oxygen, these containers could slowly release oxygen into the blood, allowing tissues that would otherwise die to remain alive. Suppose that nanocontainers were cubic and had an edge length of 25 nanometers. What is the volume (in L) of one nanocontainer? a. b, , suppose that each nanocontainer could contain pure oxygen pressurized to a density of 85 g/L. How many grams of oxygen could be contained by each nanocontainer? C. Normal air contains about 0.28 g of oxygen per liter. An average human inhales about 0.50 L of air per breath and takes about 20 breaths per minute. How many grams of oxygen does a human inhale per hour? d. What is the minimum number of nanocontainers that a person would need in their bloodstream to provide 1.0 hour's worth of oxygen?Explanation / Answer
a) The edge length of one nanocontainer = 25 nm = 2.5 x 10-8 m.
The volume of a cube is = (Edge Length )3.
= (2.5 x 10-8 m)3.
=1.5625 x 10-23 m3.
Now 1 m3 = 1000 L. Therefore, 1.5625 x 10-23 m3 = 1.5625 x 10-23 m3 x (1000 L/ 1 m3)
= 1.5625 x 10-20 L
The volume of 1 nanocontainer = 1.5625 x 10-20 L
b) The density of pressurized oxygen in each nanocontainer = 85 g/L
The volume of each nanocontainer as calculated in part a is = 1.5625 x 10-20 L.
Therefore, grams of oxygen that could be contained by each nanocontainer = 85 g/L x 1.5625 x 10-20 L
= 1.328125 x 10-18 g.
c) No. of breaths a human take per minute = 20 breaths/ minute
No. of breaths human take in 1 hour = 20 breaths/ minute x 60 min/ hour
=1200 breaths/ hour
Amount of air inhaled per breath = 0.50 L/ breath
The amount of air inhaled per hour = 1200 breaths/ hour x 0.50 L/ breath
= 600 L of air/ hour
The amount of oxygen per liter of air = 0.28 g O2/ Liter air
Therefore, amount of O2 inhaled by human per hour = 0.28 g O2/ Liter air x 600 Liter of air/ hour
= 168 g O2/ hour
d) The amount of oxygen required per hour by human = 168 g O2
The amount of O2 carried by one nanocontainer = 1.328125 x 10-18 g.
minimum no. of nanocontainers required in the person's bloodstream to
provide 1 hour worth of O2 or 168 g of O2 = 168 g O2/ 1.328125 x 10-18 g O2/ Nanocontainer
= 1.265 x 1020 nanocontainers
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