Fluoridated water is piped to more than one-third of the Canadians1 and nearly three-quarters of the Americans2 who use public water systems. Although fluoride helps prevent dental cavities, some studies have suggested that higher prenatal exposures may affect neurodevelopment.3,4 Those findings make it important to understand exposure levels in general populations. Research published in Environmental Health Perspectives now sheds light on fluoride levels in pregnant women in Canada.5
As part
Fluorine is an indispensable tool in the medicinal chemists’ toolbox. Due to its small size and strong electron-withdrawing property, fluorine is widely used in medicinal chemistry to improve a molecule’s potency and permeability, modulate its pKa and lipophilicity, and control its conformation. Of the 38 small molecule drugs that were approved by the FDA in 2018, 18 contain fluorine. As the C–F bond-dissociation energy (BDE) is very high (typically 109 kcal/mol or above), fluorine is ofte
