science

Redoxon

Redoxon is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Redoxon rather than just read about it. In short: Redoxon is the brand name of the first artificially synthesized ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Redoxon was first marketed to the general public by Roche in 1934, making it the first mass-manufactured synthetic vitamin in history.

Key takeaways

Redoxon belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Redoxon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Redoxon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Redoxon is the brand name of the first artificially synthesized ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Redoxon was first marketed to the general public by Roche in 1934, making it the first mass-manufactured synthetic vitamin in history. The brand is now owned by German pharmaceutical company Bayer and is sold in many countries.

History The product was developed by a team headed by chemist Tadeusz Reichstein, who discovered a method of synthesizing 30-40 grams of vitamin C from 100 grams of glucose. This used an intermediate step of creating sorbose using a bacterial fermentation method discovered by a French researcher, Gabriel Bertrand. In this method, fruit flies were attracted to a mixture of wine, vinegar, yeast bouillon, and sorbitol, a substance easily chemically prepared from glucose. Flies that fed upon sorbitol as a major food substrate excreted bacteria that were able to synthesize sorbose from sorbitol. The bacteria species was isolated, cultured and used in a fermentation process to make sorbose. From sorbose, chemical reactions were used to complete the synthesis of ascorbic acid. Despite concern about starting with a wild strain of bacteria for fermentation production of sorbose, the process was superior in cost and yield to a rival method by Albert Szent-Györgyi that isolated vitamin C from capsicum (peppers). After the sale of the Reichstein process patent to Hoffmann-La Roche, this process became the basis of the corporation's large-scale production of vitamin C. The present-day Redoxon tablets are compounded from ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate. When these are added to water, they react to produce sodium ascorbate, water and carbon dioxide, thus producing an effervescence. Some versions of Redoxon contain additional nutrients.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Redoxon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Redoxon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Redoxon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Redoxon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Redoxon

In research: Redoxon appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Redoxon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Redoxon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drugs developed by Bayer, Effervescent dietary supplements, Medical treatment stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Redoxon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Redoxon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Redoxon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Redoxon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Redoxon in simple terms?

Why does Redoxon matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Redoxon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Redoxon.