[hiko]

Hi, I am a newbie here at the forum and I need your help.

I am currently looking for chemicals or drugs (preferably with some biological importance) that decompose at high body temperature (37-40C). It will be a bonus if it's stable at the room temperature; as this makes handling easier.

Thanks in advance, 
Hiko

[orgopete]

Beta lactams?

[discodermolide]

Most drugs will be chewed up by the liver and various enzymes. Is this what you are looking for?
Sugar will be metabolised by the cells and stored for an energy source.
I not really sure what you mean by this question.

[billnotgatez]

Internal or External Use???

[fledarmus]

I think the process will need to be more involved that what you have stated. As I read it, you are looking for a single molecular compound which is stable at 25°C, but which decomposes rapidly at 40°C. In general, for simple molecular reactions, the speed of reaction will approximately double with a 10°C increase in temperature, so for a single molecule decomposing by purely kinetic processes, you can really only expect about a 2.7-fold increase in decomposition rate going from 25° to 45°. That means anything unstable enough to decompose in minutes at 40°C will decompose in tens of minutes at most at 25°C - probably not stable enough for your application.

You will probably need to look for either a catalytic cascade reaction or for an outside process for your decomposition. Body chemistry changes as body temperature rises - heat shock proteins are formed inside cells, sweat is produced on the skin, muscle movements bring capillaries closer to the skin, and so on. A chemical which responds to physiological changes might be more sensitive than one responding purely to temperature.

Another possibility would be mixtures that respond to different temperatures by forming different liquid-crystal structures. These are frequently used in the color-changing thermometers and "mood rings". These are strictly physical changes rather than chemical changes, however.

[hiko]

Thank you all for the replies! I am involved in this project where I wanted some sort of way to follow temperature difference within the thermally insulated region and its surrounding. I think I will use some sort of dye.

Cheers,

[Arkcon]

The Omega Corporation has a number of temperature reacting products -- wax crayons, decals, etc.  http://www.omega.com/toc_asp/sectionSC.asp?section=F&book=temperature  There are likely other vendors as well.  We often get someone, on these boards, who, like you, want to re-invent the wheel for temperature indicating -- but if you have an application that needs this sort of thing, you can buy it almost anywhere.

[hiko]

Hi Arkcon,

Thank you so much for the link. It sure is interesting.

We have invented thermally insulated particles; it is especially effective in aqueous media. I've been looking to apply such system to something useful. This is why I asked such an ambiguous question.

Thanks
Hideh