Vitamin C for Cancer Therapy Nursing Research Assignment (Research Paper Sample)

Vitamin C for Cancer Therapy

Introduction
That ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) (Fig. 1) is a unique and remarkable molecule cannot be stressed enough. Aside from the role of vitamin C as an antioxidant, its status as an essential vitamin, its place in naval history, and its controversial role in the late career of Linus Pauling in the fight against cancer and the common cold, the simple chemistry of the ascorbic acid molecule itself is unique and underappreciated.
Figure 1. L-Ascorbic acid
The pKa of ascorbic acid is 4.2. While many sugars and sugar derivatives (of which ascorbic acid is one) are ionized at physiological pH, the ionized functionality is invariably a carboxylate. Due to its unique electronics, in ascorbic acid, the acidic proton comes from a functional gr...