Elements in Carboplatin

Carboplatin is a chemotherapy pharmaceutical that is used to treat a variety of cancers, though it is most frequently used to treat ovarian cancer. It is usually administered to a patient by means of intravenous injection. The chemical formula for carboplatin is C6H14N2O4Pt, meaning that the drug contains six atoms of carbon, 14 atoms of hydrogen, two atoms of nitrogen, four atoms of oxygen and one atom of plutonium per molecule of carboplatin.

Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen

• Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen---though distinctly different elements---are the most commonly occurring group of elements in the chemical makeup of any given substance. Carbon itself is one of the four most abundant elements in the universe. The most prevalent element in carboplatin, hydrogen, is the most abundant element in the universe, and it is also the lightest element. Oxygen comprises roughly two-thirds of the elemental makeup of the human body, as well nine-tenths of the elemental makeup of water.

Nitrogen

• As a gas or liquid, the element nitrogen is essentially colorless and odorless. Compounds containing nitrogen are commonly used in foods and fertilizers. It is an inert element, meaning that it is chemically inactive.

Platinum

• Platinum, represented on the table of elements by the symbol Pt, is the least prevalent element in carboplatin, represented by one single atom per molecule of the drug. When platinum is present in its pure state, and in a large enough quantity, it is pliant and shapeable, and appears silvery-white. While platinum forms compounds with hydrogen, carbon and oxygen easily, platinum wire can actually cause hydrogen and oxygen gases to explode.