Business View Magazine - November 2016

150 Business View Magazine - November 2016 Deepwater Chemicals The experts in iodine chemistry Deepwater Chemicals, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corp, based in Woodward, Oklahoma is a manufac- turer of specialized organic and inorganic iodine de- rivatives. Iodine is a chemical element of the halogen family with an atomic number of 53. It exists in nature as a lustrous, purple-black, metallic solid that, when boiled, sublimes into the light purple-colored gas, from which it gets its name – ioeidēs is Greek for violet. It was first discovered by the French chemist, Bernard Courtois, in 1811. Because of its atomic structure, iodine reacts strongly with many other chemicals to form multifarious com- pounds and substances with a wide array of applica- tions. Iodide salts were first employed, medically, in the early 1900s as a treatment for a host of condi- tions, including metal poisoning, asthma, aneurisms, gout, syphilis, nephritis, and bronchitis. Tincture of iodine was used as a pre-operative, skin sterilization before surgery. In the human body, Iodine is an essen- tial element for life, required for the synthesis of the body’s growth-regulating hormones. A deficiency of io- dine can result in a variety of diseases and infirmities.