Iodine is a critical nutrient in human body; and therefore, it is an essential element for life itself.
Iodine is best known for the vital role it plays in thyroid hormone production in humans. Its deficiency can lead to serious health problems, such as intellectual disability, cretinism, which is a condition of severe stunting of physical and mental growth, and goitre, which is the abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Barnard Courtois, a French chemist, discovered iodine in 1811. He named it iodine from the Greek word ‘iode’ which means violet. In vapour form, the element is violet in colour.
In solid form, the element is blue-black in colour. Iodine is fairly rare in both the earth’s crust and in the solar system. It is the 63rd most common element in the earth’s crust. Iodine is soluble in water; and therefore, it is found more abundantly in oceans.
Iodine has several commercial applications and can be found in a variety of pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, inks and dyes, catalysts, photography chemicals and animal feed supplements. However, it plays an important role in the production of medicines. Most iodine production in the world comes either from the Chilean caliche, a mineral, or from the oil field brines in the US.
The atomic number of Iodine is 53, and the symbol is I.
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