Question

Assertion:
In medicine, Prussian blue is used as an antidote for certain kinds of heavy metal poisoning, e.g., by thallium and radioactive isotopes of cesium.
Reason:
Prussian blue’s ability to incorporate monocations makes it useful as a sequencing agent for certain heavy metal poisons.
A.Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion
B.Both Assertion and Reason are correct but Reason is not the correct explanation for Assertion
C.Assertion is correct but Reason is incorrect
D.Both Assertion and Reason are incorrect

Answer 1

The Prussian blue is actually a dark blue pigment produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. This pigment is also used medically as an antidote for metal poisoning. It was the first modern synthetic pigment.

Complete answer:
Prussian blue is nothing but a blue pigment made by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide. It is also used in the medical field as an antidote for heavy metal poisoning. Thus, the assertion is true.
The reason is true, Prussian blue has an ability to incorporate monocations. The therapy exploits the compounds ion exchange properties and high affinity for certain soft metal cations.
Prussian blue is also known as Berlin blue, for using it in painting purposes, it is called Parisian or Paris blue. Prussian blue has a chemical formula $F{{e}_{4}}{{\left[ Fe{{\left( CN \right)}_{6}} \right]}_{3}}$ .
Prussian blue has been added to the list of essential medicines by the World Health Organisation. It is taken orally as a medicine for antidote to heavy metal poisoning.
The correct answer to this question is option A, assertion and reason are both true and reason is the correct explanation for the assertion.

Note:
Prussian blue is not the only compound with the same formula, Turnbull’s blue is also the same chemically formed compound but it is made from different reagents and slightly different colour stems. Thus, their formula is the same, but their colour stems are different which can make them easier to identify.