Ethyl ether was introduced in 1846 as an anesthetic, replacing opium and alcohol commonly used for pain relief. Despite its revelation for the medical profession, it caused undesirable side effects such as nausea and vomiting. Chloroform emerged in the late asses as a more pleasant alternative, becoming popular after Scottish doctor James Young Simpson published a paper describing its use in 1847. Queen Victoria's use of chloroform during the birth of Prince Leopold further increased its popularity. However, unexplained deaths began to appear rapidly due to chloroform's lower therapeutic index compared to ether, causing cardiac or respiratory arrest. An analysis of 80,000 operations showed that patient death risk with chloroform was higher than with ether by 1870. By 1875, ether was being used for more operations than chloroform. It is important to note that long-term storage of
...chloroform can be hazardous due to potential phosgene generation through oxidation by oxygen in the air which dissolves readily in chloroform until chemically removed.
To prevent oxidation in long-term storage, stabilizers such as ethanol or pentane can be added. Although it has a toxic history, chloroform is commonly used in industry as a solvent due to its high miscibility with most organic solvents and lack of reactivity with nature. Tetrachlorides like CDC (with deuterium replacing the hydrogen atom) are also frequently used for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy since they dissolve a wide range of molecules. Chloroform is additionally used by synthetic chemists as a source of CHIC; one chlorine atom and a hydrogen atom can be removed through reaction with a base like hydroxide to synthesize three-membered rings by attaching additional carbon atoms to alikeness-like molecules using this
highly reactive molecule.
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