Why is H2O(Water)perfectly safe but H2O2(Hydrogen Peroxide)extremely toxic?
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H2O is a VERY stable molecule, actually astoundingly so. H2O2, however, is not very stable. The extra oxygen breaks away from the molecule easily and reacts with nearby molecules, oxidizing them. This can cause the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species [species=molecule in this case], or ROS, in your body. If you’ve ever heard people talking about anti-oxidants, this is what the prevent: the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species. Interestingly, breathing a pure oxygen environment can, over a long period of time, cause the formation of the same ROS!
As a fun fact, your H2O2 is so reactive that your cells actually use it to destroy waste products and other dangerous molecules they don’t want. However, the peroxide is dangerous to the cell and has to be tightly controlled ,it is kept in a special organelles called the peroxisome.
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