化学の英語：試薬

今回は、化学についての英会話「試薬」についてです。皆さんは、試薬についてご存知でしょうか？Wikipediaによると、

試薬（しやく、英: reagent）もしくは試剤（しざい）とは、化学実験で反応させる目的で製造した薬品をさす呼称であり、メーカーが販売しているものを指すことが多い。同一の化合物であっても、生体や組織に作用させる薬品は試薬と呼ばれることは少なく、生化学あるいは生理学実験では薬剤と呼ばれる。そしてヒトや動物の疾患の治療に用いられる場合は医薬品（動物薬）である。一方、人工的な条件下で行う生物学実験などにおいては、酵素や受容体そのものを生体より取り出して作用させる場合にこれらを試薬と呼ぶこともある。

と、いうことです。富士フイルム和光純薬や関東化学が大手で、世界的にはシグマアルドリッチというメーカーが最大手です。

◆英単語、表現
compound : 複数の部分から構成される、合成された、化合した、合成物、化合物
interchangeably : 互いに交換可能で、言い換え可能で
ingredient : 材料、ネタ、原料、含有物
reliability : 信頼性

A: Hey B, do you know what a reagent is in chemistry?

B: Yeah, a reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. It's also used in analytical chemistry to detect the presence or absence of another substance.

A: That's right. The terms "reactant" and "reagent" are often used interchangeably, but "reactant" specifically refers to a substance consumed in the course of a chemical reaction.

B: And in organic chemistry, a "reagent" is a chemical ingredient introduced to cause the desired transformation of an organic substance. For example, Grignard reagents.

A: Exactly. And in commercial or laboratory preparations, "reagent-grade" designates chemical substances meeting standards of purity that ensure scientific precision and reliability.

B: And in biology, the biotechnology revolution in the 1980s grew from the development of reagents that could be used to identify and manipulate the chemical matter in and on cells. They include antibodies, oligomers, and many others.

A: Don't forget about tool compounds, which are important reagents in biology. They are small molecules or biochemicals that are known to affect a given biomolecule and are often starting points in the drug discovery process.

B: Right. But not all natural products are useful tool compounds, some are hits in almost any assay in which they are tested, but are not useful as drugs themselves. They are classified as "pan-assay interference compounds".

A: You really know your reagents, B!

B: Haha, just a little bit!