CSF

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Caesium fluoride

Caesium fluoride or cesium fluoride is an inorganic compound usually encountered as a hygroscopic white solid. It is used in organic synthesis as a source of the fluoride anion. Caesium has the lowest electronegativity of all non-radioactive elements and fluorine has the highest electronegativity of all elements.

Synthesis and properties

Caesium fluoride can be prepared by the reaction of caesium hydroxide (CsOH) with hydrofluoric acid (HF). The resulting salt can then be purified by recrystallization. The reaction is shown below:

Another way to make caesium fluoride is to react caesium carbonate (Cs₂CO₃) with hydrofluoric acid. The resulting salt can then be purified by recrystallization. The reaction is shown below:

In addition, elemental fluorine and caesium can be used to form caesium fluoride as well, but doing so is very impractical because of the expense. While this is not a normal route of preparation, caesium metal reacts vigorously with all the halogens to form caesium halides. Thus, it burns with fluorine gas, F₂, to form caesium fluoride, CsF according to the following reaction:

Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), also known as colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2), is a monomeric glycoprotein secreted by macrophages, T cells, mast cells, NK cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts that functions as a cytokine. The pharmaceutical analogs of naturally occurring GM-CSF are called sargramostim and molgramostim.

Function

GM-CSF is a monomeric glycoprotein that functions as a cytokine - it is a white blood cell growth factor. GM-CSF stimulates stem cells to produce granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils) and monocytes. Monocytes exit the circulation and migrate into tissue, whereupon they mature into macrophages and dendritic cells. Thus, it is part of the immune/inflammatory cascade, by which activation of a small number of macrophages can rapidly lead to an increase in their numbers, a process crucial for fighting infection.

GM-CSF also has some effects on mature cells of the immune system. These include, for example, inhibiting neutrophil migration and causing an alteration of the receptors expressed on the cells surface.