Quotes of life

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end." - Ursula K. Le Guin

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Heterocycles, an introduction

Heterocycles or heterocyclic compounds are compounds composing of rings. At least one member of the ring are atoms other than carbons. These atoms are called heteroatoms. Commonly found in nature and relevant to biology and pharmacy are the heteroatoms nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.

Heterocycles come in various shapes and sizes. They can be five-membered rings, six-membered, or two rings joined together. They can also be non-aromatic types and aromatic types. All of these determine their physicochemical properties such as how strong a base they are and their reactivity towards nucleophiles and electrophiles.

As appetizers to our course, here are some interesting examples of heterocycles in life :

The heme molecule within our red blood cells is crucial in carrying oxygen molecules for respiration. It is made of four heterocycles called pyrroles.                                                               

Red blood cells




Quinine is the first drug used in treating the malaria disease. It is isolated from the cinchona bark. It contains within its structure a heterocycle called quinoline.

Quinine from the barks of Cinchona

In this lesson, you will learn:
-       -  How to draw, name, and identify of some common heterocycles, their aromaticity and basicity.
-       - About the reactions that heterocycles participate in
-      - How to prepare these heterocycles in classical synthesis methods


     Notes on the lesson is availble at this site: 
    http://bit.ly/18Lj32R
    

    
    
   

1 comment:

  1. As a global Contract Research Organization (CRO), headquartered in New York, USA, Alfa Chemistry has served the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for eight years. Structures and Names of Common Heterocycle Compounds

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