Molecules/Elements/Particles

 

Friday
Jan202012

Lauric Acid

"Lauric acid (systematically: dodecanoic acid), the saturated fatty acid with a 12-carbon atom chain, thus falling into the medium chain fatty acids, is a white, powdery solid with a faint odor of bay oil or soap."

"Lauric acid, as a component of triglycerides, comprises about half of the fatty acid content in coconut oil, laurel oil, and in palm kernel oil (not to be confused with palm oil),[2][3] Otherwise it is relatively uncommon. It is also found in human breast milk (6.2% of total fat), cow's milk (2.9%), and goat's milk (3.1%)."

"Lauric acid, as a component of triglycerides, comprises about half of the fatty acid content in coconut oil, laurel oil, and in palm kernel oil (not to be confused with palm oil),[2][3] Otherwise it is relatively uncommon. It is also found in human breast milk (6.2% of total fat), cow's milk (2.9%), and goat's milk (3.1%)."

 

Thursday
Jan192012

Fatty Alcohol

"Fatty alcohols are aliphatic alcohols consisting of a chain of 8 to 22 carbon atoms. Fatty alcohols usually have even number of carbon atoms and a single alcohol group (-OH) attached to the terminal carbon. Some are unsaturated and some are branched. They are widely used in industrial chemistry."

"Most fatty alcohols in nature are found as waxes which are esters with fatty acids and fatty alcohols.[1] They are produced by bacteria, plants and animals for purposes of buoyancy, as source of metabolic water and energy, biosonoar lenses (marine mammals) and for thermal insulation in the form of waxes (in plants and insects).[2] Fatty alcohols were unavailable until the early 1900s. They were originally obtained by reduction of wax esters with sodium by the Bouveault–Blanc reduction process. In the 1930s catalytic hydrogenation was commercialized, which allowed the conversion of fatty acid esters, typically tallow, to the alcohols. In the 1940s and 1950s, petrochemicals became an important source of chemicals, and Karl Ziegler had discovered the polymerization of ethylene. These two developments opened the way to synthetic fatty alcohols."

Monday
Jan162012

Tetracycline

"Tetracycline (INN) (play /ˌtɛtrəˈskln/) is a broad-spectrum polyketide antibiotic produced by the Streptomyces genus of Actinobacteria, indicated for use against many bacterial infections. It is a protein synthesis inhibitor. It is commonly used to treat acne today, and, more recently, rosacea, and is historically important in reducing the number of deaths from cholera. Tetracycline is marketed under the brand names Sumycin, Tetracyn, and Panmycin, among others. Actisite is a thread-like fiber formulation used in dental applications. It is also used to produce several semisynthetic derivatives, which together are known as the tetracycline antibiotics. The term "tetracycline" is also used to denote the 4-ring system of this compound; "tetracyclines" are related substances that contain the same 4-ring system."

Sunday
Jan152012

Myosin

"Myosins comprise a family of ATP-dependent motor proteins and are best known for their role in muscle contraction and their involvement in a wide range of other eukaryotic motility processes. They are responsible for actin-based motility. The term was originally used to describe a group of similar ATPases found in striated and smooth muscle cells.[1] Following the discovery by Pollard and Korn of enzymes with myosin-like function in Acanthamoeba castellanii, a large number of divergent myosin genes have been discovered throughout eukaryotes. Thus, although myosin was originally thought to be restricted to muscle cells (hence, "myo"), there is no single "myosin" but rather a huge superfamily of genes whose protein products share the basic properties of actin binding, ATP hydrolysis (ATPase enzyme activity), and force transduction. Virtually all eukaryotic cells contain myosin isoforms. Some isoforms have specialized functions in certain cell types (such as muscle), while other isoforms are ubiquitous. The structure and function of myosin is strongly conserved across species, to the extent that rabbit muscle myosin II will bind to actin from an amoeba."

Saturday
Jan142012

Adamantadine

"Amantadine is the organic compound known formally as 1-adamantylamine or 1-aminoadamantane. The molecule consists of adamantane backbone that has an amino group substituted at one of the four methyne positions. This pharmaceutical is sold under the name Symmetrel for use both as an antiviral and an antiparkinsonian drug. Rimantadine is a closely related derivative of adamantane with similar biological properties."

"Apart from medical uses, this compound is useful as a building block, allowing the insertion of an adamantyl group."

"According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 100% of seasonal H3N2 and 2009 pandemic flu samples tested have shown resistance to adamantanes, and amantadine is no longer recommended for treatment of influenza. Additionally, its effectiveness as an antiparkinsonian drug is controversial, with a 2003 Cochrane Review concluding that it was ineffective for this purpose."

Friday
Jan132012

Chlorphenamine

"Chlorphenamine (INN) or chlorpheniramine (USAN, former BAN), commonly marketed in the form of chlorpheniramine maleate (Chlorphen-12[1]), is a first-generation alkylamine antihistamine used in the prevention of the symptoms of allergic conditions such as rhinitis and urticaria. Its sedative effects are relatively weak compared to other first-generation antihistamines. Chlorphenamine is one of the most commonly used antihistamines in small-animal veterinary practice as well. Although not generally approved as an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication, chlorphenamine appears to have these properties as well." 

"Chlorphenamine is part of a series of antihistamines including pheniramine (Naphcon) and its halogenated derivatives and others including fluorpheniramine, dexchlorpheniramine (Polaramine), brompheniramine (Dimetapp), dexbrompheniramine (Drixoral), deschlorpheniramine, dipheniramine (also known as triprolidine with the trade name Actifed), and iodopheniramine."

"The halogenated alkylamine antihistamines all exhibit optical isomerism, and chlorphenamine in the indicated products is racemic chlorphenamine maleate, whereas dexchlorpheniramine is the dextrorotary stereoisomer."

Thursday
Jan122012

Cinnamaldehyde

"Cinnamaldehyde is the organic compound that gives cinnamon its flavor and odor.[1] This pale yellow viscous liquid occurs naturally in the bark of cinnamon trees and other species of the genus Cinnamomum. The essential oil of cinnamon bark is about 90% cinnamaldehyde."

"Cinnamaldehyde was isolated from cinnamon essential oil in 1834 by Dumas and Péligot and synthesized in the laboratory by Chiozza in 1854."

"The natural product is trans-cinnamaldehyde. The molecule consists of a phenyl group attached to an unsaturated aldehyde. As such, the molecule can be viewed as a derivative of acrolein. Its color is due to the π → π* transition: increased conjugation in comparison with acrolein shifts this band towards the visible."

Monday
Jan092012

Ciprofloxacin

"Ciprofloxacin (INN) is a synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class.[2][3] It is a second-generation fluoroquinolone antibacterial. It kills bacteria by interfering with the enzymes that cause DNA to rewind after being copied, which stops synthesis of DNA and of protein."

"Ciprofloxacin was first patented in 1983 by Bayer A.G. and subsequently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987. Ciprofloxacin has 12 FDA-approved human uses and other veterinary uses, but it is often used for unapproved uses (off-label). Ciprofloxacin interacts with other drugs, herbal and natural supplements, a characteristic it shares with other widely used antibacterial drugs such as amoxicillin, trimethoprim, azithromycin,cephalexin, and doxycycline."

"As of 2011 the FDA has added two black box warnings for this drug in reference to spontaneous tendon ruptures and the fact that ciprofloxacin may cause worsening of myasthenia gravis symptoms, including muscle weakness and breathing problems. Such an adverse reaction is a potentially life-threatening event and may require ventilatory support."

Sunday
Jan082012

Cyancobalamin

"Cyanocobalamin is an especially common vitamer of the vitamin B12 family. It is the most famous vitamer of the family, because it is, in chemical terms, the most air-stable. It is the easiest to crystallize and, therefore, easiest to purify after it is produced by bacterial fermentation, or synthesized in vitro."

"Vitamin B12 is the name for a whole class of chemicals with vitamin B12 activity, and cyanocobalamin is only one of these. Cyanocobalamin usually does not even occur in nature, and is not one of the forms of the vitamin that are directly used in the human body (or that of any other animal). However, animals and humans can convert cyanocobalamin to active (cofactor) forms of the vitamin, such as methylcobalamin.[1] This process happens by equilibration, as cyanocobalamin slowly loses its cyanide in surroundings that contain no cyanide."

Saturday
Jan072012

Glutathione

"Glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide that contains an unusual peptide linkage between the amine group of cysteine (which is attached by normal peptide linkage to a glycine) and the carboxyl group of the glutamate side-chain. It is an antioxidant, preventing damage to important cellular components caused by reactive oxygen species such as free radicals and peroxides."

"Thiol groups are reducing agents, existing at a concentration of approximately 5 mM in animal cells. Glutathione reduces disulfide bonds formed within cytoplasmic proteins to cysteines by serving as an electron donor. In the process, glutathione is converted to its oxidized form glutathione disulfide (GSSG), also called L(-)-Glutathione."

"Once oxidized, glutathione can be reduced back by glutathione reductase, using NADPH as an electron donor. The ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione within cells is often used as a measure of cellular toxicity."