Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
September 28, 2007
Category: Synthesis
As I noted in a recent entry on strychnine, NMR is important. Sometimes reference compounds like yesterday's molecule, TMS, will help you out....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:00 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 27, 2007
Category: Synthesis
As I alluded to in a recent entry, NMR has been vital to science in recent decades - it's used in characterizing chemicals, cells, people, textiles - just about anything people have managed to figure out how to get into...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:41 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 24, 2007
Category: Stinky
Pyridine is simply benzene with a nitrogen substituted for one of the CHs:...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:25 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 21, 2007
Category: Dyes
Benzophenone is something you probably encounter most often in sunscreen:...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:11 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 20, 2007
Category: Inorganic
The previous entry on cyclohexadiene reminded me of another important piece in some hydrogenations - Raney nickel....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:12 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 18, 2007
Category: Synthesis
Integral to organic chemistry is hydrogenation - sometimes you need to make a functional group something a little less oxidized. For example, an azide or a nitrile can become an amine....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:47 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 17, 2007
Category: Power
While taking organic chemistry, most people end up learning about octane ratings. If gasoline burns too fast, engine knock occurs. A number of factors influence this, the easiest of which to appreciate is branching. By definition, so-called "isooctane" (the structure...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:25 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 13, 2007
Category: Poisons
Strychnine is a well-known poison and detective novel trope with a moderately low LD50 (ca 10mg). You find it more often in NMRs these days....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:06 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 12, 2007
Category: Inorganic
Electrons are reactive guys when they're on their own, and tricky to isolate. If you take a bit of fur and rub it on some amber, you end up with a surplus of electrons, but they won't hang around long...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:00 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
September 11, 2007
Category: Dyes
Tiron is a metal ligand and can be used in colorimetric metal assays....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 7:34 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
