Here is a topical one, Tamiflu. A lot of people are interested in it because it’s likely to be helpful against the “bird flu” strain of the H5N1 influenza subtype. Specifically, the concern is that bird flu might mutate into a form that is transmissible between humans. Today, some humans have gotten it - however, we don’t know of anyone who got it from a human - it’s occurred only in humans who work closely with birds.
I’m covering the drug in two parts. Today, we’re talking about the synthesis and precursors. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about how it works biochemically as an antiviral drug. Let’s get straight to the structure:
Posted in Drugs, Biology, Medicine, Perfumey, Origin of Life | 2 Comments »
1st May 2006
Anaesthesia is just over 200 years old, but it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that local anaesthesia was used in surgery. The first local anaesthetic was cocaine. Up until then, your options were pretty much, uh, icing it. Or general anaesthesia, with all its attendant dangers. So cocaine was actually a boon to medicine, it was just a shame that it was so addictive.
The cocaine derivatives followed shortly. Below is the structure of procaine, which has a related structure and anaesthetic effects, but no euphoric effect or addictive potential. The structure of cocaine follows for comparison.
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Posted in Drugs, Biology, Medicine | 2 Comments »
27th April 2006
Here is a molecule you’ve probably used, especially if you happen to be of that type of person who never does laundry. Cyclodextrin is what’s known as an cyclic oligomer of glucose molecules. The cyclic part means that it forms a ring, and “oligomer” means a repeating series of the same molecule. It’s different from a polymer in that it’s smaller. The difference between “oligomer” and “polymer” is not well-defined, but a good general rule is: if you can count the number of monomers (glucose subunits), it’s probably better termed “oligomer.” This is the structure of glucose:
Glucose
The important thing to note here is that there are a number of hydroxyl groups (-OH) bound to carbon. The bond between carbon and oxygen is quite polar, as is that between oxygen and hydrogen. This means that it will tend to dissolve in polar liquids — water! So, this isn’t that much of a surprise: sugar dissolves in water.
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Posted in Drugs, Hygeine, Biology, Stinky, Perfumey | No Comments »
