Molecules/Elements/Particles

 

Wednesday
Sep212011

Glucose

"Glucose is a simple carbohydrate, which means it contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Sugars like glucose (C6H12O6) with six carbon atoms are referred to as hexoses, and it has one sugar unit so it is a monosaccharide. Its name comes from the Greek glykos, which means 'sweet'." 

"In 1888 one of the world's most important chemists, Emil Fischer, discovered the three sugars, glucose, fructose and mannose. By 1890 he was the first chemist to synthesize all three of these sugars starting from glycerol. He was awarded the 1902 Nobel prize in Chemistry."

Monday
Sep192011

Muscone

"Muscone is an organic compound that is the primary contributor to the odor of musk.

The chemical structure of muscone was first elucidated by Lavoslav Ružička. It consists of a 15-membered ring ketone with one methyl substituent in the 3-position. It is an oily liquid that is found naturally as the (−)-enantiomer, but synthetic material is typically a racemate. It is very slightly soluble in water and miscible with alcohol."

"Muscone has a peculiarly sensuous and erotic smell. As a large molecule, it is relatively involatile and lingers on the skin as part of the "bottom note" of a perfume, and also acts as a "fixative" which reduces the evaporation rate of lighter molecules in particular. For hundreds of years, man has been hunting musk deer in order to kill it and to cut out the musk gland, not just to obtain musk for perfumes, but also because some believe that it is an aphrodisiac. Killing one deer will yield only about 25 grams of dried musk pods"

Friday
Sep162011

Adenosine Triphosphate--ATP

"Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer.[1] ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism. It is produced by photophosphorylation and cellular respiration and used by enzymes and structural proteins in many cellular processes, including biosynthetic reactions, motility, and cell division.[2] One molecule of ATP contains three phosphate groups, and it is produced by ATP synthase from inorganic phosphate and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or adenosine monophosphate (AMP)."

Tuesday
Sep132011

Nicotine

"Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco,[1][2] with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves. It functions as an antiherbivore chemical with particular specificity to insects; therefore nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past,[3][4] and currently nicotine analogs such as imidacloprid continue to be widely used."

Friday
Sep022011

Uranium Hexafluoride, UF6

"Uranium hexafluoride (UF6), referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure (STP), is highly toxic, reacts violently with water and is corrosive to most metals. It reacts mildly with aluminium, forming a thin surface layer of AlF3 that resists further reaction."

Wednesday
Aug312011

Dimethyl Mercury, (CH3)2Hg

"Dimethylmercury ((CH3)2Hg) is an organomercury compound. This colorless liquid is one of the strongest known neurotoxins. It is described as having a slightly sweet smell, although inhaling enough vapor to detect its odor would be hazardous."

"It is a liquid at room temperature, with a faint sweet smell (not a good career move). It has a boiling point of 92°C at atmospheric pressure and a density of 2.96 g/cm3. It has a linear structure, like many HgX2 systems with Hg-C = 2.083 Å."

Monday
Aug292011

Butane

"Butane (C4H10) is a colorless, flammable hydrocarbon that is present natural gas and can be obtained when petroleum is refined. Butane is a gaseous alkane.  It is extremely stable, has no corrosive action to metal, slightly soluble in water and readily soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform."

"Butane is typically used in the manufacture in the following areas

  • Aviation fuels and organic chemicals, 
  • As fuel for cigarette lighters and portable stoves, 
  • A raw material for synthetic rubber and high octane liquid fluids, 
  • Manufacture of ethylene and solvent, propellant in aerosols, 
  • A calibration gas for temperature and pressure gauges and as a heating fuel. 
  • Butane is also added to gasoline in order to increase its volatility (evaporation rate) in cold climates. 
  • Recent concerns about the destruction of the ozone layer by freon gases has led to an increase use of isobutene gas in refrigerating systems."
Saturday
Aug272011

Aspirin--Acetyl Salicyclic Acid

"Aspirin, an acetyl derivative of salicylic acid, is a white, crystalline, weakly acidic substance, with a melting point of 135 °C (275 °F). Acetylsalicylic acid decomposes rapidly in solutions of ammonium acetate or of the acetates, carbonates, citrates or hydroxides of the alkali metals. Acetylsalicylic acid is stable in dry air, but gradually hydrolyses in contact with moisture to acetic and salicylic acids. In solution with alkalis, the hydrolysis proceeds rapidly and the clear solutions formed may consist entirely of acetate and salicylate."

Thursday
Aug252011

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, LSD

"LSD is one of the most powerful hallucinogenic drugs known. It was invented in 1938 by the Swiss chemist, Albert Hoffman, who was interested in developing medicines from compounds in ergot, a fungus that attacks rye. Although LSD is purely synthetic, clues to its biological activity can be found by tracing the history of the fungus from which it is derived." [Molecule of the Month, Paul May]

Wednesday
Aug242011

Dioxin

"Dioxin, the short name for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), is considered to be one of the most dangerous compounds that pollute our environment. Its chemical structure is made of two aromatic rings joined through a pair of oxygen atoms, as shown in the above drawing. Four chlorine atoms, two on each aromatic ring, are attached at positions 2, 3, 7, and 8. The whole molecule is flat-like and possesses D2h symmetry. If we consider that up to eight chlorine atoms can be attached to the dibenzodioxin (DD) skeleton, then 75 chlorine-substituted DD isomers can be conceived. Dioxin is inextricably linked to environmental pollution from waste incineration and to its incidental formation in chemical plants that are devoted to the production of pesticides [Tuppurainen 2003]."