Organic Chemistry Introduction
Organic chemistry is

more than simply the study of carbon or the study of chemicals in living organisms.

Organic chemistry is everywhere.

What Organic Chemistry Is

Organic chemistry is the study of carbon and the study of the chemistry of

life. Since not all carbon reactions are organic, another way to look at organic

chemistry would be to consider it the study of molecules containing the carbon-

hydrogen (C-H) bond and their reactions.

Why Organic Chemistry Is Important


Organic chemistry is important because it is the study of life and all of the

chemical reactions related to life. Several careers apply an understanding of

organic chemistry, such as doctors, veterinarians, dentists, pharmacologists,

chemical engineers, and chemists. Organic chemistry plays a part in the development

of common household chemicals, foods, plastics, drugs, and fuels most of the

chemicals part of daily life.

What Does an Organic Chemist Does


An organic chemist is a chemist with a college degree in chemistry. Typically

this would be a doctorate or master's degree in organic chemistry, though a

bachelor's degree in chemistry may be sufficient for some entry-level

positions. Organic chemists usually conduct research and development in a

laboratory setting. Projects that would use organic chemists would include the

development of a better painkilling drug, formulating a shampoo that would result

in silkier hair, making a stain resistant carpet, or finding a non-toxic insect

repellent.
What are Life Sciences?


The simplest way to define life sciences is the study of living organisms and

life processes.


At NCBiotech, we see it as science involving cells and their components,

products and processes. Biology, medicine

and agriculture are the most obvious examples of the discipline. However, as

science becomes ever more complex, it is more difficult to find clear definitions

and boundaries.


What is Biotechnology?


Biotechnology is the most prominent component of the life sciences. Simply put, biotechnology is a

toolbox that leverages our understanding of the natural sciences to create

solutions for many of our world problems. We use biotechnology to grow food to feed

our families and to make medicines and vaccines to fight diseases. We are even

turning to biotechnology to find alternatives to fossil-based fuels for a cleaner,

healthier planet.

Brewing Biotech

Often we think of biotechnology as a new area for exploration. But its rich

history dates back to 8000 B.C. when the domestication of crops and livestock made

it possible for civilizations to prosper. Some timelines date biotech to the

Sumerians brewing beer.

The 17th-century discovery of cells and later discoveries of proteins and genes

had a tremendous impact on the evolution of biotechnology and life as we know it.

How Biotechnology Works

Biotechnology is grounded in the pure biological sciences of genetics,

microbiology, animal cell cultures, molecular biology, embryology and cell biology.

The discoveries of biotechnology are intimately entwined in the life sciences

industry sectors for development in agricultural biotechnology, biomanufacturing,

human health, precision medicine and medical devices and diagnostics. For example,

biomedical researchers use their understanding of genes, cells and proteins to

pinpoint the differences between diseased and healthy cells. Once they discover how

diseased cells are altered, researchers can more easily develop new medical

diagnostics, devices and therapies to treat diseases and chronic conditions.
What is a catalyst?

Catalysts are the unsung

heroes of the chemical reactions that make human society tick. A catalyst is some

material that speeds up chemical reactions. With a helping hand from a catalyst,

molecules that might take years to interact can now do so in seconds. Factories

rely on catalysts to make everything from plastic to drugs. Catalysts help process

petroleum and coal into liquid fuels. They’re key players in clean-energy

technologies. Natural catalysts in the body — known as enzymes — even play

important roles in digestion and more.

During any chemical reaction, molecules break chemical bonds between their

atoms. The atoms also make new bonds with different atoms. This is like swapping

partners at a square dance. Sometimes, those partnerships are easy to break. A

molecule may have certain properties that let it lure away atoms from another

molecule. But in stable partnerships, the molecules are content as they are. Left

together for a very long period of time, a few might eventually switch partners.

But there’s no mass frenzy of bond breaking and rebuilding.

Catalysts make such a breaking and rebuilding happen more efficiently. They do

this by lowering the activation energy for the chemical reaction. Activation energy

is the amount of energy needed to allow the chemical reaction to occur. The

catalyst just changes the path to the new chemical partnership. It builds the

equivalent of a paved highway to bypass a bumpy dirt road. A catalyst doesn’t get

used up in the reaction, though. Like a wingman, it encourages other molecules to

react. Once they do, it bows out.

Enzymes are biology’s natural catalysts. They play a role in everything from

copying genetic material to breaking down food and nutrients. Manufacturers often

create catalysts to speed processes in industry.

Transition metals are any of various metallic elements such as chromium,

iron and nickel that have valence electrons in two shells instead of only one. A

valence electron refers to a single electron that is responsible for the chemical

properties of the atom. Transition metals are good metal catalysts because they easily

lend and take electrons from other molecules. A catalyst is a chemical substance

that, when added to a chemical reaction, does not affect the thermodynamics of a

reaction but increases the rate of reaction.

Effect of Catalysts

Catalysts work by catalytic pathways into the reaction. They increase the

frequency of collisions between reactants but do not change their physical or

chemical properties. Catalysts affect the rate of reaction without affecting the

thermodynamics. Catalysts thus provide an alternative, lower-energy pathway for the

reaction to take place. A catalyst affects the transition state of a reaction by

providing the transition state a lower-energy-activation path.

Transition Metals

Transition metals are often confused with "d-block" metals in the

periodic table. Although transition metals belong to the d-block of the periodic

table of the elements, not all d-block metals can be called transition metals. For

instance, scandium and zinc are not transition metals, although they are d-block

elements. For a d-block element to be a transition metal, it must possess an

incompletely filled d-orbital.

Solvents often get sidelined in chemistry. While the choice of solvent does

matter hugely, there seem to be no clear-cut rules on why a reaction sometimes

works better in one solvent than another. I can say from experience that searching

for the perfect solvent through seemingly endless screening is not something many

chemists enjoy. So I was surprised to discover that a class of solvents was once

voted the ‘British innovation most likely to shape the 21st century’ in a

nationwide poll run by science museums and learned societies, sharing the honour

with things like the Higgs boson, 3D-printed organs and the Raspberry Pi computer.

But the compounds that won the vote aren’t just any old solvent; they’re

probably some of the most fascinating liquids on the planet, not made from

individual atoms, but entirely from anions and cations. That means these liquids

are essentially salts, and that – at least according to high school science

textbooks – means they should form nice solid lattice structures, not be liquid at

room temperature. Enter ionic liquids. Here’s Jason Bara, a professor of chemical

engineering at the University of Alabama.

Jason Bara

Sodium chloride can be an ionic liquid if you get it hot enough. But I guess

the modern definition is organic salts that melt below 100 degrees Celsius. And

then after that, it kind of became salts that melt below room temperature, so then

those are the ones that got really a lot of interest over the last 20 years or

something like that is the ones that are liquids at room temperature.

So in a sense, ionic liquids are nothing more than molten salts. But when you

think of ‘salts’, you might think of ‘sodium chloride’ and it’s ridiculous 800

°C melting point. A new description was needed – and the phrase ‘ionic liquid’

was born. Other names include liquid salts, ionic melts, fused salts, or, if you

want to be particularly elegant, ionic glasses.

The most common ionic liquids are made up of an organic cation, usually an

alkylated amine, and an inorganic anion, often a borate, sulfate or phosphate. The

reason they’re liquid? Simple sterics.