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Ionic and covalent bonds between elements require energy to break. Ioonic bonds are not as strong as covalent, which determines their behavior in biological systems. However, not all bonds are ionic or covalent bonds. Weaker bonds, like hydrogen bonds, can also form between molecules. Hydrogen bonds provide many of the critical, life-sustaining properties of water and also stabilize the structures of proteins and DNA, the building block of cells.
When polar covalent bonds containing hydrogen form, the hydrogen in that bond has a slightly positive charge because hydrogen’s electron is pulled more strongly toward the other element and away from the hydrogen. Because the hydrogen is slightly positive, it will be attracted to neighboring negative charges. When this happens, a weak interaction occurs between the δ + of the hydrogen from one molecule and the δ – charge on the more electronegative atoms of another molecule, usually oxygen or nitrogen, or within the same molecule. This interaction is called a hydrogen bond . This type of bond is common and occurs regularly between water molecules. Individual hydrogen bonds are weak and easily broken; however, they occur in very large numbers in water and in organic polymers, creating a major force in combination. Hydrogen bonds are also responsible for zipping together the DNA double helix.
After the initial discovery or synthesis of a drug, the chemist then develops the drug, perhaps chemically altering it, testing it to see if the drug is toxic, and then designing methods for efficient large-scale production. Then, the process of getting the drug approved for human use begins. In the United States, drug approval is handled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and involves a series of large-scale experiments using human subjects to make sure the drug is not harmful and effectively treats the condition it aims to treat. This process often takes several years and requires the participation of physicians and scientists, in addition to chemists, to complete testing and gain approval.
An example of a drug that was originally discovered in a living organism is Paclitaxel (Taxol), an anti-cancer drug used to treat breast cancer. This drug was discovered in the bark of the pacific yew tree. Another example is aspirin, originally isolated from willow tree bark. Finding drugs often means testing hundreds of samples of plants, fungi, and other forms of life to see if any biologically active compounds are found within them. Sometimes, traditional medicine can give modern medicine clues to where an active compound can be found. For example, the use of willow bark to make medicine has been known for thousands of years, dating back to ancient Egypt. It was not until the late 1800s, however, that the aspirin molecule, known as acetylsalicylic acid, was purified and marketed for human use.
Occasionally, drugs developed for one use are found to have unforeseen effects that allow these drugs to be used in other, unrelated ways. For example, the drug minoxidil (Rogaine) was originally developed to treat high blood pressure. When tested on humans, it was noticed that individuals taking the drug would grow new hair. Eventually the drug was marketed to men and women with baldness to restore lost hair.
The career of the pharmaceutical chemist may involve detective work, experimentation, and drug development, all with the goal of making human beings healthier.
Matter is anything that occupies space and has mass. It is made up of elements. All of the 92 elements that occur naturally have unique qualities that allow them to combine in various ways to create molecules, which in turn combine to form cells, tissues, organ systems, and organisms. Atoms, which consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons, are the smallest units of an element that retain all of the properties of that element. Electrons can be transferred, shared, or cause charge disparities between atoms to create bonds, including ionic, covalent, and hydrogen bonds.
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