9/24/2012 - Amygdalin

I thought I would have had time to post some reactions but being back at school, combined with my handicap only leaves me exhausted, tired, and sore once I get home.  But here I present the molecule Amygdalin.  I am currently reading this spectacular book Guns, Germs, and Steel (I definitely recommend it), which is about the evolution of civilization and why different civilizations grew to dominate over others.  The author Jared Diamond talks about how crops were domesticated and noted that wild almonds are toxic, so I decided to investigate what the toxic component was.  And that brought me to this molecule.  The metabolism of this molecule releases that Cyanide group, creating HCN, making it very toxic to humans.  This has been used in a number of cancer treatments, and subsequently derived into other molecules to enhance the effect.

2/11/2012 - Studies of Alkarsine Derivatives

   Then in 1840 Robert Bunsen continued the studies of the arsenic compounds synthesised in Paris a century earlier (cacodyl compounds).  He used these compounds to synthesize a numbed of derivatives of R₂As-AsR₂ into molecules (CH₃)₂AsCN.  After the synthesis Bunsen supposedly tasted this dangerous concoction, and luckily he lived to tell the tale.

 


Photo source