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.

2/18/2012 - Synthesis of Dimethylmercury

    In the following years Edward Frankland continued researching organometallic compounds as he realized how much new chemistry can be harnessed from these studies.  In 1852 he branched into Mercury chemistry and then following into Tin and Boron reactions.  With these reactions he focused on simple methyl additions onto the metal creating a linear dimethylmercury through the reaction 2CH₃X + 2Na + Hg → (CH₃)₂Hg + 2NaX.  This dimethylmercury compound is extremely toxic, to the degree that one drop on a latex glove will absorb through and  absorbs into the skin and months later the fatality takes over.  And as stated before he transcended these alkylhalide reactions into adding different R groups onto Hg, Sn, and B.