Organic chemistry is a branch of chemistry that involves the study of organic carbon compounds. It encompasses the structures, composition, and synthesis of carbon-containing compounds. In understanding organic chemistry, it is important to note that all organic molecules consist not only of carbon, but also contain hydrogen. While it is true that organic compounds can contain other elements, the bond between carbon and hydrogen is what makes a compound organic.
Originally, organic chemistry was defined as the study of compounds created by living organisms. However, its definition has been enlarged to include artificially synthesized substances as well. Before 1828, all organic compounds were obtained from living organisms. Scientists didn’t believe it was possible to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic compounds. Many attempted to do so and failed. However, in 1828, urea was synthesized from inorganic substances, paving the way for a new definition of organic chemistry.
There are more than six million known organic compounds. In addition to being plentiful, organic compounds are also unique. This is because carbon atoms have the ability to form strong bonds with many different elements. Carbon atoms are also able to bond covalently to other carbon atoms, while simultaneously forming strong bonds with other nonmetal atoms. When carbon atoms bond together, they can form chains consisting of thousands of atoms. They can also form rings, spheres, and tubes.
Many individuals consider organic chemistry to be very complicated and unrelated to daily life. Though the study of organic chemistry may be complex, it is very important to everyday life. In fact, organic compounds are a part of everything, from the foods we eat to the products we use. They are important in the creation of clothing, plastics, fibers, medications, insecticides, petroleum-derived chemicals, and a long list of products used to support life and to make it more convenient.
The study of organic chemistry is important, not only to those who are interested in science-related careers, but to every individual alive today and to those who will be born in the future. Organic chemistry is key in developing new products and improving those on which we’ve become dependent. Each year, organic chemists make discoveries that are helpful in improving medicines, aiding agricultural growth, understanding the human body, and performing countless tasks important to the average person.
Biochemistry
Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and reactions that take place within living organisms. It can be considered a subdivision of both chemistry and biology, although the skills and techniques used within it place great emphasis on traditional chemistry.
For a very long time, it was thought that living and non-living matter were fundamentally different. It was thought that only living beings could create special biological molecules, from other biological molecules obtained through food. These molecules were thought to be imbued with a “vital force” that made life possible. In 1828, the German chemist Freidrich Wöhler put an end to this by accidentally synthesizing the organic chemical urea — a major component of urine — from inorganic precursors. The field of biochemistry was born.
Since 1828, studies in the field of biochemistry have brought us knowledge of the way plants extract energy from the Sun (photosynthesis), animals convert glucose into the energy currency of the body, ATP (glycolysis), why our muscles burn when we vigorously exercise (the production of lactic acid), how proteins are synthesized in the cell (protein expression), and much more. As living things (plants, animals, humans) tend to be the most useful and important arrangements of matter on Earth from our perspective, knowledge of their inner workings through biochemistry has useful applications in many areas, such as medicine, agriculture, molecular biology, etc.
Some molecules studied by biochemists include carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. Most of these are organic polymers, meaning they primarily consist simple molecular patterns (monomers) repeated numerous times in a chain, sometimes thousands. The primary elements found in organic compounds are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorous, with trace amounts of chlorine, sulfur, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, and a few others.
Many of the molecules in the body serve in structural roles. These include the carbohydrates and proteins. Proteins are manufactured directly based on genetic instructions, and are among the most complex organic molecules. Nucleic acids are the building blocks of our genetic instructions (DNA and RNA) found in all forms of life, from humans to viruses. The distinct pattern of nucleic acids found in the nuclei of a species’ cells is called its genome. Then, there are the lipids, the catch-all term for many non-water-soluble biomolecules. The fat in our body is made of lipids.
Biochemistry is studied by tens of thousands of professionals each day, who seek to understand better how life works and how we can both protect it and use it to make our lives better.
