Tetracyclines and organic compounds
I am to identify organic compounds in medications. I am to determine the structure of one active component and identify three functional groups on each molecule.
Based on the functional groups present in the drug molecules, predict the physical properties of the molecule the drug would interact with. This gets the "molecularity" of the drug interaction.
Tetracycline has 4 functional groups: alcohol, ketone, amine, and amide. It also contains aromatic rings. Amine group is a base because it accepts H+ when dissolved in water. Beause amines are bases they react with acids. Amides are not bases because of the highly electronegative oxygen atom of the of the carbonyl group causes a very strong attraction between the lone pair of nitrogen electrons and the carbonyl group. As a result, the unshared pair of electrons cannot "hold" a proton. Alcohols are very polar and are able to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds.
I am unsure of where to go now. Would you help me? Is the above on the right track?
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Solution Preview
Yes, you're on the right track! Here's a little guidance to keep you moving along. We say that tetracycline has 4 functional groups: alcohol, ketone, amine, and amide. Let's start with the amine.
Amine: You wrote, "Amine group is a base because it accepts H+ when dissolved in water. Because amines are bases they react with acids." Great. Therefore, we would expect tetracycline to react with acids in the body. For example, these would be organic compounds that have a COOH (carboxyl group) in them.
Amide: You wrote, "Amides are not bases because of the highly electronegative oxygen atom of the carbonyl group causes a very strong attraction between the lone pair of nitrogen electrons and the carbonyl ...
Solution Summary
This solution discusses tetracycline's active component and functional groups.