Biochemical Compounds and Solubility

Flashcards on hydrophilic and hydrophobic biochemical compounds, amphipathic molecules, and prodrug design based on the lecture transcript.

Glucose

A simple sugar containing a polar aldehyde functional group and several polar alcohol functional groups, allowing it to hydrogen bond to water as a hydrophilic compound.

Amino Acids

The 20 building blocks of proteins, which contain a polar primary amine functional group and a polar carboxylic acid functional group.

Hydrophilic Compounds

Molecules containing polar functional groups such as alcohol, amine, aldehyde, or carboxylic acid that resemble water and can form hydrogen bonds with water.

Fatty Acids

Hydrophobic compounds featuring long nonpolar carbon chains consisting of carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds that prevent solubility in water.

Oleic Acid

A fatty acid containing a polar carboxylic acid part along with a long nonpolar carbon chain tail that makes the molecule hydrophobic.

Amphipathic Compounds

Molecules that possess both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts in the same molecule, giving them partial solubility in water.

Sodium Oleate

A soap molecule produced when oleic acid reacts with sodium hydroxide in a double replacement reaction, resulting in an ionic bond between oxygen and the sodium cation.

Ionic Bond Electronegativity Difference

A threshold difference above $1.9$ that renders ionic bonds more polar than polar covalent bonds.

Glycolipids

Biochemical compounds that contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts within the same molecule.

Prodrugs

Inactive compounds that are converted into fully active drugs once inside the human body.

Chloramphenicol

A bitter-tasting antibiotic containing polar alcohol functional groups, a polar amide functional group, and two polar carbon-chlorine bonds.

Ester Hydrolysis

A reaction catalyzed by enzymes in the human body where an ester reacts with water to form a carboxylic acid and an alcohol, releasing the active drug.