Chemistry in Context - Chapter 12: Health and Medicine

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering medicinal chemistry, equilibrium, organic compounds, macromolecules, hormones, and drug discovery.

Pharmaceuticals

Therapeutic substances intended to prevent, moderate, or cure illnesses.

Medicinal chemistry

The science that deals with the discovery or design of new therapeutic chemicals, and their development into useful medicines.

Equilibrium Constant (Keq)

The ratio of product concentrations to reactant concentrations at equilibrium.

Reaction Quotient (Q)

The current ratios of [products]/[reactants], which may or may not be at equilibrium.

Le Chatelier’s Principle

If an equilibrium is disturbed, the position of the equilibrium will shift to counteract the change.

Thermodynamics

Deals with the relative energy of the reactants with respect to products.

Kinetics

Deals with how fast the rate of conversion of reactants to products takes place.

Conjugate acid

Has one more proton than the original reactant base.

Conjugate base

Has one fewer proton than the original reactant acid.

Buffers

Systems that respond only gradually or slightly to an external influence; composed of acids and bases that react and neutralize external acidic/basic species.

Organic Chemistry

The study of carbon compounds.

Isomers

Molecules with the same chemical formula but with different structures and properties.

Resonance Forms

Structures that alter the position of single and double bonds in a molecule, such as benzene.

Functional groups

Arrangements of groups of atoms which impart characteristic physical and chemical properties.

Chiral molecules (optical isomers)

Molecules that have four different groups attached to a central carbon atom; they are non-superimposable mirror images of each other (enantiomers).

Racemic mixture

Equal amounts of each optical isomer.

Lipids

Provide calories and comprise the cellular membrane.

Polysaccharides

Vital for energy storage, cellular structure, and signaling.

Nucleic acids

Regulate information in your cells and are responsible for heredity.

Proteins

Contribute to the structure of cells, guide chemical transformations, and form conduits for signaling between systems.

Enzymes

Biological catalysts common to all organisms; accelerate a reaction by changing its activation energy.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

The chemical fuel of choice for many transformations in the cell.

Hormones

Chemical signals produced in endocrine glands that trigger cells to use glucose.

Steroids

A class of naturally occurring or synthetic fat-soluble organic molecules with a 17-carbon molecular framework.

Pharmacophore

The portion of a molecule that determines the biological effects of a drug.

Combinatorial chemistry

The systematic creation of large numbers of small molecules in "libraries" that can be rapidly screened in vitro for potential new drugs.

Radiopharmaceuticals

Organic molecules carrying radioactive isotopes that are optimized to create contrast between tissue areas.