Tetracyclines and organic compounds

Stephen Allen,

another one - I have started this one but have become lost.

identify organic compounds in medications.

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 attrcation 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.