Organic chemistry synthesis has been on continuous evolution to higher and new domains since its first emergence in the early 19th century. Modern medicine, cosmetics, polymers and plastics, energy fuels, nutritional food among others are some of the direct products and applications of the knowledge in organic chemistry. It has, in turn, become important to champion and support the evolution and advancement in the art and science of organic compounds or chemistry synthesis. Divided into different areas, one major branch in chemistry that has over the years evolved in terms of its use by people is organic chemistry. According to Nicolaou (2018), organic chemistry has turned to be a creative branch of science in which scientists create new model molecules as well as explore properties of existing ones.
Found in almost every compound surrounding human life, organic chemistry and compounds have been central to the economic growth of different countries. This has been through the production of substances such as rubber, fuel, plastics, cosmetics, coatings, to name but a few. Additionally, fields such as biochemistry, medicine, and biotechnology have their basis on the organic compounds, hence highlighting the importance of organic chemistry globally. More so, different other high-tech materials are at least partially comprised of organic compounds (Kustov, 2016). Professionals in the field of organic chemistry focused on the creation of new compounds as well as developing better ways of synthesizing previously existing compounds. This essay focuses on the evolution of the uses of organic chemistry in the world.
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Fig 1.1 Branches of Organic Chemistry
The evolution in technology which has been witnessed today has to a great extent has contributed to the organic chemistry field advancement. This is whereby chemists have been able to establish new and useful products to the human race. The technological advancement has directly impacted the organic compounds usability from minimal to one of the sort after the foundation of some of the most used products such as plastics energy, and rubber. The continued innovation and scientific research has increased the use of organic chemistry knowledge in improving people’s lives in different ways. For example one of the recent year’s inventions and breakthroughs in medicine field has been production of artificial organs. Not only has these improved peoples but also expanded on the organic chemistry use in the current decade. This was however an unheard of application of the technology, hence a positive evolution.
Over the man’s history, medicine has been an important product in fighting diseases. These have been both preventive and curative medicines. According to (), medicinal products has been an organic compound application, and hence one of the major breakthroughs with the advancement in organic chemistry is the production of medicines. Though not all medicines, quite a good number of drugs have their primary source being organic chemistry knowledge. In the field of medicine, organic chemistry finds its way through three major ways. These include; making of drugs studying disease and also for diagnosis.
As a result of the applicability of organic chemistry in the medical field, the advancement in the field has resulted in the improvement of people’s lives as well as providing a cure for some of the stubborn cases of infections such as cancers (Nicolaou, 2018). For example, in the pathophysiology of diseases, organic chemistry knowledge has helped towards an understanding of the gout infections. In gout, there is interference in the purine metabolism process. The uric acid that is produced from the purine metabolism fails to breakdown into urea and in turn accumulates in joints causing gout. Finally, in medicine, organic chemistry is utilized in the diagnosis of diseases, whereby the chemistry is applied to diagnose the organic part of the infectious substance.
Known as some of the material made of carbon and hydrogen, diamond and graphite have been a key raw material for the production of valuables. Over the years, there has been an increased demand for ornamental products for individuals and corporate use. These include necklaces, trophy’s, statues among others. Since the invention of the diamond as one of the hydrocarbon compounds, the jewelry industry has directly depended on the material for its products (Kustov, 2016). For example making of expensive ornaments, necklaces, earrings, wedding rings, etc., has been the sole survival avenue for companies such as De Beers, which produce a diamond in addition to owning the most diamond globally. In addition to valuables, petroleum remains an integral product that impacts the global economy. Its primary source is hydrocarbons, hence being a key part of organic chemistry.
The increase in population globally has led to a high demand for quality food to feed the human race. This has, in turn, led to detailed analysis to understand food structure and in turn, understand the best-suited food for both people and animals. According to Konovalov et al (2018), food materials are entirely comprised of carbon compounds. For example carbohydrates (CHO), the proteins which are denoted as (NH2-CH-COOH), and fats (CH-COO-CH), where all are a key part of human food consumption. Through the organic chemistry analysis, there has been a breakthrough in understanding the amount of fat in a certain food type. This, in turn, allows physicians to advise patients such as heart patients to undertake minimal fat consumption in their diets. On the other hand, for people in need of bodybuilding, they are advised for high consumption of protein-rich diets (Konovalov et al, 2018). This ability to understand which food benefits a person has been made possible through the evolution of the use and application of organic chemistry knowledge. In connection with food, organic chemistry is utilized in the preparation of drinks such as alcohol as well as regulating the quality and flavor.
The production of rubber and plastic has had its primary ideas based on organic chemistry synthesis. This is whereby monomers are produced and later combine to form polymers. With the increased demand for conservation of the global forests, the human being has been forced to turn to rubber and plastic for their daily use such as containers, households, etc. the evolution in organic chemistry has greatly influenced the production synthetic rubber. This is through the emulsion polymerization method (Stephenson, 2013). For example, the use of polyester material in the clothing industry is based on plastic chemistry involving organic chemistry. The impact of plastics production and usage greatly impacts the bottling companies with the majority of them relying on organic chemistry knowledge to remain in the business.
Fig 1.2. PVC Piping produced from Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) type of plastic (Stephenson, 2013)
Studied as a branch in organic chemistry, Petro-chemistry is an area that studies the transformation of petroleum gases as well as natural gas into useful products. Today, petroleum products have become key economic influencers. This is due to a high dependence on fuel as a source of energy. Derived from crude oil, organic chemists have been able to derive a host of products for human use (Matar & Hatch, 2001). The main ingredients of this field of chemistry are the aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, which have their basis related to organic chemistry. Over the years, effective methods have been established to purify crude oil into a host of related products. For example, the process produces methane which is used fuel, ethylene used in making lubricants and plastics, propylene used as fuel among many other by-products (Matar & Hatch, 2001). In summary, the byproducts in crude oil refinery serve as feedstock for the production of thousands of products useful in human life.
In conclusion, the organic chemistry field remains an active field of chemistry. This is due to its vast applicability to varying fields such as biochemistry such as the pharmaceutical industry, and petrochemistry such as the energy industry. Despite having a relatively recent history, the use and application of organic chemistry will continue to have an enormous important future, affecting people all around the globe for many more years to come. The uses of organic chemistry has, in turn, evolved from mild application in the human history to today’s vast application in different fields such as medicine, food, textile, energy and valuable jewelry, etc. increase in human population continued to exert pressure on existing resources, and in turn the application of organic chemistry will continue to play an important role in life improvement in different fields.
References
Konovalov, A. I., Antipin, I. S., Burilov, V. A., Madzhidov, T. I., Kurbangalieva, A. R., Nemtarev, A. V., … Nikolaev, V. A. (2018). Modern Trends of Organic Chemistry in Russian Universities. Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry , 54 (2), 157–371.
Kustov, L. (2016). Why organic chemistry is important for a physical chemist? Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry , 52 (7), 1072–1075.
Matar, S., & Hatch, L. F. (2001). Chemistry of petrochemical processes . Boston: Gulf Professional Pub.
Nicolaou, K. C. (2018). The Emergence and Evolution of Organic Synthesis and Why It is Important to Sustain It as an Advancing Art and Science for Its Own Sake. Israel Journal of Chemistry , 58 (1/2), 104–113.
Stephenson, G. R. (2013). Organic chemistry. Chemistry & Industry , 77 (1), 52–53.
