hydrocarbons used in pharmaceuticals

kezza1993

2

any examples welcomed !
alkanes
alkenes
alkynes
aromatics
cyclo

must include their uses within industry

Reply 1

thegodofgod

19

Original post by kezza1993

any examples welcomed !
alkanes
alkenes
alkynes
aromatics
cyclo

must include their uses within industry

You can research this easily on the internet. I'll start you off with octane (C₈H₁₈) in petrol.

Reply 2

kezza1993

OP

2

Original post by thegodofgod

You can research this easily on the internet. I'll start you off with octane (C₈H₁₈) in petrol.

thanks for your reply but that isnt a pharmaceutical application to be honest

Reply 3

username913907

10

Original post by kezza1993

thanks for your reply but that isnt a pharmaceutical application to be honest

Well to be honest.... If you look at any drug molecule you will find many if not most of those functional groups in the molecule. Just get searching.

Reply 4

Midlander

19

Look up aspirin.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Original post by kezza1993

any examples welcomed !
alkanes
alkenes
alkynes
aromatics
cyclo

must include their uses within industry

The pharmaceuticals industry (and others) uses vaseline, which is a mixture of alkanes ...

Reply 6

illusionz

20

You won't find many drugs which are hydrocarbons, so that leaves you with reagents/solvents.

Hydrocarbon reagents aren't all that common as most of them don't tend to do much, but there are a few uses.
Terminal alkynes are used to extend carbon chains.
Alkenes/alkynes are used in dihydroxylations.
Toluene/hexane/Petroleum Ether are common hydrocarbon solvents.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

i.am.lost

18

- Phenanthrene derivatives are used as pain medications (morphine, codeine, oxycodone)
- Steranes are probably the most common hydrocarbons used in medicine, as all steroidal drugs have a sterane core with non-hydrocarbon functional groups
- Hydrocarbon carotenoids are often taken as a supplement, so they can be considered a consumer medicine
- Parrafin oil can be used as a laxative

These are the ones that came to my mind. Hydrocarbons aren't pervasive in medicine due to their toxicity and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (in many cases).

Reply 8

illusionz

20

Original post by i.am.lost

These are the ones that came to my mind. Hydrocarbons aren't pervasive in medicine due to their toxicity and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (in many cases).

How would they even get into the blood? They're insoluble in water and so I wouldn't expect them to be absorbed well in the gut? I do have a very limited understanding of these processes so could be wrong though.

Also care to explain why you negged me? Not that I care about rep, but I'd like to know why I am wrong. If it was for the many-any typo, well I guess that's unfortunate.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 9

i.am.lost

18

Original post by illusionz

How would they even get into the blood? They're insoluble in water and so I wouldn't expect them to be absorbed well in the gut? I do have a very limited understanding of these processes so could be wrong though.

Also care to explain why you negged me? Not that I care about rep, but I'd like to know why I am wrong.

My bad. I was unclear, volatile hydrocarbons pass the BBB due to their lipid-solubility.

edit: actually, scratch that - opioids (phenanthrene derivatives) cross the BBB too; I don't really know much about their pharmacokinetics though.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 10

illusionz

20

Original post by i.am.lost

edit: actually, scratch that - opioids (phenanthrene derivatives) cross the BBB too; I don't really know much about their pharmacokinetics though.

I thought opioids are a class of drug which act at a receptor instead of a general structure, and hence lots of them are not phenanthrene derivatives? Even so, I'd be surprised if any of them were hydrocarbons.

The only stuff regarding pharmacokinetic I've come across has been in group meetings as my group does a lot of drug related research, but the impression I got was that you need a drug to have a trade off of being water and lipid soluble.

Reply 11

i.am.lost

18

Original post by illusionz

I thought opioids are a class of drug which act at a receptor instead of a general structure, and hence lots of them are not phenanthrene derivatives? Even so, I'd be surprised if any of them were hydrocarbons.

The only stuff regarding pharmacokinetic I've come across has been in group meetings as my group does a lot of drug related research, but the impression I got was that you need a drug to have a trade off of being water and lipid soluble.

Indeed, opioids can also be non-phenanthrene (methadone and fentanyl come to mind). I'm no expert in this field, but I recently read a paper on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, which can bind cyclic hydrocarbons (among other things) to change gene expression - it's a bit of a hot topic as its function is unknown. So I'm not sure about how the solubility profile of hydrocarbons affects their usage, but they certainly do have many medical applications.

Reply 12

Wambui Scientist

Hello,Do you have books that you can refer that have the above information for further reading?I would also like to find out how parabens are not good for the skin.Thanks in Advancemy

Reply 13

carrotstar

21

Original post by Wambui Scientist

Hello,Do you have books that you can refer that have the above information for further reading?I would also like to find out how parabens are not good for the skin.Thanks in Advancemy

Hi there. May I ask what it is you wish to study? Parabens and hydrocarbons are quite different topics, you see! I am studying pharmaceutical and cosmetic science at university so I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

However I would like to point out that the negative ideas surrounding parabens have since been disproven. They were previously thought to be related to cancerous tumours, but are now known only to appear in tumours alongside hundreds of other chemicals and whether that is positive or negative has not yet been explained. There is no need to avoid them in skincare as previously thought. Unfortunately it is the negative research which has stuck with the public which means that consumers don’t like parabens thanks to this first study.

Original post by kezza1993

any examples welcomed !
alkanes
alkenes
alkynes
aromatics
cyclo

must include their uses within industry

cyclopropane is used as an anaesthetic
many solvents in industry are saturated hydrocarbons
pentane is used in polymer production as an expander.
ethyne is used as a fuel in welding.
etc

Reply 15

Pigster

20

Original post by charco

cyclopropane is used as an anaesthetic
many solvents in industry are saturated hydrocarbons
pentane is used in polymer production as an expander.
ethyne is used as a fuel in welding.
etc

Replying to a five year old thread?

School boy error, me old matey.