Thalidomide is a drug, which has the molecular formula of C13H10N2O4, it is made up of a pair of optical isomers. Optical isomers are two or more forms of a compound that have the same structure but are mirror images of each other. They have identical physical and chemical properties. They differ in how they react with different chiral molecules (a carbon attached to four different types of atoms. The isomers are extremely difficult to separate. Thalidomide was first synthesized by reaction of N-phthaloyl-glutamic acid anhydride (III) with ammonia or urea at high temperatures. The reaction can be carried out at temperatures between −10° C. and 115° C., typically from 0° to 80° C. The synthesis can be carried out in a single reactor without …show more content…
Next add 5 g (33.80 mmoles) of phthalic anhydride and heat the mixture to 80-85° C. After 6 hours take a portion of the reaction mixture to be distilled under a vacuum, and cool to 40° C. Put 3.1 g (45.5 mmoles) of imidazole into the flask and cool it to 5-10° C. Next, cautiously drop 1.6 ml (22 mmoles) of thionyl chloride in. The mixture is stirred at room temperature for 1 hour and heated to 85° C. keep stirring at this temperature for 3 hours, then distilled to one fifth of the starting volume. The residue is then cooled to 25° C. afterwards; 100 ml of a cold ethanol mixture is added. The mixture is acidified with 37% Hydrochloric acid to the pH of 7.0—0.5. Then stir for 4 hours until it reaches room temperature. Next the precipitated solid is filtered by suction and washed twice with 25 ml of water. The resulting solid is then dried overnight under vacuum at 40° C. to give a white crystalline product of thalidomide which is 3.9 g and is a yield of …show more content…
They were born with amelia (absence of limbs), phocomelia (absence of most of the arm) dysmelia (malformation, missing or extra limbs), bone hypoplasticity (incomplete development of the normal number of cells), and other congenital defects of the ear, heart, and internal organs. It was found that it caused serious and unusual birth defects, such as malformation or absence of limbs. It is estimated that 10,000 babies were born with birth defects due to thalidomide, 500 of them were in the UK. Furthermore, around 40% of the victims did not even reach their first birthday. Even women, who took as little as a single dose, still gave birth to babies with serious birth defects. After this, it was found that many toxic chemicals can penetrate the
It was mainly used to treat the common symptoms associated with pregnancy. It was also used for epilepsy, however, there was a lack of empirical evidence supporting its use as an appropriate measure for epilepsy. The drug received an abundance of praise for its ability to relieve nausea and when 1957 hit, it was branded as a suitable treatment for morning sickness. On the surface, it did well for the mother but indirect affects on the baby in the mother’s womb were occurring. It wasn’t until hundreds of cases of malformations in children came about, that we realized it was correlated with mothers who had taken thalidomide during their pregnancy. In all, 8,000-12,000 babies were affected and only about 5,000 surviving after childhood. Some might assume that the dated year of this case is the reason why it might’ve happened and that science wouldn’t let this happen in the 20th century. The case of Vioxx, which was launched in 1999, proves that safety is not
The unregulated sales of Thalidomide also caused emotional distress and hardship for the future lives of mothers and their infants. The fatal drug 's side effects were displayed in pregnant women’s newborn babies. Infants affected with Thalidomide were born with limb reduction anomalies, congenital heart disease, ear malformations, and ocular abnormalities. The potential to live a long life was inhibited by the handicapped ailments each infant received. This created a lot of health expenses and difficulty obtaining an education. It is also very physically-challenging to perform everyday tasks causing many victims to often experience guilt and depression when realizing how unfortunate their circumstances
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), birth defects results in one of every 33 babies. Teratogens account for 4 out of 5% of birth defects when chemical and drugs are in the system. The use of this or even infections can cause abnormal fetal development.
In general, with every pregnancy there is a 3-5% chance of having a baby with a birth defect. If a woman takes Thalidomide during her first trimester of pregnancy, the chance of her giving birth to a child with a birth defect increased to a 20%+ chance and the fetal and infant death rate is estimated to be 40% or more due to severe birth defects. (Thalidomide Side Effects on Babies). A portion of the children who suffer from birth defects caused by Thalidomide also suffer from developmental disabilities such as autism. Thalidomide victim survivors still suffer from these symptoms today. How does Thalidomide create all of these issues? The answer is science. The placenta is a very important organ that develops in the womb during pregnancy. The placenta nourishes the baby through through the umbilical cord and gets rid of all waste. The placenta is the first line of defense for the baby. It is a barrier that many harmful substances do not have the ability to cross. Before a pharmaceutical is offered to
Background: Major depression remains one of the most detrimental mental disorders without precise pathogenesis and effective treatment.
The same drug that caused thousands of birth defects is now being utilised as a way to help mouth sores in AIDs patients as well as a medicine to help with pancreatic cancer and other diseases (Feller, 2016). In the 1950’s and 60’s thalidomide was a drug used as a sedative that quickly became primarily for pregnant women with bad morning sickness. However, there were soon many birth defects that came from the mothers who were using thalidomide while pregnant (Winerip, 2013). Instead of giving birth to healthy babies, children were being born without ears or with flippers replacing their arms. The connection between thalidomide and the birth defects were not made right away causing the problem to be widespread. Thalidomide was and still is
During week three, dissolve α-chloro-2,6-dimethylacetanilide (2.202g, 0.011mol, 3 equiv.) in toluene (30mL) and a stir bar in a dry-round bottom flask. Assemble the apparatus for heating under reflux. Then add diethylamine (2.4g, 0.033mol, 1 equiv.) to the previous solution. Then heat the mixture under reflux for 90 minutes. After the reflux is complete let mixture cool to room temperature and then ice bath for a short period of time. Then vacuum filtrate the product and rinse the solid product with toluene (5mL). Then transfer the filtrate and washing to a separatory funnel and extract it with HCl (3M, 2 x 20mL). Then combine the acidic extracts in an Erlenmeyer flask and add KOH (8M, 25mL) to make solution basic. Cool the mixture in an Ice bath. Then transfer mixture to a separatory funnel extract it with diethyl ether (2 x 15mL). Then wash the organic extracts with deionized water (25mL) and then dry it with anhydrous sodium sulfate. Gravity filtrate the solution, and cover the beaker with a watch glass till the following week. The following week weigh the product, which is pure lidocaine, determine the melting point, and perform an IR. Yield: 1.360g (0.0058 mol, 17.3%). IR (neat): 1660 cm-1 (C=O), 3252 cm-1 (N-H), 2971 cm-1
Birth defects in babies are serious functional or structural abnormalities that are present at birth in 3%(“approximately 120,000”(Simeone 1104) ) of infants in the United States each year. There are quite a few different types of defects that you may not even be able to see on the infant at first. It could be something developmental that will only get worse as they get older. If you believe that birth defects are only caused by women doing illegal drugs and drinking while pregnant, you’re wrong. It could be a complete genetic disorder that the baby has inherited or a chromosome problem where the baby is missing even just a part or a whole chromosome and in some cases gains an extra. Sometimes before the baby, is born you are able to do
“Thalidomide is an organic compound consisting of three asymmetrical rings and the intimidating biochemical name of 2-(2,6-dioxo-3-piperidinyl)-1H-isoindole-1, 3(2H)-dione; it resembles know barbiturates in structure” (Carlson, 2006, p98). Wilhelm Kunz, who was studying ways to produce peptides, created thalidomide in 1953 in West German. He was trying to create a sedative that would be able to compete with other tranquilizing drugs on the market being sold in the United States. The study was taken over by Kunz’s colleague, Herbert Keller who thought the organic compound looked like a barbiturate. A barbiturate is a drug that affects the central nervous system as a depressant and acts like a
Methylene blue (40) was the first fully synthetic drug used in medicine. Its use in the treatment of malaria was pioneered by Paul Guttmann and Paul Ehrlich in 1891[16]. It has many uses in a range of different fields such as biology and chemistry.
Abstract In this experiment, acetylsalicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin, was synthesized. The two main reagents for this procedure were salicylic acid and acetic anhydride. The aspirin was made through the conversion of salicylic acid into an ester and was obtained with a yield of 48%1. Introduction Aspirin is a salicylate drug that acts as an analgesic, which reduces aches and pains, as well as antipyretic, which controls fever.
THALOMID(thalidomide) is “an immunomodulatory agent”[1]. Thalidomide was first put into marker in 1957, which trade-name is Contergan under a German drug company-Chemie Grünenthal. The aim of this drug is used as a sedative or hypnotic, Chemie Grünenthal also claimed that this drug cured "anxiety, insomnia, gastritis, and tension"[2]. Meanwhile, this drug was found efficiently on contraception. People in that time believed THALOMID as a drug without risks, however, after few years, about 10,000 cases on worldwide "were reported of infants with phocomelia due to thalidomide; only 50% of the 10,000 survived"[2]. "Those subjected to thalidomide while in the womb experienced limb deficiencies in a way that the long limbs either were not developed or presented themselves as stumps. Other effects included deformed eyes and hearts, deformed alimentary and urinary tracts, blindness and
Isomers are two compounds that have different structures, simply the way the atoms are arranged between the two are different, but the chemical formula are still the same.
The molecular formula for thalidomide is C13H10N2O4 and it has a molar mass of 258.23g/mol. Some of the trade names for thalidomide are thalomid, immunoprin, talidex and talizer. The main use of thalidomide today is mainly as a treatment for certain cancers and leprosy. Thalidomide was developed by a German firm called Chemie Grunenthal. It was first developed as an anticonvulsant drug, but failed to be effective as an anticonvulsant drug. It was also tested as an antihistamine and anti-biotic. Through early trials they discovered it would not be suitable for this purpose. The drug thalidomide became first marketed as an over the counter drug in 1957 called contergan and was mainly prescribed to pregnant women for morning sickness it was also given as a drug to calm children. Thalidomide beforehand had however been prescribed as an antidepressant, it was thought to be effective for both morning sickness and depression. From the 1st of October in 1957 thalidomide was available over the counter in West Germany. Soon after the drug became available to buy over the counter between 5000 to 7000 women gave birth to a child with some sort of defect. The first baby born which was effected by thalidomide was born on Christmas day in 1956 a baby girl was born with no ears. The woman who gave birth to the child was in fact the wife of a Chemie Grunenthal employee, he had given her samples of thalidomide
ingredients to create the medicine. However, there was a time in the history of human