synthesis

Examples of synthesis in the following topics:

• Synthesis of Biological Macromolecules

• Dehydration Synthesis

  • In dehydration synthesis, monomers combine with each other via covalent bonds to form polymers.
  • Thus, the monomers that are joined together are being dehydrated to allow for synthesis of a larger molecule.
  • As additional monomers join via multiple dehydration synthesis reactions, the chain of repeating monomers begins to form a polymer.
  • Three of the four major classes of biological macromolecules (complex carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and proteins), are composed of monomers that join together via dehydration synthesis reactions.
  • These three are polysaccharides, classified as carbohydrates, that have formed as a result of multiple dehydration synthesis reactions between glucose monomers.

• Inhibiting Nucleic Acid Synthesis

  • Antimicrobial drugs inhibit nucleic acid synthesis through differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic enzymes.
  • Antimicrobial drugs can target nucleic acid (either RNA or DNA) synthesis.
  • The antimicrobial actions of these agents are a result of differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic enzymes involved in nucleic acid synthesis.
  • For instance, quinolones inhibit DNA synthesis by interfering with the coiling of DNA strands.
  • State the steps where inhibitors of nucleic acid synthesis can exert their function

• Inhibiting Cell Wall Synthesis

  • β-Lactam (beta-lactam) and glycopeptide antibiotics work by inhibiting or interfering with cell wall synthesis of the target bacteria.
  • Two types of antimicrobial drugs work by inhibiting or interfering with cell wall synthesis of the target bacteria.
  • The final step in the synthesis of the peptidoglycan is facilitated by penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs).
  • This class of drugs inhibit the synthesis of cell walls in susceptible microbes by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis.
  • Describe the two types of antimicrobial drugs that inhibit cell wall synthesis: beta-lactam and glycopeptide antibiotics

• Antiviral DNA Synthesis Inhibitors

  • Inhibiting DNA synthesis during viral replication is another key approach in battling viral infections.
  • Inhibiting DNA synthesis during viral replication is another approach to battle viral infections.
  • Another type of drug that is a DNA synthesis inhibitor is foscarnet.
  • Another antiviral drug that targets DNA synthesis is hydroxycarbamide, commonly referred to as a hydroxyurea.
  • The guanosine depicted in this specific image is used for RNA synthesis but acyclovir inhibits the synthesis of DNA synthesis.

• Total Synthesis

  • Total synthesis is a field of research in organic chemistry that focuses on the synthesis of large, typically biologically useful compounds from simple, common materials.
  • Laboratory synthesis of a large molecule can be very difficult, costly and time-consuming.
  • One of the greatest challenges in total synthesis is selective reactivity.
  • Perhaps the most difficult and important challenge modern chemists face is stereoselective synthesis.
  • The enantioselective synthesis of palytoxin, a natural product with 64 stereocenters, is widely regarded as the greatest-ever achievement in total synthesis.

• Synthesizing DNA

  • This occurs in two fashions, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which is enzymatic and chemical synthesis.
  • Here we will focus on chemical synthesis of DNA, which is also known as oligonucleotide synthesis.
  • Oligonucleotide synthesis is the chemical synthesis of relatively short fragments of nucleic acids, both DNA and RNA with a defined chemical structure (sequence).
  • Whereas enzymes synthesize DNA and RNA in a 5' to 3' direction, chemical oligonucleotide synthesis is carried out in the opposite, 3' to 5' direction.
  • Artificial gene synthesis is the process of synthesizing a gene in vitro without the need for initial template DNA samples.

• Applications of Condensation Reactions to Synthesis

  • The construction of complex molecules by a series of suitable reactions carried out from simple starting compounds is called synthesis.
  • Synthesis is not only of immense practical importance (aspirin and nylon are two examples of commercially valuable synthetic compounds), but it also allows us to prepare novel molecules with which to test our understanding of structure and reactivity.
  • Three challenges must be met in devising a synthesis for a specific compound:
  • A successful plan or strategy for a synthesis must correlate each step with all these goals, so that an efficient and practical solution to making the target molecule is achieved.

• Inhibiting Protein Synthesis

  • Protein synthesis inhibitors are substances that disrupt the processes that lead directly to the generation of new proteins in cells.
  • A protein synthesis inhibitor is a substance that stops or slows the growth or proliferation of cells by disrupting the processes that lead directly to the generation of new proteins.
  • In general, protein synthesis inhibitors work at different stages of prokaryotic mRNA translation into proteins like initiation, elongation (including aminoacyl tRNA entry, proofreading, peptidyl transfer, and ribosomal translocation), and termination.
  • Aminoglycosides, among other potential mechanisms of action, interfere with the proofreading process, causing an increased rate of error in synthesis with premature termination.
  • Diagram showing how the translation of the mRNA and the synthesis of proteins is made by ribosomes.

• The Pentose Phosphate Shunt

  • The second phase of this pathway is the non-oxidative synthesis of 5-carbon sugars.
  • NADPH-utilizing pathways, such as fatty acid synthesis, generate NADP+, which stimulates glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase to produce more NADPH.
  • It is used in reductive biosynthesis reactions within cells (e.g. fatty acid synthesis).
  • It produces ribulose-5-phosphate, used in the synthesis of nucleotides.
  • It also produces nucleic acids and erythrose-4-phosphate, used in the synthesis of aromatic amino acids.