Thanks to chemical synthesis, hygiene and cleaning products, drugs, etc. can be prepared.
Chemical synthesis is an essential procedure for the production of nanoparticles and certain drugs, for example. It is a resource or method that, thanks to the development of chemical compounds based on elementary or simpler substances, allows the production of chemical substances that do not exist in nature.
To understand what chemical synthesis is, what its particularities are and what applications it has, it is necessary to learn about the formation and varieties of chemical bonds; the types of synthesis and the techniques included in each category and about the equipment and tools needed for these processes. It is also enriching to know the importance and value of chemical synthesis in agriculture , nanotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry , among other fields.
Before moving on to interesting data on this topic, it is interesting to highlight that scientific research and technological advances do not stop and give rise, for example, to a robot called RoboChem . According to reports, in just one week this invention, benefiting from the advantages of artificial intelligence, optimizes the synthesis of between ten and twenty molecules (thus demonstrating its speed to work uninterruptedly autonomously), exhibits good performance and is reliable due to the precision of its results.
Characteristics of chemical synthesis
Chemical synthesis is an ally of humans for the production of soaps and/or detergents and for obtaining adhesives, plastics, steel and medicinal substances, among other elements.
The interaction of a pair of molecules or atoms to form a different compound or structure is known as a synthesis reaction . It is a phenomenon that involves the release of heat (or energy): although most are exothermic reactions , there are times when endothermic reactions occur . This type of chemical process, also called direct combination , includes combustion, double displacement and single displacement reactions.
It is important to know that multiple chemical syntheses can be streamlined, optimized and made more precise thanks to automation and/or the use of a modern chemical reactor .
In a laboratory, chemical synthesis (mixing different substances and chemical compounds) can be used to obtain medicines.
Classes and methods of synthesis
A compilation of theoretical information and a survey of the practical use of chemical synthesis provide precise references as to what types and methods of synthesis exist.
In this context, it is possible to recognize a plan of impulse focused on a novel technology that uses a chemical synthesis oriented to corrosion inhibitors characterized by being biodegradable and non-toxic. To achieve them, the researchers involved in this initiative driven by principles of green chemistry dedicated themselves to designing chemical synthesis routes inspired by the essence of sustainable chemistry . There is also room to apply a chemical synthesis based on solid-state microwaves when working to synthesize nanomaterials or certain molecules.
Cultivated organic synthesis is also widely used to manufacture, among other products, dyes, drugs and plastics. In this field (in which the technique of retrosynthetic analysis is valid), there are partial synthesis , total synthesis (i.e. a synthesis of complex organic molecules ) and convergent synthesis .
There are those who are dedicated to inorganic synthesis and experts in polymerization . Regarding this last alternative, a chemical process that can be activated by addition reactions or with a condensation reaction , it is useful to highlight that the synthesis of proteins and DNA is made possible by biological polymerization reactions .
In the case of the so-called asymmetric synthesis , the modality is extremely useful in the field of pharmacology since this chemical process (which simultaneously receives the names of enantioselective synthesis and chiral synthesis ) seeks to favor, introduce or preserve the desired chirality .
Using chemically synthesized cosmetics frequently and for a long period of time can cause skin problems and other disorders that affect health.
Examples of chemical synthesis
With the practical use of chemical synthesis , experiments and scientific discoveries are adding more and more examples of everything that can be achieved through this process.
Some time ago, an interesting development for the organic (or printed) electronics sector came to light, as a group of scientists managed to carry out chemical synthesis using metal nanoparticles in order to obtain conductive nanoinks that do not oxidize.
Other researchers, meanwhile, have directed their efforts toward promoting an environmentally friendly option known as microwave- based synthesis of bioactive compounds .
One cannot fail to distinguish the synthesis of aromatics , for which numerous methods are considered that enable the organic synthesis of aromatic hydrocarbons (or arenes) starting from non-arene precursors.
In different disciplines and areas of study, both the synthesis of magnetic materials and the solid-phase synthesis and liquid-phase synthesis related to peptides are also very useful.