Anonymous at Mon, 10 Jun 2024 19:01:54 UTC No. 16227222

>>16227204
What are you seething about exactly? Lack of meds? Have you tried to take some maybe that would help.

Anonymous at Mon, 10 Jun 2024 19:34:14 UTC No. 16227268

>>16227204
Chemistry has been built off the labor of bored nerds with too much time combining random reagents to see what they get out
Source: am chemist, this is why I got into the field

Anonymous at Mon, 10 Jun 2024 19:56:26 UTC No. 16227305

>>16227204
Why don't you read some fucking books on the topic, instead of trying to instigate a flame war on an anime website

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 03:37:07 UTC No. 16227893

>>16227268
I dont believe pharmaceuticals are researched by doing random combinations, since they can be nearly infinite. That only works for small inorganic molecules

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 14:22:12 UTC No. 16228408

>>16227893
It's a matter of scale:
you can spend an eternity synthesizing one compound after the next, or you can synthesize a whole bunch all at once.
Think of it as massively parallel computation except instead of 12 cores running simultaneously it's 100-1000 different (but very similar) reactions being run at the same time to see what works.
Sure, there is some guidance based on what we know works already, but it is minimal. Current models of computational biochemistry simply cannot provide accurate enough predictions in a reasonable time frame even when they are given a specific mechanism of physiologic action with precisely known protein structures.
And the number of combinations is in no way nigh-infinite. You are strongly limited by what is possible from a bonding point of view and also by what is practical using current synthetic techniques.
Also, a lot of inspiration is obtained from compounds already present in nature. Look up natural products synthesis.

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 14:44:25 UTC No. 16228430

>>16228408
Sythetizing thousands? That used to be an old technique, you just make a ghastly soup of organic chemicals and the issue then is isolating individual compounds. I believe this is how paracetamol was first discovered, in trace amounts in coal distillate. But how do you know what effect some of these chemicals would have on the body?

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:17:41 UTC No. 16228461

>>16228430
Not talking about that, can't find a better picture but general approach is using picrel. Usually scaled down even further, exploratory reactions are carried out to see what is produced and do basic eval of properties.

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:19:12 UTC No. 16228463

>>16227204
>valuable
>aspirin

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 19:16:28 UTC No. 16228891

>>16227204
> Why would anyone make a huge effort to get a random molecule that could or not have an effect on the body?
There is a bit to unpack here.
Firstly, pharmaceutical chemistry is just one of many subfields of chemistry. Many pharmaceuticals were discovered on accident. Basically all modern sweeteners were discovered on accident. The field of organic dye chemistry was started on accident (ironically, in an attempt to make a pharmaceutical).
Secondly, chemical synthesis in the search of active compounds, can be made fairly divergent, meaning that you have one precursor and combine it with a bunch of similar building blocks to obtain a buch of different derivatives, which you can then modify further. So in a few steps you can cast the net quite wide and test a bunch of similar compounds.
Thirdly, most pharmaceutical development is not starting from brand new scaffolds, but rather tinkers with and modifies what is already known. In those cases, you already have a rough idea what target you want to hit and are mapping out the structure-activity-relationship.
Fourthly, because of the state of computation, you can run virtual screening of compounds in silico, such that you can already make an educated guess about whatever you are trying to make, or get ideas what to make.
Fifthly, if you are developing pharmaceuticals for a company, you are getting paid.

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Jun 2024 19:33:04 UTC No. 16228930

>>16227204
>so that could motivate research, but most pharmaceuticals seem like extremely random chemicals.
some jurisdictions don't allow patenting of compounds found in nature. As a matter of fact, the Amazonian countries, which, at the moment, hold a good chunk of the stock of biodiversity in flora and fauna, don't allow that. Some jurisdictions also order you to pay money to natives that already use those compounds in their daily life. You could patent an innovative production method of that compound, however.

On the other side, the research of compounds found in nature can be actually quite expensive. Expeditions, lab analysis, logistics, finding out a production method from scratch, etc. Some cosmetics companies have already established some good streamlined ways of doing that, like French L'Oréal and Brazilian multinational Natura, but that's a learning curve.
I suppose the Congo, Madagascar and Indonesian rainforests could also be good places to do research, from the point of view of existing biodiversity.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:42:54 UTC No. 16229489

>>16227204
I like this comic, where'd you find it?

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Jun 2024 03:52:13 UTC No. 16229737

>>16228408
>you can spend an eternity synthesizing one compound after the next, or you can synthesize a whole bunch all at once.
Nobody does that anymore.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Jun 2024 10:43:16 UTC No. 16230099

>>16227204
Are you suggesting that we haven't done enough research into amphetamine/phenethylamine analogs or that we should take them to literally give us the inspiration to do further research into other avenues. Because I think we've looked pretty heavily down that path.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:29:02 UTC No. 16230130

>>16228891
>The field of organic dye chemistry was started on accident (ironically, in an attempt to make a pharmaceutical).
Wasnt that the story of prussian blue, and how it was done when trying to make some "bone elixir" but the ingredients were contaminated with pig blood?

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:36:58 UTC No. 16230134

Yes, i will research how to make 5-Chloro-2-(aceturoylmethylamino)-benzophenone and then test it in many lab animals and bacteria cultures to see what effect it might have on something